The Parthenon
Groups can step inside a replicated ancient Greece building that looks just as complete as the day when the original builders finished it in 438 B.C. at the Parthenon. The world’s only full-sized reproduction of the Greek Parthenon that houses Athena, the building stands out in the center of Centennial Park.
Inside, the recreated 42-foot Athena statue stands as one of the tallest indoor structures in the Western world. Though the park’s Athena was constructed in the 1990s, the Parthenon was originally built for the Tennessee 1897 Centennial Exposition.
Today, the classical building serves as Nashville’s art museum with four fine art galleries, including a rotating art gallery featuring American art. The permanent collection showcases 63 paintings by 19th and 20th century American artists donated by James M. Cowan.
Guided tours take guests through the building and explain the art and architecture of the building.
For more information, visit www.nashville.gov/parthenon.
RCA Studio B
The studio where King of Rock n’ Roll, Elvis Presley, first crooned the lyrics to “Are You Lonesome Tonight” sits open for tours on historic Music Row. The iconic RCA Studio B remains Nashville’s oldest recording studio.
Here, some of the brightest stars of country music came to record world famous hits, such as Roy Orbison’s “Only the Lonely,” the Everly Brothers’ “Dream,” Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” and 250 hits by Elvis Presley. Studio B has also been called the “home of 1,000 hits,” since more than 1,000 top ten American hits came from the recording studio.
Visitors to the studio can learn about how the studio cranked out more than 35,000 songs in its lifetime. Tours leave from the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum daily.
Group tours are offered the chance to record a track in the same location that the likes of Elvis Presley and other stars sang as part of their tour. A professional sound engineer orchestrates a 30-minute choir-style recording session for the ultimate souvenir.
For more information, visit countrymusichalloffame.org.
For more on Nashville:
An American icon
Tune that fiddle!
From mastodons to muskets
WEB EXCLUSIVES! Two more Nashville icons
