War Memorial Building and Military Branch Museum

The War Memorial Building is a popular spot for tourists and public protests, but there is hidden history, literally, just around the corner. Tucked into the basement of War Memorial Auditorium on the left side of the plaza is a free museum! Inside the Tennessee State Museum’s Military Branch, exhibitions explore America’s overseas conflicts from the Spanish-American War in 1898 to 9/11 and the global war on terrorism. When the state museum was first organized in 1927, it was housed in the War Memorial Building and later moved across the street, sharing a building with the Tennessee Performing Arts Center or TPAC. Today’s new Tennessee State Museum is on Rosa L. Parks Boulevard, about a 1/2 mile from where you stand, but the majority of its collection remains in storage beneath TPAC. Here at the museum’s military branch you can see a full-scale replica of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima and an Ike jacket worn by General Dwight D. Eisenhower. Check their website for hours. Admission is free and on a hot day, the air conditioning feels great! 

There are two memorial statues in the courtyard just outside the museum. Look up to see a statue dedicated to recognizing the efforts of Confederate women in Tennessee during the Civil War. It was sponsored and paid for by the United Daughters of the Confederacy and Sons of Confederate Veterans. While it does not depict specific figures from the Civil War era, it was completed in 1926 and remains part of white, southern “lost cause” mythology. The sculptor was Belle Kinney, who worked on the Parthenon replica in Centennial Park as well as the “Victory” statue in the heart of War Memorial’s atrium. The second is a cast of three male soldiers cast in bronze made by Nashville sculptor Alan LeQuire to honor Vietnam veterans. For more on the meaning of Confederate statues, check out our Civil War tour. 

With your back to the museum entrance, walk to your left and exit the plaza to your right. Cross Union Street and look across the street at the Hermitage Hotel, your next stop. Note the “Votes for Women” marker on the corner of Anne Dallas Dudley Blvd. and Union. Walk across the street and turn LEFT, then RIGHT onto 6th Avenue to reach the hotel’s front entrance.