Polk Place
Polk Place was the home of 11th President of the United States James K. Polk and his wife Sarah Childress Polk on Vine Street in Nashville, Tennessee, which he purchased from his mentor Felix Grundy. It was called "Grundy Place" and was changed to "Polk Place." It was his final residence and where he died in 1849 at age 53. After his death his wife continued to reside there. During the Civil War, Polk Place was considered neutral ground by both the Confederate and Union armies. In spite of the fact that she had nephews fighting on the Confederate side, Union Generals Ulysses S. Grant and Don Carlos Buell frequently paid their respects to the former first lady. After a short illness, Mrs. Polk died at Polk Place in 1891, just short of her 88th birthday. James K. Polk's tomb was located on the front lawn until 1893, when it was moved to the Tennessee State Capitol.[1] What followed was a long legal dispute centered on James K. Polk's will, after which the heirs of President and Mrs. Polk sold Polk Place. The state of Tennessee nearly acquired Polk Place and made it the governor's mansion (at the time, the governor of Tennessee stayed in a hotel room). A developer bought the house and had it demolished in 1900 to build a small apartment building. The YWCA bought the property in 1909 and built a new state-of-the-art facility. They sold the building in 1978 and moved to Woodmont Avenue. A Best Western now occupies the former site of Polk Place.[2][3]
An iron fountain was preserved from the property and is now located at the James K. Polk Ancestral Home.[4]