Hotel Indigo Nashville, Printer’s Alley–an Inside Look
(Note to readers: IHG Rewards Club hosted us overnight for our trip to Nashville. We were not otherwise compensated and our views remain our own.)
Situated in Nashville’s downtown area, adjacent to the famed Printer’s Alley, you’ll find Hotel Indigo, a hotel that embraces its printing press roots, along with the rest of its intriguing history.
The area originally housed a law office for Andrew Jackson, the man who would go on to become one of our nation’s presidents. There was a stable behind his office where he kept his horse. Eventually, that stable also housed the mules that pulled newspaper wagons through the alleyway.
The area flourished, becoming the printing capital of the world by the 1890s, the hub for more than three dozen major printers, two large newspapers and one of the oldest working letterpress print shops in America, the Hatch Brothers. Their distinctive style promoted many of the first vaudeville acts, minstrel shows and movies seen anywhere (there’s now a museum in the Country Music Hall of Fame building housing the Hatch Brothers printing office where you can take tours).
Saloons and gambling halls started popping up, right alongside the businesses, becoming “The Men’s District”, with some locations catering to thirsts with speakeasies.
Even after Prohibition ended, mixing bars took their place, with patrons providing their own liquor. More nightclubs opened and rising music legends entertained those coming through the gritty streets.
The presses stopped and the banks are now replaced by hotels, such as the Hotel Indigo, which still honors its unique past with its décor.
You can hear the hotel manager describe it all in the video below. Just click on the arrow.
[hana-code-insert name=’hotel indigo’ /]
You’ll find the hotel ideally located for most of what you want to see in Nashville, from the Country Music Hall of Fame a few streets away (where you can catch amazing performances like the one we saw during our visit), to Ryman Auditorium, to the bars, shops and museums of Broadway and Commerce Streets, Printer’s Alley, and, across the bridge, the stadium where the Tennessee Titans play.
You can book a night with your InterContinental Hotels Group reward points and will be fortunate to find few black out dates. IHG has more rooms in more places than any other hotel company, and in this case, those rooms are right in the heart of Nashville, right where you’ll want to be on your next visit.
