Category: Places
Dates: 1980s-1990s
Address: 167 1/2 8th Avenue North, Nashville, TN
The Gas Lite Lounge, also seen listed as The Gaslight, was part of one Nashville’s most historic properties. Built in the 1840s, the building is the only original grand townhouse remaining in the city and it is registered as a national historic site.
In 1980, John W. Hunt and David Nelson bought the property and opened three businesses: the Savage House Bed & Breakfast upstairs, the Towne House Tea Room on the main floor, and the Gas Lite Lounge in the ballroom. The Gas Lite was a popular meeting place for gay organizations, including the committee that planned Nashville’s first Pride parade in 1988.
Hunt and Nelson operated these gay-friendly establishments for about 20 years before the Smith family purchased it to run The Standard, its current operation.
Sources: “History,” The Standard.
