Nashville

Nashville, capital of the U.S state Tennessee, is a port of entry and an important commercial and industrial center. Nashville has a population of 569,891 (as of the 2000 census), making it the second largest city in Tennessee (after Memphis).

Nashville is famous for its music industry, the Country Music Capital of the World. It is a major recording center, especially for country music. It also has many publishing houses producing religious materials. Large insurance, finance, automotive, and health-care companies have their headquarters in Nashville.

Sometimes called the “Athens of the South,” Nashville has many buildings of classical design. Among its many institutions of higher education are Vanderbilt Univ., Fisk Univ., Tennessee State Univ., American Baptist College, Meharry Medical College, Lipscomb Univ., and Belmont Univ. The Predators (hockey) and Tennessee Titans (football) are the city's professional sports teams.

Nashville is an exciting city. Recognized as one of the 15 best U.S. cities for work and family by Fortune Magazine.

Nashville was named after Revolutionary War hero General Francis Nash (1742-1777). The city was founded in 1779 by a group of pioneers under James Robertson. Fort Nashborough was built on the banks of the river, and the next year 60 families arrived to settle the area. The settlement developed early as a cotton center and river port and later as a railroad hub. It became the capitol of Tennessee in 1843 and, because of its strategic position on the Cumberland River, was hotly contested during the Civil War. Occupied by Union troops in 1862, the city was the scene of the climactic Battle of Nashville - the last great offensive action of the Confederate Army (December 1864).

Nashville's reputation as Music City USA began in the 1920s, when WSM radio launched the WSM Barn Dance (later known as the Grand Ole Opry).

As the home of country music, Nashville has become a major music recording and production center. All of the big four record labels, hace offices in Nashville. Since the 1960s Nashville has been the second biggest music production center, after New York, in the U.S.

Although the city is renowned as a music recording center and tourist destination, its largest industry is health care. Nashville is home to more than 250 health care companies, including the largest private operator of hospitals in the world, Hospital Corporation of America.

Other major industries include, finance, insurance and publishing. Nashville also has a growing film industry. Several major motion pictures have been filmed here. The automotive industry is also becoming very important in Nashville. Nissan North America moved its corporate headquarters to Nashville.

Grand Ole Olry
America’s longest continuously running show. It has been broadcasting since 1925 from various venues. It is the world’s largest broadcast studio, which seats an audience of 4,424.

Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is the place to go if you love country music. This museum highlights the history of country music from its birthplace in the Music City.

The Parthenon
The only full size replica of the Parthenon in the world.

Belle Meade Plantation
The Belle Meade Plantation is 5,400 acres. With a history dating back to 1805, this is an interesting perspective on the history of the Southern States.

Ryman Auditorium
One of the most famous concert halls in the history of country music.

State Capitol
The State Capitol is a wonderful historic building you’ll want to see while visiting Nashville. Said to be the most majestic of all public buildings in America.

Cheekwood Botanical gardens and Museum of Art
Within its 55 acres, Cheekwood is a complex institution rich with history, beautiful gardens and fine art. The Botanical Garden showcases fine horticultural collections, acclaimed for their diversity and quality. The Museum of Art presents American and European art and is recognized as a center for contemporary art in the Southeast.

Tootsie´s Orchid Lounge
Famous bar where performers have taken the stage since de 60s in hope of being discovered.

The Frist Center
The Frist Center opened in April 2001, and since that time has hosted a spectacular array of art from the region, the country and around the world.

Grand Ole Opry Museum
This museum features exhibits on some of Tennessee´s Stars.

Bluebird Café
Many stars have started their careers here.

If You Have 1 Day
Start the day at new Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. From here, walk few blocks to tour the Ryman Auditorium, which for more than 30 years was the home of the Grand Ole Opry. You can also stop in at Tootsie's Orchid Lounge, and hear live country music. You can stop also by the Wildhorse Saloon, Nashville's most famous country dance hall. In the evening, check to see which singer-songwriters will be performing at the famous Bluebird Café.

If You Have 2 Days
View the exhibitions and explore the interactive arts education programs at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts. From here, visit the historic campus of Fisk University, where you can see masterpieces by Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec, Picasso,and Georgia O'Keeffe at the Van Vechten Art Gallery.

From here, head out to the Music Valley area and walk the tropical gardens of the Opryland Hotel. If it's a Friday or Saturday, finish your day by watching a performance of the Grand Ole Opry.

If You Have 3 Days
You can learn more about Nashville history. Start out at the Hermitage, the former home of President Andrew Jackson. Then, head into the city to the Parthenon, then take a tour of Belmont Mansion, Cheekwood Botanical Gardens and Museum, or Belle Meade Plantation.

If You Have 4 Days or More
Head south to Franklin, a charmingly restored small town full of antiques malls and historic homes. You could also spend the day visiting Lynchburg, Tennessee, home of the Jack Daniel's Distillery.

The District
The District, encompassing several streets of restored downtown warehouses old buildings, is ground zero for the Nashville nightlife scene.Today, most of the old warehouses have been renovated and now house a variety of restaurants, nightclubs, and souvenir shops. Anchoring Second Avenue at the corner of Broadway few doors up the street is the Wildhorse Saloon, a massive country music dance hall. Along Broadway between the Cumberland River and Fifth Avenue, you'll find several of country music's most important sites, including the Ryman Auditorium, Tootsie's Orchid Lounge, Gruhn Guitars, and the Ernest Tubb Record Shop. Along this stretch of Broadway, you'll also find Robert's Western World, the entrance to the Gaylord Entertainment Center, and the Nashville Convention.

Music Row
Located along 16th and 17th Avenues between Demonbreun Street and Grand Avenue, Music Row is the very heart of the country music recording industry and is home to dozens of recording studios and record-company offices. This is one of the best areas in town for spotting country music stars.

12th South
It is a funky little neighborhood known as 12th Avenue South. Twenty somethings have been buying and refurbishing the area bungalows. Is also home to some of Nashville's hippest new restaurants and boutiques.

CMA Music Festival
Music Festival/Fan Fair delivers the full range of concert experiences with equal parts nighttime fireworks and daytime sizzle. While the evening concerts at LP Field provide great excitement, the Daytime Stages offer a more intimate setting for daylong, non-stop 4 day music.

Tennessee State Fair
Each year the Tennessee State Fair features great educational and entertaining exhibits, livestock, agricultural, and creative arts competitions for blue ribbon, some of the best midway rides in the country, racing pigs, mule pulling, cow milking, sorghum making, grilling and cooking competitions.

Nashville Film Festival
Founded in 1969 as the Sinking Creek Film Celebration and one of the longest-running film festivals in the country. The festival has enojoyed a double-digit growth in the past six years with nearly 15,000 people attending, it is rapidly becoming the best-known arts event in Tennessee.

Some of the most notable people born in Nashville include:

Madison Smartt Bell; novelist

Julian Bond; civil rights activist

Young Buck; harper

Rita Coolidge; singer

Bill Frist; U.S Senate Majority Leader

Red Grooms; artist

Bettie Page; pin-ip model

Annie Pots; actress

William Walker; soldier of fortune

People who have resided in Nashville:

Musicians: Johnny Cash, Faith Hill, Shania Twain, Tammy Wynette, Chet Atkins, Amy Grant, Jimi Hendrix, Alan Jackson, Hank Williams, Loretta Lynn, Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, Roy Orbison, Ernest Tubb and Aaron Neville.

Other Notable People:

Al Gore; former U.S Vice President

Andrew Jackson, James K.Polk; fomer U.S Presidents

James Lawson; civil rights leader

Robert Penn Warren; Pulitzer proze-winning novelist and poet

Oprah Winfrey; talk show host and entrepeneur

Reese Witherspoon; Academy Award- winning catres

Dave Ramsey; financial talk show host

Mayor: Bill Purcell (to Oct. 2007)
2000 census population (rank) : 545,524 ; Male: 264,095 (48.4%); Female: 281,429 (51.6%); White: 359,581 (65.9%); Black: 146,235 (26.8%); American Indian and Alaska Native: 1,639 (0.3%); Asian: 12,992 (2.4%); Other race: 13,677 (2.5%); Two or more races: 11,000 (2.0%); Hispanic/Latino: 25,774 (4.7%). 2000 percent population 18 and over: 77.9%; 65 and over: 11.0%; Median age: 33.9.
2004 population estimate (rank) : 546,719
Land area: 502 sq mi.
Altitude: Highest, 1,100 ft.; lowest, approx. 400 ft.