Nashville
is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is the second most populous city in the state after Memphis. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a major hub for the health care, music, publishing, banking and transportation industries.
Nashville has a consolidated city-county government which includes seven smaller municipalities in a two-tier system. The population of Nashville-Davidson County
stood at 626,144 as of 2008, according to United States Census Bureau estimates. The 2008 population of the entire 13-county Nashville Metropolitan Statistical Area was 1,550,733, making it the largest metropolitan area in the state. The 2008 population of the Nashville-Davidson—Murfreesboro—Columbia combined statistical area was estimated at 1,632,671.
|
NASHVILLE TICKETS
|
History
Nashville was founded by
James Robertson,
John Donelson, and a party of
Wataugans in 1779, and was originally called
Fort Nashborough, after the
American Revolutionary War hero
Francis Nash. Nashville quickly grew because of its prime location, accessibility as a river
port, and its later status as a major
railroad center. In 1806, Nashville was
incorporated as a city and became the
county seat of Davidson County, Tennessee. In 1843, the city was named the permanent
capital of the state of Tennessee.
By 1860, when the first
rumblings of secession began to be heard across the
South,
antebellum Nashville was a very prosperous city. The city's significance as a shipping port made it a desirable prize as a means of controlling important river and railroad transportation routes. In February 1862, Nashville became the first state capital to fall to Union troops.
Though the Civil War left Nashville in dire economic straits, the city quickly rebounded. Within a few years, the city had reclaimed its important shipping and trading position and also developed a solid
manufacturing base. The post-Civil War years of the late 19th century brought a newfound prosperity to Nashville. These healthy economic times left the city with a legacy of grand classical-style buildings, which can still be seen around the downtown area.
It was the advent of the
Grand Ole Opry in 1925, combined with an already thriving publishing industry, that positioned it to become "Music City USA"., and in the early 1960s the city was home to the main activity of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement (see
History of Nashville, Tennessee). In 1963, Nashville consolidated its government with Davidson County and thus became the first major city in the United States to form a
metropolitan government. Since the 1970s, the city has experienced tremendous growth, particularly during the
economic boom of the 1990s under the leadership of Mayor (now-
Tennessee Governor)
Phil Bredesen, who made urban renewal a priority, and fostered the construction or renovation of several city landmarks, including the
Country Music Hall of Fame, the
Nashville Public Library downtown, the Sommet Center, and LP Field.
The
Sommet Center (formerly Nashville Arena and Gaylord Entertainment Center) was built as both a large concert facility and as an enticement to lure either a
National Basketball Association or
National Hockey League (NHL) sports franchise. This was accomplished in 1997 when Nashville was awarded an NHL expansion team which was subsequently named the
Nashville Predators.
LP Field (formerly Adelphia Coliseum) was built after the
National Football League's (NFL)
Houston Oilers agreed to move to the city in 1995. The NFL debuted in Nashville in 1998 at
Vanderbilt Stadium, and LP Field opened in the summer of 1999. The Oilers changed their name to the
Tennessee Titans and saw a season culminate in the
Music City Miracle and a close
Super Bowl game.
Today the city along the
Cumberland River is a crossroads of American culture, and one of the fastest-growing areas of the
Upper South.
Geography
Topography
Nashville lies on the Cumberland River in the northwestern portion of the
Nashville Basin. Nashville's
topography ranges from 385 ft (117 m) above sea level at the Cumberland River to 1,160 feet (354 m) above sea level at its highest point.
[1]
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 526.1 square miles (1,362.6 km²), of which, 502.3 square miles (1,300.8 km²) of it is land and 23.9 square miles (61.8 km²) of it (4.53%) is water.
Climate
Nashville has a
humid subtropical climate with hot, humid summers and cool winters. Average annual rainfall is 48.1 inches (1222 mm), typically with winter and spring being the wettest and autumn being the driest. In the winter months, snowfall is not uncommon in Nashville but is usually not heavy. Average annual snowfall is about 9 inches (229 mm), falling mostly in January and February and occasionally March and December.
[2] Spring and fall are generally pleasantly warm but prone to
severe thunderstorms, which occasionally bring
tornadoes — with recent major events on
April 16, 1998,
April 7, 2006, and
February 5, 2008. Relative humidity in Nashville averages 83% in the mornings and 60% in the afternoons,
[3] which is considered moderate for the
Southeastern United States.
[4]
The coldest temperature ever recorded in Nashville was -17 °F (-27 °C), on January 21, 1985, and the highest was 107 °F (42 °C), on July 28, 1952.
[5] The largest one-day snow total was 17 inches (432 mm) on March 17, 1892. The largest snow event in the recent memory was on January 16, 2003, when Nashville received 7 inches (178 mm) of snow in a single storm.
[6]
Nashville's long springs and autumns combined with a diverse array of trees and grasses can often make it uncomfortable for
allergy sufferers.
[7] In 2008, Nashville was ranked as the 18th-worst spring allergy city in the U.S. by the
Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.
[8]
Cityscape
thumb
The downtown area of Nashville features a diverse assortment of entertainment, dining, cultural and architectural attractions. The Broadway and 2nd Avenue areas feature entertainment venues, night clubs and an assortment of restaurants. North of Broadway lies Nashville's
central business district, Legislative Plaza, Capitol Hill and the Tennessee Bicentennial Mall. Cultural and architectural attractions can be found throughout the city.
The downtown area of Nashville is easily accessible. Three major interstate highways (I-40, I-65 and I-24) converge near the core area of downtown, and many regional cities are within a day's driving distance.
Nashville's first skyscraper, the
Life & Casualty Tower, was completed in 1957 and started the construction of high rises in downtown Nashville. After the construction of the
AT&T Building in 1994, the downtown area saw little construction until the mid-2000s. Many new residential developments have been constructed or are planned for the various neighborhoods of downtown and midtown. A new high rise office building,
The Pinnacle, is also currently under construction.
Many civic and infrastructure projects are either being planned, in progress, or recently completed. A new MTA bus hub was recently completed in downtown Nashville, as was the
Music City Star pilot project. Several public parks have been constructed, such as the Public Square. Riverfront Park is scheduled to be extensively updated. The
Music City Center, a convention center project, has been proposed for the downtown area.
Parks and gardens
Metro Board of Parks and Recreation owns and manages 10,200 acres (4,120 ha) of land and 99 parks and greenways (comprising more than 3% of the total area of the county).
2,684 acres (1,086 ha) of land is home to Warner Parks, which houses a 5,000 square-foot (460 m²) learning center, 20 miles (30 km) of scenic roads, 12 miles (19 km) of hiking trails, and 10 miles (16 km) of horse trails. It is also the home of the annual
Iroquois Steeplechase.
The
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers maintains parks on
Old Hickory Lake and
Percy Priest Lake. These parks are used for multiple activities including
fishing,
water-skiing,
sailing and
boating. Percy Priest Lake is also home to the
Vanderbilt Sailing Club.
Metropolitan area
Nashville has the largest
metropolitan area in the state of Tennessee, spanning several counties. The Nashville Metropolitan Statistical Area encompasses the
Middle Tennessee counties of
Cannon,
Cheatham,
Davidson,
Dickson,
Hickman,
Macon,
Robertson,
Rutherford,
Smith,
Sumner,
Trousdale,
Williamson, and
Wilson.
[10]
Culture
Much of the city's cultural life has revolved around its large university community. Particularly significant in this respect were two groups of critics and writers who were associated with Vanderbilt University in the early twentieth century: the
Fugitives and the
Agrarians.
Popular destinations include
Fort Nashborough and
Fort Negley, the former being a reconstruction of the original settlement, the latter being a semi-restored Civil War battle fort; the
Tennessee State Museum; and
The Parthenon, a full-scale replica of the original
Parthenon in
Athens. The State Capitol is one of the oldest working state capitol buildings in the nation, while
The Hermitage is one of the older presidential homes open to the public.
Entertainment and performing arts
The
Tennessee Performing Arts Center is the major performing arts center of the city. It is the home of the Tennessee Repertory Theatre,
Nashville Children's Theatre, the
Nashville Opera, and
Nashville Ballet. In September 2006, the
Schermerhorn Symphony Center opened as the home of the
Nashville Symphony Orchestra. Nashville facilitates a variety of music genres and entertainment.
As the city's name itself is a
metonym for the country music industry, many popular tourist sites involve
country music, including the
Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum,
Belcourt Theatre and
Ryman Auditorium. Ryman was home to the
Grand Ole Opry
until 1974 when the show moved to the Grand Ole Opry House nine miles east of downtown. The
Opry
plays there several times a week, except for an annual winter run at Ryman.
Each year, the
CMA Music Festival (formerly known as Fan Fair) brings thousands of country fans to the city.
Nashville was once home of television shows like
Hee Haw
and
Pop! Goes the Country
, and to the
Opryland USA theme park, which operated from 1972 to 1997 before being closed by its owners
Gaylord Entertainment, and soon after demolished to make room for the
Opry Mills mega-
shopping mall.
Lower Broadway and
Printer's Alley are home to many
honky tonk bars and clubs.
The
Christian pop and rock music industry is based along Nashville's
Music Row, with a great influence in neighboring
Williamson County. The Christian record companies include
EMI (formally
Sparrow Records),
Rocketown Records,
Gotee Records,
Beach Street and
Reunion Records.
Although Nashville was never known as a jazz town, it did have many great jazz bands including The Nashville Jazz Machine led by Dave Converse and its current version, the Nashville Jazz Orchestra, led by Jim Williamson, as well as The Establishment, led by Billy Adair. The Francis Craig Orchestra entertained Nashvillians from 1929 to 1945 from the Oak Bar and Grille Room in the Hermitage Hotel. Craig's orchestra was also the first to broadcast over local radio station WSM-AM and enjoyed phenomenal success with a 12-year show on the
NBC Radio Network. In the late 1930s, he introduced a newcomer,
Dinah Shore, a former cheerleader and local graduate of Hume Fogg High School and Vanderbilt University.
Radio station
WMOT-FM in nearby
Murfreesboro has aided significantly in the recent revival of the city's jazz scene, as has the non-profit , which holds concerts and classes in a renovated building in the north Nashville neighborhood of Germantown.
Fisk University also maintains a jazz station.
Tourism
Civil War history is important to the city's tourism industry. Sites pertaining to the
Battle of Nashville and the nearby
Battle of Franklin and
Battle of Stones River can be seen, along with several well-preserved antebellum plantation houses such as Belle Meade Plantation, Carnton plantation in Franklin and Belmont Mansion.
Nashville has several arts centers and museums, including the
Frist Center for the Visual Arts, located in the former
post office building;
Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art; the
Tennessee State Museum; Fisk University's Van Vechten and Aaron Douglas Galleries; Vanderbilt University's Fine Art Gallery and Sarratt Gallery; and the Parthenon. The
Nashville Zoo is one of the city's newer attractions.
Event
| Month Held and Location
|
Gospel Music Association Dove Awards
| Held each April at various locations including the Grand Ole Opry or the Ryman Auditorium. Leading up to the awards is GMA week where radio stations interview and fans get autographs.
|
Nashville Film Festival
| Takes place each year for a week in April. It features hundreds of independent films and is one of the biggest film festivals in the Southern United States.
|
Country Music Marathon
| Half Marathon which normally includes over 25,000 runners from around the world in April.
|
CMA Music Festival
| The is a four day event in June featuring performances by country music stars, autograph signings, artist/fan interaction, and other activities for country music fans.
|
Fourth of July
| Celebration which takes place each year at Riverfront Park.
|
Tomato Art Festival
| Takes place in East Nashville every August.
|
Australian Festival
| Celebrates the cultural and business links between the U.S. and Australia.
|
Tennessee State Fair
| In September, Nashville hosts the at the State Fairgrounds. The State Fair lasts nine days and includes rides, exhibits, rodeos, tractor pulls, and numerous other shows and attractions.
|
African Street Festival
| Takes place on the campus of Tennessee State University in September.
|
Country Music Association Awards
| Usually held in November, typically at the Grand Ole Opry (with recent exceptions), and televised nationally to millions of viewers.
|
Sports
thumb
Nashville has several professional
sports teams, most notably the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League and the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League. Several other pro sports teams also call Nashville home, as does the
NCAA college football Music City Bowl. The Vanderbilt Commodores are members of the
Southeastern Conference. The football team of
Tennessee State University plays its home games at LP Field.
Club
| Sport
| League
| Venue
|
Tennessee Titans
| Football
| National Football League
| LP Field
|
Nashville Predators
| Hockey
| National Hockey League
| Sommet Center
|
Nashville Sounds
| Baseball
| Minor League Baseball: Pacific Coast League
| Herschel Greer Stadium
|
Music City Stars
| Basketball
| American Basketball Association
| Nashville Municipal Auditorium
|
Nashville Metros
| Soccer
| Premier Development League
| Ezell Park
|
Nashville Storm
| Football
| North American Football League
| Buster Boguskie Stadium
|
Sports venues in Nashville are:
- LP Field
- Sommet Center
- Nashville Municipal Auditorium
- Herschel Greer Stadium
- Ezell Park
- Vanderbilt Stadium at Dudley Field at Vanderbilt University
- Memorial Gymnasium at Vanderbilt University
- Hawkins Field at Vanderbilt University
- Curb Event Center at Belmont University
- Gentry Center at Tennessee State University
- Allen Arena at Lipscomb University
- Music City Motorplex at state fairgrounds
Media
thumb
The primary daily newspaper in Nashville is
The Tennessean
, which, until 1998, competed fiercely with another daily, the
Nashville Banner
(although the two were housed in the same building under a joint-operating agreement). Although
The Tennessean
now enjoys a relative monopoly on the local newspaper market, a smaller free daily called
The City Paper
has cut into
The Tennessean's
market share somewhat. Online news service
NashvillePost.com
competes with the printed dailies to break news of business and local/state politics. Several weekly papers are also published in Nashville, including the
Nashville Scene
,
Nashville Business Journal
, and
The Tennessee Tribune
. Historically,
The Tennessean
was associated with a broadly liberal editorial policy, while
The Banner
carried staunchly conservative views in its editorial pages;
The Banner's
heritage is carried on these days by
The City Paper.
The Scene
is the area's
alternative weekly broadsheet, while
The Tribune
serves Nashville's African-American population.
Nashville is home to nearly a dozen broadcast television stations, although most households are served by direct
cable network connections.
Comcast Cable has a monopoly on terrestrial cable service in Davidson County (but not throughout the entire
DMA). Nashville is ranked as the 30th largest television market in the United States.
Nashville is also home to cable networks
Country Music Television (CMT),
Great American Country (GAC), and
RFD-TV, among others. CMT's
Master Control facilities are located in
New York City with the other
Viacom properties. The Top 20 Countdown and CMT Insider are taped in their Nashville studios. Nashville is also the home and namesake of the
NBC country music singing competition
Nashville Star
, which broadcasts from the
Opryland complex.
Shop at Home Network was once based in Nashville, but the channel signed off in 2006.
Several dozen
FM and
AM radio stations broadcast in the Nashville area, including five
college stations and one
LPFM community station. Nashville is ranked as the 44th largest radio market in the United States. Nashville is home to WSM which originally stood for "We Shield Millions".
WSM-FM is owned by Cumulus Media and is 95.5 FM the Wolf.
WSM-AM, owned by Gaylord Entertainment Company, can be heard nationally on 650 AM or online at from its studios located inside the
Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center.
WLAC is a
Clear Channel-owned talk station which was originally sponsored by the
Life and Casualty Insurance Company of Tennessee, and its competitor
WWTN is owned by
Cumulus.
Nashville has a small but growing film industry. Several major motion pictures have been filmed in Nashville, including
The Green Mile
,
The Last Castle
,
Gummo
,
The Thing Called Love
,
Coal Miner's Daughter
, and
Robert Altman's
Nashville
.
[11]
Economy
As the "home of country music", Nashville has become a major music recording and production center. All of the
Big Four record labels, as well as numerous independent labels, have offices in Nashville, mostly in the
Music Row area.
[12] Since the 1960s, Nashville has been the second biggest music production center (after
New York) in the U.S.
[13] As of 2006, Nashville's music industry is estimated to have a total economic impact of $6.4 billion per year and to contribute 19,000 jobs to the Nashville area.
[14]
Although Nashville is renowned as a music recording center and tourist destination, its largest
industry is actually health care. Nashville is home to more than 250 health care companies, including
Hospital Corporation of America, the largest private operator of hospitals in the world. As of 2006, it is estimated that the health care industry contributes $18.3 billion per year and 94,000 jobs to the Nashville-area economy.
[15] The automotive industry is also becoming increasingly important for the entire Middle Tennessee region.
Nissan North America moved its corporate headquarters in 2006 from
Gardena, California (
Los Angeles County) to
Franklin. Nissan also has its largest North American manufacturing plant in
Smyrna, Tennessee. Largely as a result of the increased development of Nissan and other Japanese economic interests in the region, Japan moved its
New Orleans Consulate-general to Nashville's
Palmer Plaza.
Other major industries in Nashville include
insurance,
finance, and
publishing (especially
religious publishing). The city hosts headquarters operations for several
Protestant denominations, including the
United Methodist Church,
Southern Baptist Convention,
National Baptist Convention, USA, and the National Association of Free Will Baptists.
Fortune 500 companies within Nashville include
Dell,
[16] HCA Inc. (formerly, Hospital Corporation of America) and
Dollar General Corporation (in
Goodlettsville).
Demographics
Historical populations
|
Census
| Pop.
|
| %±
|
1830
| | | |
1840
| | | {{Val |
1850
| | | {{Val |
1860
| | | {{Val |
1870
| | | {{Val |
1880
| | | {{Val |
1890
| | | {{Val |
1900
| | | {{Val |
1910
| | | {{Val |
1920
| | | {{Val |
1930
| | | {{Val |
1940
| | | {{Val |
1950
| | | {{Val |
1960
| | | {{Val |
1970
| | | {{Val |
1980
| | | {{Val |
1990
| | | {{Val |
2000
| | | {{Val |
As of the 2005-2007
American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau,
White Americans made up 64.8% of Nashville's population; of which 60.2% were non-Hispanic
whites.
Blacks or
African Americans made up 28.3% of Nashville's population; of which 28.1% were non-Hispanic blacks.
American Indians made up 0.3% of the city's population.
Asian Americans made up 3.1% of the city's population.
Pacific Islander Americans made up less than 0.1% of the city's population. Individuals from some other race made up 2.4% of the city's population; of which 0.1% were non-Hispanic. Individuals from
two or more races made up 0.9% of the city's population; of which 0.8% were non-Hispanic. In addition,
Hispanics and Latinos made up 7.3% of Nashville's population.
[18] [19]
The data below is for all of Metropolitan Nashville-Davidson County, including other incorporated cities within the
consolidated city-county (such as
Belle Meade and
Berry Hill). See
Nashville-Davidson (balance) for demographic data on Nashville-Davidson County excluding separately incorporated cities.
As of the
census of 2000, there were 569,891 people, 237,405 households, and 138,169 families residing in the city. The
population density was 1,134.6 people per square mile (438.1/km²). There were 252,977 housing units at an average density of 503.7/sq mi (194.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 66.99%
White, 25.92%
African American, 0.29%
Native American, 2.33%
Asian, 0.07%
Pacific Islander, 2.42% from
other races and 1.97% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 4.58% of the population. Metropolitan Nashville-Davidson County's estimated population for 2007 is 626,144 people.
There were 237,405 households out of which 26.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.9% were
married couples living together, 14.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.8% were non-families. 33.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.96.
In the city the population was spread out with 22.2% under the age of 18, 11.6% from 18 to 24, 34.0% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 11.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 93.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $39,797, and the median income for a family was $49,317. Males had a median income of $33,844 versus $27,770 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $23,069. About 10.0% of families and 13.0% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 19.1% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.
Because of its relatively low cost of living and large job market, Nashville has become a popular city for
immigrants.
[20] Nashville’s foreign-born population more than tripled in size between 1990 and 2000, increasing from 12,662 to 39,596. Large groups of
Mexicans,
Kurds,
[21] Vietnamese,
Laotians,
Cambodians,
Arabs, and
Bantus call Nashville home, among other groups.
[22] Nashville has the largest
Kurdish community in the United States, numbering approximately 11,000.
[23] About 60,000
Bhutanese refugees are being admitted to the U.S. and some of them will resettle in Nashville.
[24] During the
Iraqi election of 2005, Nashville was one of the few international locations where Iraqi expatriates could vote.
[25] The
American Jewish community in Nashville dates back over 150 years ago,
[26] and numbers about 6,500 (2001).
Law and government
The City of Nashville and Davidson County merged in 1963 as a way for Nashville to combat the problems of
urban sprawl. The combined entity is officially known as "the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County", and is popularly known as "Metro Nashville" or simply "Metro". It offers services such as
police,
fire,
electricity,
water and sewage treatment. When the Metro government was formed in 1963, the government was split into two service districts—the "urban services district" and the "general services district." The urban services district encompasses the 1963 boundaries of the former City of Nashville, and the general services district includes the remainder of Davidson County. There are seven smaller municipalities within the consolidated city-county:
Belle Meade,
Berry Hill,
Forest Hills,
Lakewood,
Oak Hill,
Goodlettsville (partially), and
Ridgetop (partially). These municipalities use a two-tier system of government, with the smaller municipality typically providing police services and the Metro Nashville government providing most other services.
Nashville is governed by a mayor, vice-mayor, and 40-member Metropolitan Council. It uses the strong-mayor form of the
mayor-council system.
[27] The current mayor of Nashville is
Karl Dean. The Metropolitan Council is the legislative body of government for Nashville and Davidson County. There are 5 council members who are elected at large and 35 council members that represent individual districts. The Metro Council has regular meetings that are presided over by the vice-mayor, who is currently
Diane Neighbors. The Metro Council meets on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 6:00 p.m., according to the Metropolitan Charter.
Nashville has been a
Democratic stronghold since at least the end of Reconstruction. While local elections are officially nonpartisan, nearly all of the city's elected officials are known to be Democrats. At the state level, Democrats hold all but one of the city's state house districts and all but one of the city's state senate districts.
Democrats are no less dominant at the federal level. Since Reconstruction, the Democratic presidential candidate has failed to carry Nashville/Davidson County only twice. In 1968,
George Wallace carried Nashville by a large enough margin that nearly enabled him to carry Tennessee. In 1972,
Richard Nixon became the only
Republican presidential candidate to carry Nashville. Since then, the Democrats have carried the city at the presidential level with relatively little difficulty. In the 2000 presidential election,
Al Gore carried Nashville with over 59% of the vote even as he narrowly lost his home state. In the 2004 election,
John Kerry carried Nashville with 55% of the vote even as
George W. Bush won the state by 14 points. In 2008,
Barack Obama carried Nashville with 60 percent of the vote even as
John McCain won Tennessee by 15 points.
At the federal level, Nashville is split between two
congressional districts. Nearly all of the city is in the
5th District, currently represented by Democrat
Jim Cooper. A Republican has not represented a significant portion of Nashville since 1875. While Republicans made a few spirited challenges in the mid-1960s and early 1970s, they have not made a serious bid for the district since 1972, when the Republican candidate gained only 38% of the vote even as Nixon carried the district by a large margin. The district's best-known congressman was probably
Jo Byrns, who represented the district from 1909 to 1936 and was
Speaker of the House for much of
Franklin Roosevelt's first term. Another nationally prominent congressman from Nashville was
Percy Priest, who represented the district from 1941 to 1956 and was
House Majority Whip from 1949 to 1953. Former mayors
Richard Fulton and
Bill Boner also sat in the U.S. House before assuming the Metro mayoral office.
All of Nashville was located in one congressional district for most of the time from Reconstruction until the 2000 Census, when a small portion of southwestern Nashville was drawn into the heavily Republican
7th District. That district is currently represented by
Marsha Blackburn of neighboring Williamson County; Blackburn represented much of the Nashville share of the 7th in the state senate from 1998 to 2002.
Education
Public Schools
The city is served by the
Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools.
Private Schools
- Christ Presbyterian Academy
- David Lipscomb Campus School
- Brentwood Academy
- Davidson Academy
- Donelson Christian Academy
- Battle Ground Academy
- Ensworth School
- Franklin Road Academy
- Father Ryan
- Harpeth Hall School
- Madison Academy
- Montgomery Bell Academy
- Nashville Christian School
- Pope John Paul II High School
- St. Cecilia Academy
- University School of Nashville
- Abintra Montessori School
Colleges and Universities
thumb
Nashville is often labeled the "Athens of the South" due to the many colleges and universities in the city and metropolitan area.
[28] The colleges and universities in Nashville include
American Baptist College,
Aquinas College,
The Art Institute of Tennessee — Nashville,
Belmont University,
Draughons Junior College,
Fisk University,
Free Will Baptist Bible College,
Gupton College,
International Academy of Design and Technology,
Lipscomb University,
Meharry Medical College,
Nashville School of Law,
Nashville Auto Diesel College [29] (a
NAFTC Training Center),
Nashville State Community College,
Strayer University,
Tennessee State University,
Trevecca Nazarene University,
University of Phoenix,
Vanderbilt University, and
Watkins College of Art, Design & Film.
Within 30 miles (50 km) of Nashville in
Murfreesboro is
Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU), a full-sized public university with Tennessee's largest undergraduate population. Enrollment in post-secondary education in Nashville is around 43,000. Within the Nashville Metropolitan Statistical Area—which includes MTSU,
Cumberland University (
Lebanon),
Volunteer State Community College (
Gallatin), and
O'More College of Design (Franklin)—total enrollment exceeds 74,000. Within a 40 mile (65 km) radius are
Austin Peay State University (
Clarksville) and
Columbia State Community College (
Columbia), enrolling an additional 13,600.
Transportation
thumb commuter train beneath the
Shelby Street Bridge
Nashville is centrally located at the crossroads of three
Interstate Highways:
I-40,
I-24, and
I-65.
Interstate 440 is a bypass route connecting I-40, I-65, and I-24 south of downtown Nashville.
Briley Parkway connects the north side of the city and its interstates.
The
Metropolitan Transit Authority provides bus transit within the city, out of a newly built hub station downtown. Routes utilize a hub and spoke method. Expansion plans include use of
Bus rapid transit for new routes, with the possibility for local rail service at some point in the future.
Nashville is considered a gateway city for rail and air traffic for the
Piedmont Atlantic MegaRegion.
[30]
The city is served by
Nashville International Airport, which was a hub for
American Airlines between 1986 and 1995 and is now a mini-hub for
Southwest Airlines.
Although it is a major rail hub, with a large
CSX Transportation freight rail yard, Nashville is one of the largest cities in the U.S. not served by
Amtrak.
Nashville launched a passenger commuter rail system called the
Music City Star on September 18, 2006. The only currently operational leg of the system connects the city of Lebanon to downtown Nashville at the
Nashville Riverfront. Legs to Murfreesboro and Gallatin are currently in the feasibility study stage. The system plan includes seven legs connecting Nashville to surrounding suburbs.
Notable bridges in the city are:
Official Name
| Other Names
| Length
| Date Opened
|
Gateway Bridge
| Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge
| 506 m (1,660 ft)
| May 19, 2004
|
Kelly Miller Smith Bridge
| Jefferson Street Bridge
|
| March 2, 1994
|
Old Hickory Bridge
|
|
| 1929
|
Martin Luther King Jr. Bridge
| Bordeaux Bridge
|
| September 18, 1980
|
Shelby Street Bridge
| Shelby Avenue Bridge
| 960 m (3,150 ft)
| July 5, 1909
|
Silliman Evans Bridge
|
| 720 m (2,362 ft)
| 1963
|
Victory Memorial Bridge
|
|
| July 2, 1956
|
William Goodwin Bridge
| Hobson Pike Bridge
| 675 m (2,215 ft)
|
|
Woodland Street Bridge
|
| 195 m (639 ft)
|
|
Nicknames
Nashville is a colorful, well-known city in several different arenas. As such, it has earned various sobriquets, including:
- Music City, USA
: WSM-AM announcer David Cobb first used this name during a 1950 broadcast and it stuck. It is now the official nickname used by the Nashville Convention and Visitors Bureau. Nashville is the home of the Grand Ole Opry, the Country Music Hall of Fame, and many major record labels. [31] This name also dates back to 1874, where after receiving and hearing a performance by the Fisk Jubilee Singers, Queen Victoria of England is reported as saying that "These young people must surely come from a musical city." [32]
- Athens of the South
: Home to twenty-four post-secondary educational institutions, Nashville has long been compared to the ancient city of learning, site of Plato's Academy. Since 1897, a full-scale replica of the Athenian Parthenon has stood in Nashville, and many examples of classical and neoclassical architecture can be found in the city. [33]
- The Protestant Vatican
or The Buckle of the Bible Belt
: Nashville has over 700 churches, [34] several seminaries, a number of Christian music companies, and is the headquarters for the publishing arms of both the Southern Baptist Convention and the United Methodist Church. It is also the seat of the National Baptist Convention, USA, the National Association of Free Will Baptists, the Gideons International, the Gospel Music Association, and Thomas Nelson, the world's largest producer of Bibles. [35]
- Cashville
: Nashville native Young Buck released a very successful rap album called Straight Outta Ca$hville
that has popularized the nickname among a new generation. [36]
- Nashvegas
: The rhinestones and neon of Nashville have given rise to a glitzy image that local residents have embraced. Playing off the image of Las Vegas, this nickname reflects the city's colorful nightlife and affluence. Americana music artist George Hamilton V has popularized the nickname in song. [37]
- Little Kurdistan
: Nashville has the United States' largest population of Kurdish people, estimated to be around 11,000.
[38]
Sister cities
Nashville is an active participant in the
Sister Cities program and has relationships with the following towns:
[39]
- Belfast, Northern Ireland (United Kingdom)
- Caen (France)
- Edmonton, Alberta (Canada)
- Magdeburg (Germany)
- Mendoza (Argentina)
- Taiyuan (China)
References
- Elevations and Distances in the United States
- National Weather Service data for Nashville
- Nashville Relative Humidity
- Cities of the United States
- Calendar of Significant Weather Events in Middle Tennessee provided by the National Weather Service. Retrieved August 8, 2006.
- Daily Records for Nashville (1871-Present)
- Nashville's an allergy leader, but it's not alone
- Spring Allergy Capitals 2008
- Monthly Averages for Nashville, TN
- U.S. Census Bureau: Metropolitan Statistical Areas and Components, November 2004
- http://www.imdb.com/List?endings=on&&locations=Centennial%20Park,%20Nashville,%20Tennessee,%20USA&&h
- List of Nashville-based labels at clubnashville.com. Retrieved March 10, 2006.
- Hoedown on a Harpsichord
- Nashville's Music Industry Worth $6.38 Billion
- Health care worth $18B here
- Dell to Expand Nashville Operations; Increase Area Workforce By Up to 1,000 Employees
- U.S. Census Bureau: Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places In The U.S.: 1790 to 1990
- http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ACSSAFFFacts?_event=Search&geo_id=&_geoContext=&_street=&_count
- http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ADPTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=16000US4752006&-qr_name=ACS_2007_3YR_G00
- U.S. a Place of Miracles for Somali Refugees
- Nashville Refugee Population Grows, wsmv.com, February 7, 2009
- Cornfield, Daniel B. ''Final Report of the Immigrant Community Assessment''. August 15, 2003.
- Who's the biggest fish in the South?
- Newest refugees hail from Bhutan, By Chris Echegaray, THE TENNESSEAN, January 1, 2009
- Local Iraqis ready to vote but worried about process
- A Brief History of the Nashville Jewish Community, Jewish Federation of Nashville and Middle Tennessee
- Rein of Council redefines mayoral relationship
- Vanderbilt University Press
- http://www.nashvilleautodiesel.net/
- Georgia Tech - MegaRegions
- Music City, U.S.A.
- Fisk Jubilee Singers Celebrate 135 Year Tradition with "Walk of Fame" Honors
- Vanderbilt University Press - home
- Nashville Area Churches
- Nashville: Sophisticated Southern City with a Country Edge
- Nashville Scene - Love-Hate Mail
- Viva Nashvegas
- Iraqis to cast votes in Nashville
- Nashville's Sister Cities