In memory of a longtime business owner on Jefferson Street

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — More than 35 years ago, Nathaniel “Nate” Harris spent months renovating a building on Jefferson Street in Nashville.

“I met Nate 35 or 6 years ago when he first started renovating his building,” said friend Lorenzo Washington.

Washington had a front row seat watching Woodcuts Gallery and Framing come into being.

“We had a chance to sit down and talk quite a bit about his projects and what he was doing,” he said.

Mr. Harris opened the doors to Woodcuts in 1987.

When News 2 spoke with him in February 2023, he shared how he located his business on Jefferson Street because he wanted to help revitalize it.

“He wanted to see Jefferson Street develop beyond what had been said before,” Washington said.

So for the next 30 years, his store did just that.

“It was really a gallery, a museum, a gathering space, a really important piece of social infrastructure in the Nashville community,” Michael Ewing said.

Ewing was an art student at Fisk University when he first met Harris.

“He was a walking history book,” he said. “He will allow us to understand and contextualize not only the art historical aspects but also what his work means,” he said.

Not only was Harris a mentor to Ewing, but his shop was also a place of opportunity for him and many others.

“There was a pedigree of black wealth and employment, and he was able to provide that to people in the community,” he said. “Students who went to Fisk interned at Woodcuts. Artists would work at Woodcuts.

Mr. Harris passed away on Sunday, February 4, at the age of 74.

“It’s a huge loss not having him here,” Washington said.

Although he is no longer with us, Woodcutz is the perfect reminder of the legacy he left on the city of Nashville.

“His human spirit lives on,” Ewing said.

In the spring of 2023, a historic marker was erected in front of his shop honoring his work in the community through his woodblock prints.