Eight and a Half Miles in Nashville
And Why I Recommend It
I recently had the honor of visiting Nashville,Tennessee for the National High School Show Choir Finals in which my granddaughter’s choir from Auburn, Alabama was competing. The event was held at none other than the Grand Ole Opry. Having never been to Nashville before, I anticipated an adventure, and I was not disappointed. However, my sixty-eight-year-old feet were not quite prepared for what was on the horizon: eight and a half miles in downtown Nashville.
The Grand Ole Opry was not as rustic as I pictured it, but it was very cool to be there. Let me also say that the Show Choir event was amazing! Every single choir involved was so professional and entertaining. The Auburn choirs “ate,” as the kids say. (That’s a good thing.)
The Loveless Cafe
The next day, Marty and I got up early and went to the gym where we walked a couple miles on the treadmill. Having spent half the day before in the car, and the other half in theater seats, we figured we needed some exercise. Afterwards, we met our daughter and her friend for brunch at the Loveless Cafe. It’s a little off the beaten path, but very certainly worth the trip. As we ate, we discussed plans for seeing Nashville. We asked our waitress for suggestions about where to park to walk around downtown to see sights. She gave us a great suggestion (so maybe I’m about to give away one of the best-kept secrets in Nashville) to park in the library parking garage, and that is what we did.
There are several small shops on the Loveless Cafe property, and we had to buy a few souvenirs before we left, including a very cozy hoodie that I wore for the rest of the day.
The Ryman
We found and secured our vehicles in the library parking garage, then we just started walking. We accidentally came upon the Ryman Theater, one of the places we wanted to see. The film and self-led tour was incredible. It is one of those places where one can feel the history in the air:
In 1885, Riverboat Captain Thomas Green Ryman “was a prominent 44-year-old Nashville businessman and the owner of a major riverboat company. He started the business with his father and quickly took over management of the venture at 15, fishing the Tennessee River near Chattanooga during the Civil War to support his mother and four siblings after his father died. Over time. Ryman directly profited from the alcohol, gambling, and unsavory behavior that the popular Reverend Sam Jones was set to rally against on one hot revival night in May, and he arrived with a few friends to see just what the good reverend had to say about the situation.
“What happened next was nothing short of a miracle. Reverend Jones was famous for his tent revivals, and this one drew a crowd of thousands to Spruce and Broad (8th Ave and Broadway). Though Ryman arrived as a curious spectator, the Reverend’s sermon and the energy of the faithful crowd stirred something deep and surprising inside him. He pledged then and there to use his wealth and influence to construct a building large enough to hold every person who wanted to hear Sam Jones and others preach. He wanted to ensure that the good citizens of Nashville would have a proper place to worship together and that they would never have to attend a revival under a tent again.
“Seven years and approximately $100,000 later, in 1892, Reverend Jones stood behind the pulpit of Ryman’s brand-new Union Gospel Tabernacle to preach. He declared, ‘I believe for every dollar spent in this Tabernacle, there’ll be $10 less spent in the future on court trials. This tabernacle is the best investment the city of Nashville ever made'” (https://www.ryman.com/story/captain-tom-ryman-captain-skeptic-convert).
After the death of Ryman, the tabernacle declined and eventually fell into disrepair. It was scheduled for demolition when former secretary Lula Naff stepped up to save the building by booking independent talent to perform there. Life returned to the venue under her management, even though skeptics did not believe a woman could be up to the job.
Now, “a world-renowned concert hall, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame landmark, former home of the Grand Ole Opry, and music’s most iconic stage, Ryman Auditorium is Nashville’s ‘Mother Church.’ The Ryman’s incomparable acoustics create an authentic and transcendent concert experience for every person in the room (even the performers). Its unique architecture and state-of-the-art sound technology make every show one of the best you’ve ever seen. Even skeptics have called it ‘spiritual,’ making it a sacred place for music lovers. When you walk through the doors of the historic Ryman Auditorium, one thing becomes clear right away: this isn’t just another nightly music venue or daytime tourist stop. It’s hallowed ground” (https://www.visitmusiccity.com/nashville-businesses/ryman-auditorium/7672).
Walking on Broadway
After we toured the Ryman, we searched for Broadway since our daughter had been told that that was the thing to do. Bumping into the street by accident, we were drawn into the happy chaos by live music, sidewalk preachers, and the scent of casual dining.. We turned right and began to walk.
The architecture on Broadway is historically artistic. We passed The Frist Art Museum which opened in April 2001 and has since hosted touring exhibitions from some of the most prestigious collections in the world, as well as award-winning shows organized in-house. Exhibitions change every few months. The museum is housed in a 1933 Art Deco building that was originally Nashville’s main post office (919 Broadway).
Another beautiful building ruled the next block. The Union Station Nashville Yards is the city’s signature historic hotel for modern-day travelers. Established in 1900, the former train terminal features grand architectural elements and original art that transport guests to a gilded era, while offering modern boutique accommodations and amenities that signal the hotel’s timeless grace and enduring spirit (1001 Broadway).”
“Hume-Fogg High School, built from 1911 to 1917, stands on the site of the city’s first school. It is named for Alfred Hume and B.J. Fogg, important educators in the early development of public education in Nashville. Architects William B. Ittner of St. Louis and Robert S. Sharp of Nashville designed this block-long four-story stone building in the Collegiate Gothic style, a turn-of-the-century architectural movement that began with the campuses at Princeton, Yale, and Duke universities. Over the main Broadway entrance is a set of cut stone figures symbolizing the classical curriculum taught at the school since the 1930s: literature, composition, science, mathematics, domestic arts, instrumental drawing, and fine arts. Hume-Fogg became an academic magnet school in the 1980s, and in 2008 and 2009, Newsweek magazine ranked the school in the top 30 of public high schools nationally. Some of Hume-Fogg’s most famous alumni include poet and literary critic Randall Jarrell (1931), actress and singer Dinah Shore (1934); Academy-Award-winning director Delbert Mann (1938); and model and actress Bettie Page (1940).”
We passed all these beautiful buildings along our search for a “cute” roof-top lounge at The Graduate Hotel in midtown. It became an epic quest of many city blocks full of interesting distractions; however, when at last we arrived, the roof-top lounge was closed for a private event, and we had to content ourselves with a couple of quite nice mimosas from the little vendor in the lobby. As we sipped, we discussed wanting to see the Nashville Parthenon, and guess what, it was “just up the street”!
The Parthenon
So on we walked, and we finally spotted the park that surrounds the Parthenon. On the sidewalk approach we discovered the Tennessee Women Suffrage Monument. That set us off singing the song from Mary Poppins and giggling like children (even though it was a different suffrage movement in a different place altogether–who cares?).
Then, The Parthenon! This is the world’s only full-size replica of the original Parthenon in Greece with its 42-foot-tall statue of Athena holding a 6-foot-four-inch Nike. The statue is truly breath-taking to behold–tall, covered in gold, and, well, a little creepy … but very cool. The Parthenon also houses Greek artifacts and a gallery for local artists.
So many beautiful flowers were blooming in the park! I paused to admire them on our way back, and only then realized that we were on the Vanderbilt Campus! Now, I’m an Alabama football fan to the bone, but I couldn’t help admiring the beautiful setting for that fine academic community.
Walking Back with a Great Break
By then, the day was getting on into evening, and we had plans to meet up with our granddaughter for a last hoorah at the mall, so we started walking back to the library parking garage, waaaaaaaay across town. Of course, we stopped briefly in some small, trendy, touristy shops. For self-preservation, we stopped at Parlor Doughnuts, and, well, that stop was not so brief, but I figured we had walked far enough to earn a chocolate peanut butter doughnut and a caramel vanilla latte. A-MA-ZING!
Parking ended up costing a surprisingly reasonable $20, and when we had a hard time reaching the credit card slot, the gentleman in the guard house walked around and helped us out. Really nice people in Nashville!
I Recommend the Walk
That was quite the whirlwind tour of Nashville. When we got back to our hotel, I got a text from my daughter showing her step count for the day–over 8.6 miles! And we had walked two miles in the gym before we even started! You know, if you can walk, and if the weather is nice, I would recommend it! It was a great adventure.
However, I would NOT recommend doing it while wearing Toms. I love my Toms, but not for eight and a half miles. They got a little ripe.
Nashville is a wonderful place to visit. I would go back in a heartbeat. Next time, though, I would love to take the leisurely tour.
God bless you in all your adventures!
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