UBS Tower (Nashville)
| Company type | Office building |
|---|---|
| Industry | Commercial real estate |
| Founded | 1974 |
| Headquarters | Nashville , United States |
Area served | Nashville, Tennessee |
| Products | Office space leasing |
UBS Tower stands 108 meters (354 feet) tall and comprises 28 floors, located at 315 Deaderick Street in Nashville, Tennessee.
The skyscraper was finished in 1974 and initially bore the name First American Center. Its name changed following the merger between First American National Bank and AmSouth Bank. Subsequently, after AmSouth combined with Regions, it was renamed Regions Center and functioned as the Tennessee headquarters for Regions Financial Corporation. Although Regions relocated its main offices in 2013, it still occupies 250,000 square feet within the building.
At present, the Swiss financial institution UBS leases 138,000 square feet, having moved its back-office functions from southeast Nashville to the downtown area. This lease agreement extends through 2034, prompting the building's current designation as UBS Tower.
The upper levels accommodate a variety of other tenants. The tower originally served as the principal office for First American National Bank before AmSouth acquired First American Corporation in 2000 during complex merger activities. In 2006, AmSouth announced a merger with Regions Financial. Regions relocated to One Nashville Place in 2012.
A compact parking garage is situated beneath the structure.
History
The location attracted national interest in 1971 when excavation revealed remains of a saber-toothed cat. Renowned archaeologists including Ronald Spores, Kent Flannery, Vance Haynes, and Edwin Williamson examined the site. Faunal materials were studied by John Guilday of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, who published his research in 1977. While Guilday may have cataloged human remains, no such findings were published.
Radiocarbon dating identified human remains from an upper layer as dating to 2390±145 B.P. and 1690±115 B.P., corresponding to the Woodland Period, significantly later than the Smilodon fossils. Collagen samples from the Smilodon yielded dates of 9410±155 B.P. and 10,035±650 B.P., which are considered unusually recent for this species in the Southeast and overlap with Paleoindian habitation along the Cumberland River. These dates have been met with skepticism.
Prompted by this discovery, First American Bank constructed around the remaining cave deposits, suspending them beneath its lowest parking level using steel and concrete to form an artificial cavern accessible by hatch and ladder. Reports from the early to mid-1970s indicated plans to resume archaeological excavations; a 1973 Time Magazine article highlighted preparations by the bank for further digs.
However, subsequent investigations appear to have halted following construction completion. The last known reference to renewed work was in 1976, expressing confidence that additional findings awaited in the preserved cavern. In 1978, members of Nashville Grotto caving group found little remaining intact cavern space. The next recorded entry into the site occurred in 2008 by archaeologists from the Tennessee Division of Archaeology.
Bones from the Smilodon and other fauna were exhibited by Regions Bank and UBS in their first-floor lobby until 2016, when the display was relocated to Bridgestone Arena. The exhibit includes fragments such as lower jaws, molars, vertebrae, ribs, humerus bones, metacarpals, and metatarsals. A replica Smilodon skull from the La Brea Tar Pits serves as a central feature. The original upper canine tooth that led to the initial discovery is missing; although bank staff believe it resides at the Smithsonian, there is no official record confirming this.
The discovery of the Smilodon inspired both the logo and mascot (Gnash) of the Nashville Predators hockey franchise. Early team presentations featured a video depicting a computer-generated saber-toothed cat emerging beneath downtown Nashville. The former bank emblem appeared in this video until sponsorship concluded after the 2002-2003 NHL season.