WPLN News Archive; 01 Lockland Springs (Adrienne) 10 13 98; News Archive 1/8/99-2/5/99

mention the word crime or schools or poor white trash to cap the dollar apiece nationals laughlin springs and she cringes talk about acceptance creative havens or neighbors helping neighbors and she beams with delight we're certain that underdog neighborhood we feel like we're getting a little bit of a bad rap we do have a lot of petty crime but it's really people to what's happening in other parts of the city to its changing and that's what's exciting seems that the majority of nationally and know the area over the bridge across from downtown is that rock neighborhood it's becoming a bevy of artistic creativity an intellectual hotspot and a goldmine for entrepreneurs along with ed building eastland laughlin springs makes up a trio of historic district in east nashville the area developed is a wealthy suburb after the civil war when families move out of the city it kept its upscale status until the nineteen fifties when its wealthy homeowners move to west nashville and divided a gorgeous victorian houses into rental units by nineteen eighty five laughlin springs saw another change as young professionals started moving into the neighborhood and renovating those homes what i can't begin to vacation has created some tension

between the old and young and rich and poor metro council member eileen b and notes they're starting to get along some of the younger neighbors starting very protective financing and cut grass and haul garbage and they really do look after their neighbors and they indict then benefit from the history and being able to hear what works and what doesn't work is you try to either renovate your house or if you try to work in neighborhood almost three years ago jim and kathy ballot moved into what neighbors jokingly refer to as the poet although it took them almost a year to get her house unlivable check she says they wouldn't want to live anywhere else we moved into the neighborhood because of the wonderful architecture and because of the time we bought our house it was still very affordable and the reason we stay is because the people here so accepting of differences on our street alone there's every kind of lifestyle interest age nationality their retire dr jerry year list on our street lawyers conductors social

workers artist writers city of cafes the centerpiece of this neighborhood i think it's probably the most important single place that we have in our neighborhood it's a meeting place it's a musical place an artistic place it's a political place sitting in the corner of nineteenth and what this nineteen oh three structure has been known as radio cafe for the past three years it's warm and inviting entertaining and inexpensive it started as a coffee house and eventually grow to become a full service restaurant complete with nightly band and an outside patio owner max hill who has nothing and being revitalized are people who want to see one of the more rooms anymore for well the people are starting to recognize the value of starting businesses in the area a fine dining restaurant is being built across the street from at a cafe joe's diner quickly recovered from the tornado

and rebuilt on eastern avenue there are other neighborhood gathering places to residents consider the new show the bottom a godsend one of the best things that's happened to the neighborhood is the chubby bottoms eye opening of that park that has been a major place of trust reverend lisa hart is the rector at st ann's this global church i remember two years ago hosting really scared to go golfing and shelby park golf course because people are being held up and rocked and then you've got people who are walking in jogging and rollerblading a chubby bottoms and it's a place where all classes of people come together a chubby park and so i think that is an example of a civic space a public space it's really been claimed and i am a very enriching way for everybody people like cathy balart said they want everyone to know that while laughlin springs does need some fine tuning it's truly a neighborhood filled with creativity love and a pioneer spirit we think call the urban pioneers in it does feel like that sometimes busy working very hard and it's

an uphill in a lot of them it is satisfying in its been worth it for national public radio i mean no