The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, located on Demonbreun Street in downtown Nashville, has been called the “Smithsonian of Country Music.” Renowned for its broad cultural impact, educational value, and unmatched collection of historically important artifacts and country music memorabilia, the Country Music Hall of Fame was chartered by the state of Tennessee in 1964.
First opened in 1967 on Nashville’s Music Row, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum launched its current downtown location in 2001. In 2014, the Museum unveiled a $100 million expansion that doubled its footprint. The Museum now encompasses 350,000 square feet of exhibition galleries, archival storage, retail stores, and event space. In addition, the Museum offers the Taylor Swift Education Center for students, teachers, and families, and dedicated performance spaces in the CMA Theater and Ford Theater, both of which regularly host nationally recognized live music and cultural events.
Plan to spend a couple of hours at this fun and highly educational Nashville museum. CountryMusicHallofFame.org
Officially authorized by the Estate of Johnny Cash, the museum features the largest and most comprehensive collection of Johnny Cash artifacts and memorabilia in the world. State of the art exhibits, personal letters, stage costumes, guitars, handwritten lyrics and contributions from family members and notable friends along with a museum gift shop make this THE Cash venue to visit. Open every day in the heart of downtown Nashville. JohnnyCashMuseum.com
Patsy Cline Museum
Though she left the world tragically at the age of 30 in 1963, Patsy Cline made an indelible mark on Country Music and remains one of the biggest names in Country history. The Patsy Cline Museum celebrates the life of the legendary songstress and features hundreds of never before seen artifacts, personal belongings, videos and much more. Located above the Johnny Cash Museum. PatsyMuseum.com
Glen Campbell Museum
Located at the highly-trafficked corner of Broadway and 2nd Avenue, The Glen Campbell Museum features never-before-seen artifacts from Glen’s early years on the farm in Arkansas through his climb to super-stardom, including many of his guitars, instruments, and stage clothes by legendary Western Wear Clothiers, Nudie Cohn and Manuel Cuevas, as well as his extensive collection of golf paraphernalia and intimate family photos. The GC Museum is in the same building as the Rock Bottom Brewery on Broadway and Second Ave. GlenCampbellMuseum.com
The Grand Ole Opry is an American weekly live country music radio broadcast from – and a several nights per week performance held at – the Opry House in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio “barn dance” on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a division of Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc.), it is the longest-running radio broadcast in U.S. history. Dedicated to honoring country music and its history, the Opry showcases a mix of famous singers and contemporary chart-toppers performing country, bluegrass, Americana, folk, and gospel music as well as comedic performances and skits. It attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world and millions of radio and internet listeners.
In the 1930s, the show began hiring professionals and expanded to four hours. Broadcasting by then at 50,000 watts, WSM made the program a Saturday night musical tradition in nearly 30 states.[4] In 1939, it debuted nationally on NBC Radio. The Opry moved to its most famous former home, the Ryman Auditorium, in 1943. As it developed in importance, so did the city of Nashville, which became America’s “country music capital.” The Grand Ole Opry holds such significance in Nashville that it is included as a “home of” mention on the welcome signs seen by motorists at the Metro Nashville/Davidson County line.
Originally called The Union Gospel Tabernacle, famous Ryman Auditorium was built in 1892 after steamboat captain Thomas Ryman heard Rev. Sam P. Jones speak at a tent revival in 1885. Ryman commissioned architect Hugh C. Thompson to build the Gothic Revival church, which quickly became a place for secular and religious gatherings. After Ryman’s death in 1904 it was renamed in his honor. Nicknamed the “Mother Church of Country Music,” the Ryman Auditorium was home to WSM’s famous “Grand Ole Opry” radio program from 1943-1974.
Currently the Ryman hosts concerts of many types weekly and is generally considered the “best live venue in Nashville,” due to it’s small size (seating around 2300 people), it’s intimate setting and historic decor, and its FABULOUS acoustics. Public tours are offered daily. Ryman.com
Honky Tonkin’ On Lower Broadway
Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge, a Nashville country music institution and world-famous honky-tonk, has operated across the alley from the Ryman almost continuously since 1960. Its proprietor from 1960 to 1978, Hattie Louise “Tootsie” Bess, bought the lounge called “Mom’s” and named it for herself. According to tradition, a painter mistakenly painted the exterior orchid purple. The color was never changed and became Tootsie’s signature color. Over the years, she served such famous customers as Kris Kristofferson, Faron Young, and Willie Nelson when they were still up-and-coming artists, and Tootsie was well-known for her generosity toward struggling musicians. The photo- and memorabilia-lined walls are called “Tootsie’s Wall of Fame.” A portion of the Loretta Lynn biopic “Coal Miner’s Daughter” was filmed inside Tootsie’s.
It has been reported that there are some thirty-plus Honky-Tonks on Nashville’s Lower Broadway. We think that is a woeful undercount but, whatever the number, it’s safe to say that the Honky-Tonkin’ begins at the Bridgestone Arena, which is always findable by its 250′ futuristic spire. A huge new complex of bars, restaurants, shops and more has risen up directly across from the arena at Sixth Ave and Broadway, at the site of the original Nashville Convention Center (the new and improved version now inhabiting several blocks on Korean Vets Blvd next to the Country Music Hall of Fame). Appropriately, this intersection is also the location of the world-famous Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge. From that point all the way to the river, on both sides of Broadway, you’ll find an array of establishments, many bearing the names of some of Country Music’s biggest stars, some two, three and even four stories high of music and cocktails, most now sporting the popular “Roof Top” bar.
But Broadway’s not the only street with interesting stops for the parched. On Fourth Ave, all the way to the Government Center, on Third and Second and First Avenue…all the way to The Omni Hotel on Demonbreun and beyond! Surely there’s a hundred or more places to get your drink on in the few square blocks called Lower Broadway. More than enough to provide the quintessential hangover!
Jefferson Street Sound Museum
The Golden Age of Jefferson
Many long-time Nashvillians consider 1935 – 1965 the Golden Age of Jefferson Street. Anybody who wanted to see and be seen was out and about on Jefferson. Show business headliners stopped in Nashville to try their acts. The Silver Streak, the great off-Jefferson St. ballroom booked such big names as Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Count Basie, and Ella Fitzgerald. Duke Ellington performed on Jefferson Street. Members of the old Negro Baseball League and recording artists such as Little Richard, Ruth Brown, Nat King Cole, Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald were staying at the elegant Brown’s Hotel and playing the famous Blue Room at Del Morocco, owned by “Uncle” Teddy Acklen. To learn more about the historic days of Jefferson Street, call our office today and book a tour or visit our museum every Saturday–we open at 11:00am. jeffersonstreetsound.com
The John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge
Who is John Seigenthaler?
“John Lawrence Seigenthaler (July 27, 1927 – July 11, 2014) was an American journalist, writer, and political figure. He was known as a prominent defender of First Amendment rights. Seigenthaler joined the Nashville newspaper The Tennessean in 1949, resigning in 1960 to act as Robert F. Kennedy’s administrative assistant. He rejoined The Tennessean as editor in 1962, publisher in 1973, and chairman in 1982 before retiring as chairman emeritus in 1991. Seigenthaler was also the founding editorial director of USA Today from 1982 to 1991.” —Wikipedia
Nashville’s “Pedestrian Bridge,” or the “Walk Bridge” as it is commonly known in the city, traverses the Cumberland River from Lower Broadway on the west side of the river to the Nissan Stadium parking lot on the east side of the river. With parking often a difficult task on game days or when there is another major event in the stadium, many people prefer to park away from the downtown area, take an uber or lyft to Broadway for some preliminary libations, and then walk over the bridge to Nissan Stadium. Stairway access can be found on Second and Fourth Avenue. Day or night, the Walk Bridge offers up some of the very best views of the Nashville skyline and is a great spot for selfies and other photos. Plus it’s a nice way to work off some of that Nashville Hot Chicken!
Cheekwood Estate and Gardens
The history and origin of Cheekwood are intimately interwoven with the growth of Nashville, the Maxwell House coffee brand and the Cheeks, one of the city’s early entrepreneurial families.
When visiting Nashville TN, one of the cooler day trips is Cheekwood. What is Cheekwood? “Art…gardens.” A very nice day for introspective guests and nature lovers. Allow yourself at least two hours to see everything as Cheekwood sits on 55 acres and the Museum is 30,000 square feet! cheekwood.org
Minor League Baseball – The Nashville Sounds
The 2022 season marked the 44th in Nashville Sounds team history and 38th as a Triple-A franchise. The Sounds have been the top affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers for 12 seasons, including 2005-14 and 2021-present. The inaugural season of Nashville Sounds baseball was in 1978 as the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. Over the last 44 years, a total of 1,426 players have donned a Sounds uniform and 1,000 of those have played in the big leagues. The Sounds stadium is a lot of fun, even if you don’t watch the game!!
The Parthenon / The Athena Statue
Why is Nashville Know as the “Parthenon of the South?”
The Parthenon Nashville TN
The Parthenon stands proudly as the centerpiece of Centennial Park, Nashville’s premier urban park. The re-creation of the 42-foot statue Athena is the focus of the Parthenon just as it was in ancient Greece. The building and the Athena statue are both full-scale replicas of the Athenian originals.
Originally built for Tennessee’s 1897 Centennial Exposition, this replica of the Parthenon in Athens, Greece serves as a monument to what is considered the pinnacle of classical architecture. The plaster replicas of the Parthenon Marbles found in the Naos are direct casts of the original sculptures, which adorned the pediments of the Athenian Parthenon dating back to 438 B.C. The originals of these powerful fragments are housed in the British Museum in London.
The Parthenon also serves as Nashville’s art museum. The focus of the Parthenon’s permanent collection is a group of 63 paintings by 19th and 20th century American artists donated by James M. Cowan. Additional gallery spaces provide a venue for a variety of temporary shows and exhibits. info@parthenon.org
Athena Statue at the Parthenon in Nashville
Musica at Buddy Killen Circle
The Famous “Naked Roundabout” or “Naked Statues”
Officially known as “Musica,” the “Naked Statues,” found at the top of Music Row at Demonbreun and Division (Buddy Killen Circle), is a bronze statue that sits upon a grassy knoll at the center of a traffic rotary known as the Music Row Roundabout or Buddy Killen Circle.
The statue is located directly across from Owen Bradley Park in the Music Row district. It was built as part of an urban renewal project for the Music Row neighborhood and unveiled in 2003.
Musica was created by the renowned local sculptor Alan LeQuire, who was also commissioned by the City of Nashville to build the full-scale replica of the statue of Athena, the centerpiece of the Nashville replica of the Parthenon.
Musica is Alan LeQuire‘s largest sculpture commission to date (as of this writing), and is also currently the largest sculpture group in the United States. It features nine nude figures, male and female, dancing in a circular composition. It stands approximately 38 feet tall.
Adventure Science Center
Adventure Science Center Nashville
Believe it or not, Adventure Science Center first opened its doors in Nashville on October 31, 1945, as The Children’s Museum of Nashville.
Sgt. John Ripley Forbes had a vision that Nashville’s future should focus on children. His enthusiasm for a children’s museum sparked some of the city’s most prominent and influential citizens to get involved, including the museum’s first president, Vernon Sharp, Jr.
Over the ensuing six-plus decades the Adventure Science Center has enjoyed much growth and many expansions, thanks largely to local benefactors. Click here to read the most interesting story of this great Nashville attraction.
THE HISTORY OF CHEEKWOOD
The history and origin of Cheekwood are intimately interwoven with the growth of Nashville, the Maxwell House coffee brand and the Cheeks, one of the city’s early entrepreneurial families.
Christopher T. Cheek moved to Nashville in the 1880’s and founded a wholesale grocery business. His son, Leslie Cheek joined him as a partner.
In 1896, Leslie Cheek married Mabel Wood of Clarksville, Tennessee. Their son, Leslie, Jr. was born in 1908 and their daughter, Huldah, in 1915. By that year, Leslie Cheek was president of the family firm
GOOD TO THE LAST DROP!
During these same years, the elder Cheeks cousin, Joel Cheek, developed a superior blend of coffee that was marketed through the best hotel in Nashville, the Maxwell House. His extended family, including Leslie and Mabel Cheek, were investors. In 1928, Postum (now General Foods) purchased Maxwell House’s parent company, Cheek-Neal Coffee, for more than $40 million.
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With their income secured by the proceeds from the sale, the Cheeks bought 100 acres of what was then woodland in West Nashville for a country estate. To design and build the house and grounds, they hired New York residential and landscape architect, Bryant Fleming, and gave him control over every detail – from landscaping to interior furnishings. The result was a limestone mansion and extensive formal gardens inspired by the grand English houses of the 18th century. Fleming’s masterpiece, Cheekwood, was completed in 1932.