HNI Member Tour of the Neuhoff District

The Neuhoff Abattoir and Packing Company, Inc. was founded in 1906 by German immigrants Henry and Lorenz Neuhoff. Serving Germantown as a vital job center and one of Nashville’s earliest mass production meat processing facilities, the business thrived and expanded throughout the early twentieth century. By 1930, fresh meats from Neuhoff were sold across the greater Southeast, attracting Chicago’s processing giant, Swift & Company, to purchase the facility in 1931. In 1979, Swift consolidated operations and promptly closed Neuhoff. Thereafter, the Baltz Brothers Packing Co. bought the plant and performed limited operations until 1992, when Robert Baltz transferred the property to a family friend in Nashville’s McRedmond family.

Under the McRedmonds’ care, portions of the campus were home to various uses, such as the Nashville Jazz Workshop, Tennessee Craft, an Italian shoemaker, and singer/songwriter John Prine’s sound studio. However, several unique structures, including the massive five-story slaughterhouse, remained unoccupied, deteriorating from decades of water and fire damage.

The McRedmonds’ determination and stewardship led to the seemingly impossible rehabilitation of this coveted neighborhood icon. They enlisted local architect and friend Hunter Gee and his firm to develop a master plan and attracted a like-minded developer in Jim Irwin and his company, New City. Having preserved the 1-million-square-foot historic Sears Distribution Center in Atlanta, known as Ponce City Market, Jim was committed to preserving as much of Neuhoff as possible.

Experience the newly developed Neuhoff District and the metamorphosis of several unique historic structures, including the district’s crown jewel, the Curve Building.

Parking option: Enter the garage from Monroe or Taylor Streets (before you reach Adams Street). The first hour is free and $6 per additional hour. Go to the garage’s top level and meet at the Adams Street plaza.

This is a free event exclusively for HNI members, and tickets and membership are required. Memberships can be purchased or renewed on our website at historicnashvilleinc.org/get-involved/membership.