Parthenon

Hi, I’m Wesley Paine, the Parthenon’s director for more than 40 years. This stop is part of the Nashville Sites walking tour. To explore more stories, take the full tour on NashvilleSites.org.

Now, let’s talk about the Parthenon.

These grounds hosted the Tennessee Centennial Exposition, a world’s-fair-style celebration of the state’s 100th birthday. The fair opened with a remote signal from President William McKinley, who tripped a telegraph switch in Washington that fired a cannon here in Nashville.

If you had been standing here in 1897, the vista would have been dazzling. To your left stood the Woman’s Building; behind you stood what was called the Negro Building; to your right, a striking replica of the Great Pyramid of Egypt, part of the Memphis–Shelby County exhibit. Italian gondolas glided across Lake Watauga, electric lights illuminated the buildings each night, and themed parade days drew crowds from across the region.

While the exposition celebrated civic pride and technological progress, it also exposed deep contradictions—enforcing racial segregation and staging demeaning displays of Native Americans and African Americans. Most buildings were dismantled after the exposition, but one proved too beloved to lose: the Parthenon.

Conceived by exposition director Eugene Lewis as the centerpiece, this full-scale replica of Athens’s 2,400-year-old temple embodied Nashville’s identity as the “Athens of the South”—a nickname earned through the city’s many colleges and universities. Designed by local architect William Crawford Smith, the mainly plaster-and-wood structure showcased over 1,000 artworks and featured a 40-foot Athena by sculptor Enid Yandell in front of the east end.

By the 1920s, the structure had deteriorated. That’s when architect Russell Hart led the Parthenon’s reconstruction using reinforced concrete and brick. To ensure historical accuracy, Hart consulted classical scholar William Dinsmoor. Local contractors Foster & Creighton completed the project in 1931.

Six decades later, Nashville sculptor Alan LeQuire brought Athena back to life with gold and grandeur. Today, the Parthenon remains one of the city’s most important landmarks. Inside, you’ll find permanent and rotating art and history exhibits, plus plaster casts of the Parthenon marbles, and the awe-inspiring statue of Athena. Fun fact! Standing at 42 feet tall, Athena is the tallest indoor sculpture in the western hemisphere.

When you visit, be sure to mention Nashville Sites and show this tour on your phone at the ticket desk for a $2 discount. And remember, there’s always more to discover behind these ancient columns.

To learn more, click on the link for an audio tour of the Parthenon’s exterior architecture: https://www.nashvilleparthenon.com/audio

Directions: Facing the Parthenon’s main entrance, turn LEFT and continue straight along the path until you reach the Suffrage Monument which is approximately 50 yards away. Look for a large sculptural set of five bronze statues. Make sure to walk around the statue to read the information on the walls around it.