Centennial Park

What do Taylor Swift, Kwame Lillard, Jimmy Buffett, Frankie Pierce, and Chris Stapleton have in common with railroads, protests, and Greek mythology? Centennial Park! Welcome to Nashville’s premier urban green space—a place where culture, history, and community come together.

Centennial Park occupies land that has witnessed centuries of transformation. Long before the city was founded, Indigenous Peoples—including Choctaw, Creek, and others—hunted and traveled through this area, with archaeological evidence dating back to the Paleoindian period. In 1783, the land became part of Cockrill Farm, purchased by John Cockrill, brother-in-law to city founder James Robertson. It later became Burlington Plantation, owned by Joseph Elliston. Both operated using enslaved labor.

After the Civil War, the land served as the state fairgrounds, then became a racetrack called West Side Park from 1884 to 1895. In the 1890s, Major Eugene Lewis proposed a grand celebration of Tennessee’s centennial. The result was the 1897 Tennessee Centennial Exposition, which drew 1.8 million visitors and transformed the site with gondola rides, formal gardens, exhibition halls, and, of course, the Parthenon.

When the exposition closed, organizers urged the city to preserve the Parthenon and the grounds—kickstarting Nashville’s public parks movement. In 1902, Percy Warner and the Nashville Railway and Light Company purchased 72 acres of the exposition grounds and donated them to the city. Centennial Park opened in 1903 with tree-lined drives, flower gardens, and fish stocked in Lake Watauga. Over time, the park expanded to its current 132 acres.

Today, Centennial Park remains a vital place where art, activism, memory, and music all find a stage. This self-guided tour can be experienced in order or at your own pace by scanning QR codes located throughout the park. Each stop opens a window into the people, places, and events that have shaped this space across time.

Along the way, you’ll encounter performance venues like the Bandshell and Musicians Corner; sites of protest and reflection like the Centennial Art Center and the Great Lawn; environmental highlights like herb gardens and the beehives of Lake Watauga; and pop culture nods like the Croquet Café and the Taylor Swift bench. This isn’t just a park—it’s a canvas of collective memory. 

Hello, I’m Wesley Paine. I served as the Parthenon’s director from 1979 to 2021, and I’m honored to guide you. But I won’t be doing it alone. Joining me are Jerome Moore, Canesha Conger, Trenton Wheeler, Virginia Ezell Briley, and Dr. Angela Sutton—all members of the Nashville Sites Cultural Ambassadors team. Together, we represent the voices of the Nashville community.

This tour is proudly sponsored by the Centennial Park Conservancy and written by Dr. Learotha Williams Jr., professor at Tennessee State University and Nashville Sites’ Director of Public History. Additional contributors include Russell LeStourgeon, Abby Hikade, Mary Ellen Pethel, and Steve Citerin. Please tag us @NashvilleSites and consider making a gift to support more free and accessible tours. Just a few reminders before we begin: For your own safety, please be aware of your surroundings at all times, just as you would in any public setting. Lock your vehicle, report any suspicious activity, and if you have a dog with you on the tour, it must be on a leash. Ok, let’s get started! 

Begin the tour at the east side of the Parthenon in front of the main museum entrance. There is parking throughout the park, and a dedicated lot to the north of the Parthenon. If you have time, stop in the museum gift shop or take a tour to see Athena or the other exhibits.