Bill Goodman Nashville history photographs collection, ca. 1853-1985 (bulk 1930-1955)
(Document/manuscript/pamphlet/archival material)

Arrangement: Alphabetical by file name assigned by library staff at time of scanning.

Materials housed in Special Collections Division of the Main Library, Nashville Public Library.

In library use only. Available by appointment.

Scope and content: Photographs of Nashville, Tennessee circa 1853 - 1985. The oldest images in the collection are from the mid 1800s and are taken from books and other sources; the bulk are from the time period from 1930 to 1955. All of the photographs have been identified, and many include the year and the location. The collection consists of ninety four scanned black-and-white photographs printed on twenty-four contact sheets. The scans are from photographs provided by Goodman. He printed the photographs from old Banner negatives not shot by him and negatives he shot at the time of the events. The photographs are primarily of buildings in and around Nashville, Tennessee. Public buildings, hotels, and street scenes are featured. Subjects include: the old jail and courthouse, Nashville Banner building, the post office, airport, various churches, city hall, businesses, etc. Street scenes of Church Street and Broadway include some aerial views. There are also aerial shots of the implosions of the Andrew Jackson and Sam Davis hotels, as well as photographs of the Maxwell House Hotel after it was destroyed by fire. Other notable pictures include views of Nashville from Fort Negley, the 1940 frozen Cumberland River, and victory parades after World War I and World War II.

Cite as: Bill Goodman Nashville History Photographs Collection, Special Collections Division, Nashville Public Library

Some material may be protected by copyright law (Title 17 U.S. Code). Nashville Public Library owns the copyright on items which originated with the Nashville Banner newspaper, as per terms of the Deed of Gift from Irby Simpkins and Brownlee Curry in 1999, accession RT-375.

Bill Goodman;,Loaned for copying and gift of copies made;,2003,Acc. 2003.064.

Related materials: Photographs taken by Bill Goodman during his service in the Korean War are a part of the Veterans History Project Collection in the holdings of the Special Collections Division of the Nashville Public Library.

William W. "Bill" Goodman was born August 10, 1928. He attended Oglesby and Turner Elementary Schools and graduated from Central High School in Nashville, Tenn. He married Willor L. Smith and they have four children. He served in the Korean War as a Marine Corps combat photographer with the 1st Marine Division. He served in the Marine Corps Reserve six years and in the Air National Guard five years. Doubling as a light machine gunner in Korea, he was awarded the United Nations Medal, the Korean Service Medal with two battle stars and the Good Conduct Award. After retirement he volunteered at the Veteran's Hospital. Mr. Goodman became a Nashville Banner photographer in 1954 and remained with the newspaper for over 35 years. Over the years, he won numerous photographic awards. He specialized in aerial photos and police action pictures. He was a member and past president of the Middle Tennessee News Photographers Association and was also a member of the National Press Photographers Association. One of his most dramatic accident photographs ran UPI and was published in many newspapers and featured in "the Washington Daily." "Best Sports Stories of 1973" published one of his award- winning sports photographs. Over the years he developed a keen interest in the history of Nashville and collected related photographs.

In English

Finding aid available in repository;,item level control.,https://assets.library.nashville.org/documents/finding-aids/Special_Collections_Division_Finding_Aid_BillGoodmanNashHistPhotoColl-FA.pdf.

Goodman over the years collected photographs about Nashville history and put them in album books because of his interest. He loaned them to the Nashville Room in 2003. Scans from the loaned originals were made by Beth Odle in 2003, contact sheets were printed and housed in June 2009 to enable access by the public.

Scan;,2003;,Beth Odle.

Print;,2009;,Beth Odle.

Process;,2009;,Rose Mary Reed.

Describe;,2009, 2017;,Rose Mary Reed and Beth Odle.

No further accruals are expected.