Top 5 Locations Where You Can Feel Nashville’s Prohibition Past

Time-travel back to flappers, bootleggers, and backroom deals.

Before the neon lights and pedal taverns, Nashville was a city of secrets—hidden bars, underground tunnels, corrupt cops, and bootleg whiskey flowing like the Cumberland River. During the 1920s, when America banned the bottle, Music City didn’t dry up. It just got a lot more interesting.

If you want to walk where the whiskey ran wild and the jazz never stopped, here are 5 must-visit places in Nashville where Prohibition history still lingers in the walls.

1. Southern Turf Building

📍222 4th Ave N, Nashville, TN 37219
Keywords: Southern Turf Building Nashville, Prohibition history Nashville, Ike Johnson, Skull’s Rainbow Room

Once a gentleman’s club, then a gambling den, brothel, and speakeasy, the Southern Turf Building has seen it all—and survived it all. Owned in its heyday by notorious saloon boss Ike Johnson, this building was one of the go-to hubs for illicit fun during Prohibition. Today, it’s been beautifully restored and is home to Skull’s Rainbow Room, Sinatra’s, and The Southern Turf Club—modern speakeasies with vintage soul.

Why it matters: This building is one of the best-preserved links to Nashville’s underworld during the dry years. Oh yeah, and it’s SUPER HAUNTED!

2. Black Rabbit

📍218 3rd Ave N, Nashville, TN 37201
Keywords: Black Rabbit Nashville, historic bar Nashville, bootlegger bar Nashville

Built inside a 19th-century warehouse that once housed a printer’s shop (and a Jimmy Hoffa’s Infamous Nashville Hideout), Black Rabbit is more than just a bar—it’s a tribute to the city’s shadowy past. With flickering candles, exposed brick, and vintage cocktails that could’ve gotten you arrested in 1925, it’s a love letter to Prohibition-era revelry.

Local tip: Their house-infused spirits and seasonal drinks are dangerously smooth—just like the bootleggers who once walked these streets.

3. Printer’s Alley

📍Between 3rd Ave N & 4th Ave N
Keywords: Printer’s Alley Nashville, speakeasy district Nashville, underground Nashville bars

If walls could talk, Printer’s Alley would spill enough secrets to fill a library. This backstreet became the beating heart of Nashville’s underground nightlife during Prohibition. Hidden jazz clubs, strip joints, and drinking dens operated behind unmarked doors while the city’s “finest” looked the other way—for a small fee, of course.

Ghosts of the past: Rumor has it, some of the tunnels and secret stairways are still intact beneath the alley. I’ve seen them!

4. Former Site of the Carousel Room

📍Near 4th Ave N & Union St
Keywords: Carousel Room Nashville, Stan Kenton, Printers Alley raids, mixing bars Nashville

During the height of Nashville’s Prohibition-era nightlife, the Carousel Room was the go-to mixing bar for jazz musicians and booze-seekers. In one infamous 1950s raid, members of Stan Kenton’s orchestra and the Four Freshmen were arrested—only to turn the police station into a surprise jam session. The site may now be a parking lot, but the legend of its wild nights lives on.

Insider history: The club was raided for violating Sunday liquor laws—because even post-Prohibition, Nashville stayed complicated.

5. Hidden Whiskey Stills & Tunnel Remnants

📍Various downtown locations (ask your tour guide)
Keywords: Nashville tunnels, secret whiskey stills, Prohibition tunnels Nashville

Beneath the modern skyline, tunnels, basements, and sealed-off spaces still hide relics of the bootlegging days. From bricked-up entrances beneath old churches to long-forgotten stills in building basements, the underworld of Nashville’s Prohibition past is still there—you just need to know where to look.

Psst: We take you there. Our Speakeasy Secrets Tour gives you access to the hidden stories and actual locations most locals don’t even know about.

Final Toast: History Never Tasted So Good

Nashville has always had a rebellious streak—and these spots prove it. Whether you’re sipping craft cocktails in a reimagined speakeasy or walking through alleys where liquor once flowed like secrets, the spirit of Prohibition still lingers.

So next time you clink glasses, remember: you’re raising a toast in a city built on bending the rules.