This area is a trailhead for horseback riders and hikers. It’s one of the nicest stopping places along the Natchez Trace Parkway. During the summer months, there are people using the picnic tables under the canopy and hanging out in the lawn surrounding it. You’ll see lots of horseback riders passing through on the horse trails behind the comfort station.

The Natchez Trace Parkway Bridge is the nation’s first segmentally constructed concrete arch bridge. Spanning 502 m (1,648 feet), the double arch structure offers motorists a view from 47m (155 feet) above the valley floor and is one of the final links in the Natchez Trace Parkway project. The bridge’s arches are designed to support the deck without evenly spaced spandrel columns, resulting in a picturesque appearance.

Edwin and Percy Warner Parks, collectively known as “The Warner Parks,” are managed by the Metropolitan Board of Parks and Recreation of Nashville and Davidson County. The Warner Parks are the largest municipally administered parks in Tennessee and together span 2684 acres of forest and field, 9 miles from downtown Nashville.

Over 500,000 people visit the Parks annually to utilize picnic areas, scenic roadways and overlooks, hiking trails, equestrian center and horse trails, cross country running courses, golf courses, athletic fields, and other areas of the park. Warner Parks is also an important historical community resource listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Centennial Park is Nashville’s premier park. Located on West End and 25th Avenue North, the 132-acre features: the iconic Parthenon, a one-mile walking trail, Lake Watauga, the Centennial Art Center, historical monuments, an arts activity center, a beautiful sunken garden, a band shell, an events shelter, sand volleyball courts, two dog parks, and an exercise trail. Thousands of people visit the park each year to visit the museum, see exhibits, attend festivals, and just enjoy the beauty of the park.

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 original Parthenon in Athens 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 the city of 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.

The Parthenon is open year round Tuesday – Saturday, 9:00 – 4:30. Additional hours during June, July & August: Sundays, 12:30 – 4:30 p.m. The Parthenon is closed on Mondays year round. Admission: Members free; Adults – $6.00; Children 4-17 – $4.00 (under 4 free); Seniors 62+ – $4.00 All credit and debit card transactions carry a 2.65% convenience fee. Phone number 615-862-8431.

Explore Nashville’s Civil War History at Fort Negley.

Come into the Visitors Center and learn how the Union Army captured Nashville in 1862 as you watch the film The Fall of Nashville. The river, turnpikes, and railroads had spurred the growth of the city from its beginnings. The Union Army occupied the city to control these transportation routes. Almost overnight, Nashville was transformed into the Union Army’s major supply depot for the Western Theater of the war.

Learn the story of the 2,768 people who built Negley. It was the largest of a group of forts built by the Union, and the largest inland masonry fort built during the Civil War. It was 600 feet long, 300 feet wide, and covered four acres of land. The workers lived in a contraband camp on the northeast side of the worksite, and were both free blacks and slaves who had been conscripted by the Union to serve as laborers. Between 600 and 800 died during the construction, and only 310 ever received pay.

See photos of Nashville during the Occupation and learn about the Fort’s architecture and artillery with interactive displays. A kiosk in the lobby provides a link to the National Park Service’s Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System where you can search for your Civil War ancestors.

Walk up the hill to the remains of Fort Negley. Enter through the sally port used by Union troops, gaze to the south from the observation deck, and imagine the lives of the men who worked and fought here and the citizens of Nashville whose lives would never be the same.

1100 Fort Negley Blvd
Nashville, TN 37203

Tuesday – Friday, Noon – 4 p.m.
Saturday, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
and by appointment

Closed Sunday and Monday

Fort Negley Park
Open daily dawn to dusk for self-guided walking tours

Opened in 1822, the City Cemetery is the oldest continuously operated public cemetery in Nashville.

A walk through the cemetery is truly a walk through Nashville’s history. The gravestones tell the stories of individuals and families from the 1820s to the present day.

In response to the disrepair, vandalism, and neglect over many decades, former Mayor Bill Purcell and the Metro Council approved the Mayor’s Capital Budget request for a $3M project to restore the City Cemetery. The Restoration, including conserved tombstones and monuments as well as new street signs, lighting, paved walkways & roadways and interpretive signage will be completed in the fall of 2009. Many exciting and noticeable improvements are in progress. You can join the Nashville City Cemetery Association in continuing to help to preserve this fragile historic site by becoming a member, attending our tours and events, volunteering, and/or making donations. We are always interested in hearing from descendants of those buried there.

Nashville City Cemetery is located at 1001 Fourth Avenue South, at the corner of Fourth Avenue South and Oak Street.  Click here for map.

Nashville City Cemetery, under the supervision of the Metro Historical Commission, is open daily.

New interpretive signage and new tour brochures are now on-site.

http://www.thenashvillecitycemetery.org/

Two Rivers, one of the earliest and best preserved of the early Italianate houses in Middle Tennessee, was part of an 1100-acre plantation located on fertile, rolling land between the Stones and Cumberland Rivers.  The junction of the two rivers suggested the name given to the place by an early owner, William Harding.

The mansion, built by David McGavock in 1859, was inhabited by the McGavock family for three generations until 1965.  The property was purchased by the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County in 1966. The fourteen-acre tract, which includes the mansion and a small brick house built in 1802, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Today, the mansion is a popular venue for weddings and receptions. There are currently no public operating hours for the mansion, but the main house, gazebo and surrounding grounds can be rented for private functions. Reservation and availability inquiries can be made by telephone. Prospective renters may view the interior of the mansion by appointment.

On January 1, 1780, Nashville was founded when James Robertson led his group of pioneers across the frozen Cumberland river to a place called The Cedar Bluffs. It was here that these men built a fort called Nashborough which would be shelter for the first families until Indian attacks ended in 1792.

HOURS: Self-guided tours daily from 9:00am to 4:00pm.

ADMISSION: FREE

LOCATION: Riverfront Park, downtown Nashville.