I'm going to Nashville for new employee orientation early next week. Any pointers on what to see in the city? We won't have personal transportation, so anything within walking distance of the city center or along transit lines would be preferred. Architecture sites, firms worth a visit, culture etc. Any help would be appreciated.
Hey Man. I am from Nashville. Depending on where you're staying will determine what all you can see.
If you are downtown, you can check out The Grand Ole Opry as mentioned.
The New Country Music Hall of Fame
Frist Center (Right next door is the Flying Saucer)
Belmont/Hillsboro Village area is great which is close to Music Row
The Parthenon replica is in Centinnial Park is on West End Ave. close to Vanderbilt, Belmont, and Hillsboro Village
2nd Ave is cool as mentioned. Also, the Riverfront is pretty cool as well.
Firms worth checking out would definitely be Tuck Hinton Architects. They were the designers of the New Country Music Hall of Fame among other projects they have completed throughout Nashville and the surrounding area.
Bauer Askew is another good firm and are located on 10 Ave S Suite 209. I am not sure if that is in the city center or not.
Anyhow, if you have any more questions about Nashville specifically, I am your man. Heck, I might be there this weekend because my Sister-in-Law is due!
Best Burger in Nashville is actually at a restaurant called Rotiers which is right off of West End Ave close to Vanderbilt. I think it is Charlotte Ave right across from Logan's steakhouse. It is an unbelievable burger. Made on French Bread, and if you get a milkshake with it, it seals the deal.
The Vandyland Cafe is another good place to get a great milkshake. It is on West End Ave as well and has been there forever.
The Frist Museum is a beautiful restoration of the old post office downtown on Broadway, and has a great exhibit right now of Murano glass, featuring about 20 pieces by Carlo Scarpa. Good stuff. Next door is Union Station, which is also worth seeing, and hosts the aforementioned Flying Saucer.
had a great time, loved the Frist. There were actually around 100 pieces by Carlo Scarpa, a couple more by his son, Tobia, and a wealth of other great examples of Murano glass, spanning the entire 20th century.
Other than that, not a ton of free time...but we did check out Hatch Show Print on Broadway...still using the old school printing press today, since 1879.
also, ran into a fellow archinect'er, marimbaOne. Nice to meet ya', sorry you missed us at the Flying Saucer...
thanks again for the responses, on this thread and via email.
You must check out Honky Tonk row. Every bar has a Honky Tonk band - every night - free. See at least one song from each. It rocks, and I don't like country. My favorite was the 1940's country band (well, the members were young - but authentic in appearance).
walked by the CMHall/Museum at night, no time to check it out, and with the $15 cover, I wouldn't have anyhow...and we also strolled along the HonkyTonk Row...slow enough to hear the different bands at each bar, quick enough to not have to listen for too long...
Any updates on this subject? I'll be in Nashville for five days in January--already on our schedule is a visit to the fake Parthenon, an evening at the Grand Ole Opry, and a Predators game. Frist Center sounds like it will also be added...what else? And where should we stay? Preferably around $100/night, and some place interesting, but not frilly. Any ideas?
I'll start throwing up my stream of consciousness for this thread.
Make sure you go to the original Grand Ole Opry, not just the new one. The original is called the Ryman Auditorium and it's right in the middle of downtown. While downtown, walk a block or two down to Hatch Show Print shop to see the block-printing and litho print techniques. If you do go to the new Grand Ole Opry, try to see if Opryland has it's Christmas lights still up in January. Yes, it's huge, wasteful, and kind of gawdy, but their Christmas decorations are pretty impressive. And it's interesting to see what a $13,000 a day light bill will get you.
Speaking of music downtown, check out the new $300 million Schermerhorn Symphony Center. I think there are architectural tours everyday around noon. Right beside the Schermerhorn, cross the pedestrian bridge over the river and check out the view of downtown and the new sculpture by Alice Aycock. Martha Ingram, one of the nation's richest ladies and few female billionaires, is a Nashvillian and quite involved with the art community in town. You can thank her for the new symphony hall. Her money was earned through our city's thriving publishing scene...
The publishing scene all started in Printer's Allley in dowtown which is worth a good night time visit for some drinks and fun. It's hey days of Bible printing are long gone but now you'll find a small assortment of local bars and restaurants.
Another music place worth visiting is the Country Music Hall of Fame. It's right besides the Schermerhorn and Arena where you'll be watching the Predators game. They have a great exhibit of Ray Charles going on right now. Try to go to 2nd Ave on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday night. It's packed with people drinking and trying to make it big in the music industry.
While country music isn't my thing or most people's thing, I highly recommend a house tour of the rich country stars and music execs. It's kind of interesting to see the houses of such famous Nashvillians such as Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman, Alan Jackson's frickin' CASTLE, Billly Ray Cyrus' log cabin, Ashley Judd's farmland, Sheryl Crow's abode, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill's older 1920s Georgian style home in Belled Meade. John Rich (of Big and Rich) house is currently under construction but it is an uber chic 45' high contemporary house built on Love Circle which overlooks downtown. The city's local preservationists freaked when they saw the scale and design of the house.
Speaking of preservationists freaking out, go to East Nashville right across the river. It's a nice little gentrified walkable neighborhood with trendy bars, restaurants, and cute Craftsman and Bungalows from the early 1910s. There is one of my favorite houses on the corner of Woodlawn and 12th. The house caused the longest Board of Planning and Zoning meeting in the history of Nashville. The neighbors were fighting the design until 4 in the morning with the architects. Architect won and the finished work now stands proudly on the corner. Walk across the street and go to Rumours Wine Bar and check out the great teak bar and grab a drink. If you're craving hot dogs, go across the street and walk up to the little VW bus turned hot dog stand for some of the best hot dogs you'll ever eat. Promise.
Go to Centennial Park to see the Parthenon. Also, try to visit the Warner Parks at the end of Belle Meade Blvd. It's one of the biggest parks in the nation within city limits. Also, make sure you see the Bicentennial Park beside the Farmer's Market right behind our state capital building. If you are interesting in seeing the capital, they have architectural tours daily as well. The architect is buried in the walls of the capital.
Eat food at the Farmer's Market. Also, try to catch the Nash Trash bus tours giving by the Jugg Sisters. They attempt to epitomize Southern Trash with their crude jokes and Nashville gossip. They give great tours of the city. Tickets usually always sell out so you may need to buy in advance.
Check out the Gulch (aka Little Dubai). It was formerly our warehouse district but it's now infested with cranes to accomodate the bajillion condos towers coming up. There is some decent music clubs and good-but-overpriced restaurants.
Check out Vanderbilt's campus. Definately check out the Eskind Medical Library. I believe it won an AIA national award a few years ago.
Check out the Strode Tower in downtown designed by SOM and the Nashville Public Library designed by Robert Stern.
Check out some of the cathedrals on West End, especially the Episcopalian Chrish Church (beautiful woodwork on the interior).
Go to Hillsboro Village and Belmont Blvd. Eat pancakes at the Pancake Pantry.
Check out the Arcade in downtown during lunch hour. It's in between 5th and 4th. It's filled with art galleries and eateries.
Frist Center is great. It has a pretty good permanent collection and usually great exhibitions. Currently, the exhibition is Modernism for America filled with the likes of Klee, Duchamp, Mondrian, Kandinsky.
If you can, take a day trip to Lynchburg, TN (about 1.5 hours away) and check out the Jack Daniel's Distillery.
Take a car and drive down Highway 100, eat at the Loveless Cafe, and take the Natchez Trace Parkway to Franklin, TN about 15 miles away. You'll drive over a gorgeous bridge (I posted a picture of it on the 'bicycles' thread a few months ago). Go to historic downtown Franklin. The small streets have great restaurants and boutique shops.
All the items I have listed above are available through public transportation (with the exception of the drive on the Natchez Trace Parkway and day trip to Lynchburg).
a few years ago, I spent 2 months working on the old state pen for a film few years back. On a small hill adjacent to the main prison is the excesses of the parthanon's construction - broken fluted stone jumbled into a strange post-modern ruin (or not a ruin since it never was a building).
Well, if you're travelin' in the north country fair,
Where the winds hit heavy on the borderline,
Remember me to one who lives there.
She once was a true love of mine.
Well, if you go when the snowflakes storm,
When the rivers freeze and summer ends,
Please see if she's wearing a coat so warm,
To keep her from the howlin' winds.
Please see for me if her hair hangs long,
If it rolls and flows all down her breast.
Please see for me if her hair hangs long,
That's the way I remember her best.
I'm a-wonderin' if she remembers me at all.
Many times I've often prayed
In the darkness of my night,
In the brightness of my day.
So if you're travelin' in the north country fair,
Where the winds hit heavy on the borderline,
Remember me to one who lives there.
She once was a true love of mine.
Wow, n_, thanks. That should cover our time there. We'll have our car (driving down from Indiana), so getting around is no problem (not sure about the hill next to the State Pen, though, treekiller). Actually, we're going for the country music (well, and the hockey, Predators are playing the Oilers). I can't remember a time in my life when I didn't want to go to the Grand Ole Opry. Thanks for the specific building suggestions, too, I wouldn't have known about SOM, Stern, etc.
Now I just need to find some place interesting to stay.
we were in nashville (amongst other places in the midwest) a couple of months ago - our first time in those parts of the country.
We found nashville beautiful, but it surely was the city that had the most rednecks. Almost everyone looked at us funny. Went into this touristy bar downtown, the waitress almost had her eyes pop out when we walked in. Bunch of racist assholes.
Going to Nashville - what to see or do?
Hey friends,
I'm going to Nashville for new employee orientation early next week. Any pointers on what to see in the city? We won't have personal transportation, so anything within walking distance of the city center or along transit lines would be preferred. Architecture sites, firms worth a visit, culture etc. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Aaron
your sister
visit the grand old opry for sure. its in the city. its fabulous, even if you don't like country music.
parthenon replica
on 2nd avenue, there are a lot of shops, restaurants, clubs, etc.
Hey Man. I am from Nashville. Depending on where you're staying will determine what all you can see.
If you are downtown, you can check out The Grand Ole Opry as mentioned.
The New Country Music Hall of Fame
Frist Center (Right next door is the Flying Saucer)
Belmont/Hillsboro Village area is great which is close to Music Row
The Parthenon replica is in Centinnial Park is on West End Ave. close to Vanderbilt, Belmont, and Hillsboro Village
2nd Ave is cool as mentioned. Also, the Riverfront is pretty cool as well.
Firms worth checking out would definitely be Tuck Hinton Architects. They were the designers of the New Country Music Hall of Fame among other projects they have completed throughout Nashville and the surrounding area.
Bauer Askew is another good firm and are located on 10 Ave S Suite 209. I am not sure if that is in the city center or not.
Anyhow, if you have any more questions about Nashville specifically, I am your man. Heck, I might be there this weekend because my Sister-in-Law is due!
visit where my ancestor died of typhus preserving the union...
eat a ton of the burgers from Krystal!! they're amazing
Best Burger in Nashville is actually at a restaurant called Rotiers which is right off of West End Ave close to Vanderbilt. I think it is Charlotte Ave right across from Logan's steakhouse. It is an unbelievable burger. Made on French Bread, and if you get a milkshake with it, it seals the deal.
The Vandyland Cafe is another good place to get a great milkshake. It is on West End Ave as well and has been there forever.
The Frist Museum is a beautiful restoration of the old post office downtown on Broadway, and has a great exhibit right now of Murano glass, featuring about 20 pieces by Carlo Scarpa. Good stuff. Next door is Union Station, which is also worth seeing, and hosts the aforementioned Flying Saucer.
thanks for the responses...much appreciated.
....
had a great time, loved the Frist. There were actually around 100 pieces by Carlo Scarpa, a couple more by his son, Tobia, and a wealth of other great examples of Murano glass, spanning the entire 20th century.
Other than that, not a ton of free time...but we did check out Hatch Show Print on Broadway...still using the old school printing press today, since 1879.
also, ran into a fellow archinect'er, marimbaOne. Nice to meet ya', sorry you missed us at the Flying Saucer...
thanks again for the responses, on this thread and via email.
Country Music Hall of Fame is a MUST even if you're not a fan.
and yes, the replica Parthenon is total kitch but still worth it.
You must check out Honky Tonk row. Every bar has a Honky Tonk band - every night - free. See at least one song from each. It rocks, and I don't like country. My favorite was the 1940's country band (well, the members were young - but authentic in appearance).
I am serious. Do this.
Also, Telegraph Road/Street(?) is good.
Ooops. Not Telegraph. Wrong city. Rather go to Printers Alley. Cool bars.
Jack's BBQ on Broad St. close to Legend's Corner.
walked by the CMHall/Museum at night, no time to check it out, and with the $15 cover, I wouldn't have anyhow...and we also strolled along the HonkyTonk Row...slow enough to hear the different bands at each bar, quick enough to not have to listen for too long...
yea AP - sorry I missed out - but you guys go to bed too early!!
you should check out deja vu on demonbreun street. it has 27 beautiful gurls and only 3 ugly ones.
AP, yeah I have to admit that some of those bands are awful. Especially the contemporary country. I just liked the old-timey stuff.
no excuses here...I admit, i felt like a punk callin' it quits so early...next time, or if you ever visit Jacksonville...
Any updates on this subject? I'll be in Nashville for five days in January--already on our schedule is a visit to the fake Parthenon, an evening at the Grand Ole Opry, and a Predators game. Frist Center sounds like it will also be added...what else? And where should we stay? Preferably around $100/night, and some place interesting, but not frilly. Any ideas?
wave as you pass through louisville, snjr!
Oh Nashville...
I'll start throwing up my stream of consciousness for this thread.
Make sure you go to the original Grand Ole Opry, not just the new one. The original is called the Ryman Auditorium and it's right in the middle of downtown. While downtown, walk a block or two down to Hatch Show Print shop to see the block-printing and litho print techniques. If you do go to the new Grand Ole Opry, try to see if Opryland has it's Christmas lights still up in January. Yes, it's huge, wasteful, and kind of gawdy, but their Christmas decorations are pretty impressive. And it's interesting to see what a $13,000 a day light bill will get you.
Speaking of music downtown, check out the new $300 million Schermerhorn Symphony Center. I think there are architectural tours everyday around noon. Right beside the Schermerhorn, cross the pedestrian bridge over the river and check out the view of downtown and the new sculpture by Alice Aycock. Martha Ingram, one of the nation's richest ladies and few female billionaires, is a Nashvillian and quite involved with the art community in town. You can thank her for the new symphony hall. Her money was earned through our city's thriving publishing scene...
The publishing scene all started in Printer's Allley in dowtown which is worth a good night time visit for some drinks and fun. It's hey days of Bible printing are long gone but now you'll find a small assortment of local bars and restaurants.
Another music place worth visiting is the Country Music Hall of Fame. It's right besides the Schermerhorn and Arena where you'll be watching the Predators game. They have a great exhibit of Ray Charles going on right now. Try to go to 2nd Ave on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday night. It's packed with people drinking and trying to make it big in the music industry.
While country music isn't my thing or most people's thing, I highly recommend a house tour of the rich country stars and music execs. It's kind of interesting to see the houses of such famous Nashvillians such as Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman, Alan Jackson's frickin' CASTLE, Billly Ray Cyrus' log cabin, Ashley Judd's farmland, Sheryl Crow's abode, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill's older 1920s Georgian style home in Belled Meade. John Rich (of Big and Rich) house is currently under construction but it is an uber chic 45' high contemporary house built on Love Circle which overlooks downtown. The city's local preservationists freaked when they saw the scale and design of the house.
Speaking of preservationists freaking out, go to East Nashville right across the river. It's a nice little gentrified walkable neighborhood with trendy bars, restaurants, and cute Craftsman and Bungalows from the early 1910s. There is one of my favorite houses on the corner of Woodlawn and 12th. The house caused the longest Board of Planning and Zoning meeting in the history of Nashville. The neighbors were fighting the design until 4 in the morning with the architects. Architect won and the finished work now stands proudly on the corner. Walk across the street and go to Rumours Wine Bar and check out the great teak bar and grab a drink. If you're craving hot dogs, go across the street and walk up to the little VW bus turned hot dog stand for some of the best hot dogs you'll ever eat. Promise.
Go to Centennial Park to see the Parthenon. Also, try to visit the Warner Parks at the end of Belle Meade Blvd. It's one of the biggest parks in the nation within city limits. Also, make sure you see the Bicentennial Park beside the Farmer's Market right behind our state capital building. If you are interesting in seeing the capital, they have architectural tours daily as well. The architect is buried in the walls of the capital.
Eat food at the Farmer's Market. Also, try to catch the Nash Trash bus tours giving by the Jugg Sisters. They attempt to epitomize Southern Trash with their crude jokes and Nashville gossip. They give great tours of the city. Tickets usually always sell out so you may need to buy in advance.
Check out the Gulch (aka Little Dubai). It was formerly our warehouse district but it's now infested with cranes to accomodate the bajillion condos towers coming up. There is some decent music clubs and good-but-overpriced restaurants.
Check out Vanderbilt's campus. Definately check out the Eskind Medical Library. I believe it won an AIA national award a few years ago.
Check out the Strode Tower in downtown designed by SOM and the Nashville Public Library designed by Robert Stern.
Check out some of the cathedrals on West End, especially the Episcopalian Chrish Church (beautiful woodwork on the interior).
Go to Hillsboro Village and Belmont Blvd. Eat pancakes at the Pancake Pantry.
Check out the Arcade in downtown during lunch hour. It's in between 5th and 4th. It's filled with art galleries and eateries.
Frist Center is great. It has a pretty good permanent collection and usually great exhibitions. Currently, the exhibition is Modernism for America filled with the likes of Klee, Duchamp, Mondrian, Kandinsky.
If you can, take a day trip to Lynchburg, TN (about 1.5 hours away) and check out the Jack Daniel's Distillery.
Take a car and drive down Highway 100, eat at the Loveless Cafe, and take the Natchez Trace Parkway to Franklin, TN about 15 miles away. You'll drive over a gorgeous bridge (I posted a picture of it on the 'bicycles' thread a few months ago). Go to historic downtown Franklin. The small streets have great restaurants and boutique shops.
All the items I have listed above are available through public transportation (with the exception of the drive on the Natchez Trace Parkway and day trip to Lynchburg).
This is the longest post I have ever written.
a few years ago, I spent 2 months working on the old state pen for a film few years back. On a small hill adjacent to the main prison is the excesses of the parthanon's construction - broken fluted stone jumbled into a strange post-modern ruin (or not a ruin since it never was a building).
my great great great grandfather died there of typhus during the civil war.
Did you work on The Green Mile?
Was that in Nashville?
(hey n_, sorry I didnt make it to Andersonville ... no redline in the WickerP)
Yep, part of it was filmed in Nashville at the Tennessee State Penitentiary. My friend did some of the catering for it.
No worries about Andersonville. We ended up having a dance party on the streets with some of our friends. You would have approved.
Well, if you're travelin' in the north country fair,
Where the winds hit heavy on the borderline,
Remember me to one who lives there.
She once was a true love of mine.
Well, if you go when the snowflakes storm,
When the rivers freeze and summer ends,
Please see if she's wearing a coat so warm,
To keep her from the howlin' winds.
Please see for me if her hair hangs long,
If it rolls and flows all down her breast.
Please see for me if her hair hangs long,
That's the way I remember her best.
I'm a-wonderin' if she remembers me at all.
Many times I've often prayed
In the darkness of my night,
In the brightness of my day.
So if you're travelin' in the north country fair,
Where the winds hit heavy on the borderline,
Remember me to one who lives there.
She once was a true love of mine.
Wow, n_, thanks. That should cover our time there. We'll have our car (driving down from Indiana), so getting around is no problem (not sure about the hill next to the State Pen, though, treekiller). Actually, we're going for the country music (well, and the hockey, Predators are playing the Oilers). I can't remember a time in my life when I didn't want to go to the Grand Ole Opry. Thanks for the specific building suggestions, too, I wouldn't have known about SOM, Stern, etc.
Now I just need to find some place interesting to stay.
we were in nashville (amongst other places in the midwest) a couple of months ago - our first time in those parts of the country.
We found nashville beautiful, but it surely was the city that had the most rednecks. Almost everyone looked at us funny. Went into this touristy bar downtown, the waitress almost had her eyes pop out when we walked in. Bunch of racist assholes.
that's unfortunate sameolddoctor.
i grew up near nashville. i'm not white, but i can't recall ever feeling any overt racism.
really? i might have had my fly open and my schlong out. Oh wait, I checked and made sure that was not the case.
well, that really sucks sameolddoctor.
maybe i just wasn't paying enough attention.
on behalf of my sort of former hometown, sorry!
someone could go visit 870.......
......i'm lonely :(
people are just #$^holes in general....you just happened upon one of the many varieties of the of $%#hole.....
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