Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
West End
Along West End Ave, starting at 21st Ave, sits prestigious
Vanderbilt University
, foun-
ded in 1883 by railway magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt. The 330-acre campus buzzes with
some 12,000 students, and student culture influences much of Midtown's vibe.
Parthenon
PARK, GALLERY
(
www.parthenon.org
;
2600 West End Ave; adult/child $6/4; 9am-4:30pm Tue-Sat, plus Sun
summer)
Yes, that is indeed a reproduction Athenian Parthenon sitting in
Centennial
Park
. Originally built in 1897 for Tennessee's Centennial Exposition and rebuilt in 1930
due to popular demand, the full-scale plaster copy of the 438 BC original now houses an
art museum with a collection of American paintings and a 42ft statue of the Greek god-
dess Athena.
Music Row
NEIGHBORHOOD
(Music Sq West & Music Sq East)
Just west of downtown, sections of 16th and 17th Aves,
called Music Sq West and Music Sq East, are home to the production companies, agents,
managers and promoters who run Nashville's country-music industry. There's not much
to see, but you can pay to cut your own record at some of the smaller studios, and the
famed RCA Studio B is here too.
RCA Studio B
LANDMARK
(
www.countrymusichalloffame.org
;
1611 Roy Acuff Pl; tours adult/child $35/26)
One of Music
Row's most historic studios, this is where Elvis, the Everly Brothers and Dolly Parton all
recorded numerous hits. It's marked by the Heartbreak Hotel guitar sculpture emblaz-
oned with a pelvis jutting image of the King. You can tour the studio via the Country
Music Hall of Fame's (
Click here
) Studio B Tour, included with the Platinum Package.
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE
FIVE POINTS
Five Points in East Nashville is the epicenter of a new hipster scene, and despite all
appearances, this is actually the old part of town. Yes, Nashville originally deve-
loped east of the Cumberland River but after a great fire the folks moved across
the river where downtown presently stands. These days, Five Points is sprinkled
