Second Avenue Shines Bright Months After Nashville Bombing

The road to recovery is shining bright for Second Avenue, nearly three months after the bombing that shook a sleeping Nashville early Christmas morning. In a move meant to return the scene to a sense of normalcy, 22 trees lining the path of Second Avenue, between Broadway and Union, were illuminated Wednesday night (March 10).

According to News Channel 5, the Chineses elm trees have been around for 40 years, even surviving the devastating floods in 2010. Several trees were lost during the bombing, but many remained standing, a testament to the perseverance of Music City.

"Tonight, historic 2nd Avenue got a little lighter & a little brighter with the flick of a switch," the Downtown Nashville Twitter account posted Wednesday. "There are days filled with light and love ahead."

Before the bombing, business in Nashville were already hit hard by the tornado last March shortly before the pandemic began to take full effect. Even through the difficulties, however, Nashville and its residents have shown themselves to be strong. The illuminated path down the damaged street shines a bright light on the future of the city.

"We hope that we're going to have a lot of visitors in Nashville this year after the devastation of the pandemic from last year, and now with the bombing," said business owner Betsy Williams. "So, Second Avenue really needs Nashville and tourism to support the businesses that are there."

More photos of the illuminated trees can be found at News Channel 5's Facebook page here.

Photo: Getty Images