In the middle of corn and hay fields just off I-65 once sat a futuristic-looking, mid-century white building that was home to the American Type Founders (ATF) Company manufacturing plant. Now, that same land is the home of Cool Springs Galleria.
While many today don’t even know what metal type is since almost all printing is now done digitally, in its heyday ATF dominated the business beginning in 1892. The company developed many of the typefaces that are still used today, including News Gothic, Franklin Gothic and Century Schoolbook.
By 1901, the owner of ATF, Robert Wickham Nelson, had merged 23 type making companies into one. He built a factory in New Jersey and began building printing presses, too. A factory was eventually built in Franklin in the 1960s, and it stayed open until the early 1970s.
“I worked at [ATF] for about four years and was part of the force still there when it closed,” said Julia Savage Mintra on “If you grew up in Franklin, TN, you remember” on Facebook. “ATF built presses for pattern printing…remember McCall and Simplicity patterns back in the 50s and 60s?”
ATF Beginnings and Ending
In the pre-digital era, type was manufactured in letters. Letters slid backwards into plates by hand by people called compositors. Compositors slid individual letters into plates creating words, then paragraphs, and then pages. The page forms were then placed into a printing press, inked, and pressed against paper. Initially, ATF made the metal letters.
In the 1960s, a new kind of typesetting was created. It was called photo typesetting, or “cold type.” It consisted in using film or glass to make a plate. Eventually the process would be computerized and the type of presses ATF made became obsolete.
Those who grew up in Franklin when the plant was open remember the blue ball water tower the most, especially because someone shot at it once.
“I remember someone shooting a hole in the big blue ball,” wrote Sissy Bennett on “If you grew up in Franklin, TN, you remember” on Facebook, “is seems like it drained for days.”
After ATF closed the plant in Franklin, the building was purchased by Southwestern Family of Companies.
Southwestern Takes Over the Building
Southwestern Family of Companies is an international, employee-owned conglomerate with companies involved in publishing, insurance, investment services, travel, business and leadership coaching, real estate, and sales. Started in 1855 as Southwestern Publishing House, it is now made up of 19 different businesses.
By 1978, the building was in the hands of Southwestern. Many locals remember working for the company during the summers, or their parents working there full time.
Tornado Destroys the Building
“I remember Christmas Eve 1988, said Penny Armstrong-Frizzell on If you grew up in Franklin, TN, you remember” on Facebook. “…when the tornado wiped the whole area out.” Then the building was demolished.
Brent Rader remembers monitoring the asbestos abatement for the demolition of the remnants of the building to make way for Cool Springs Galleria. The old asbestos tile floors had to be removed before the building could be torn down.
“I still have lots of stuff in storage that is packed in Southwestern book boxes that were left behind when they moved,” said Rader on Facebook.
Before the Galleria, a Racetrack was On the Drawing Board
Gary Baker proposed a racetrack be built in the area where Home Depot is now built, shared Stan Hardcastle on Facebook. “Obviously, the powers that be didn’t want a race track that would be that close to Franklin so Gary turned the property into what you see now. Financially, he came out pretty good, but we both [would have] preferred a race track,” said Hardcastle.
The CoolSprings Galleria opened in 1991. It was opened with three anchor stores, Castner Knott, which became Proffit’s/Hechct’s/Macy’s, Dillard’s and Sears. Currently, there are almost 160 stores. Since the mall opened, the area has built up into a business, retail and dining mecca.
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