Agency overview | |
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Jurisdiction | Nashville, Tennessee, United States |
Headquarters | 2565 Park Plaza Nashville, Tennessee, United States |
Agency executives |
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Parent agency | Nashville, Tennessee |
Website | http://www.nashville.gov/parks/ |
The Nashville Metropolitan Board of Parks and Recreation (commonly, Metro Parks and Recreation or Nashville Parks and Recreation) is the municipal board that is responsible for maintaining the parks system of Nashville, Tennessee, United States, and furnishing recreational opportunities for city's residents. The board maintains over 10,710 acres (4,330 ha) of park space. [1] The Board boasts over 100 stand-alone parks and 7 municipal golf courses. [2]
In 1901, Nashville Mayor James Marshall Head created the Nashville Parks Board. [3] : 81 The plan was to create several neighborhood parks and four larger parks of about 50 acres (0.078 sq mi), one built in each quadrant of town. [3] : 81 Nashville's first park, Watkins Park, was created in 1909. [4] During his two terms as mayor, Head also negotiated the city's acquisition of 72 acres (0.113 sq mi) of prime land that had been used in 1897 for the Tennessee Centennial Exposition. The site became known as Centennial Park. [3] : 81
The Park Board has seven members, appointed for five year terms. The current board is composed of: [5]
The Parks Director, who oversees day-to-day operations, is currently Monique Odom. [6]
Divisions of the Parks Department include Maintenance, Planning, Recreation and Community Centers, Special Services, Natural Resources and Greenways, and Park Police. [6]
Nashville Parks' most famous attraction is the Parthenon, based in Centennial Park, which is a full-scale replica of the original Parthenon in Athens. It was originally built in 1897 for the Tennessee Centennial Exposition.
Nashville Parks also runs the nearby Centennial Sports Complex, which has an Olympic-sized pool, an ice rink, and a workout area. The Complex rink is home to the Nashville Predators's practice facilities.
Nashville is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the 21st most-populous city in the United States, and the fourth most populous city in the southeastern U.S. Located on the Cumberland River, the city is the center of the Nashville metropolitan area, which is one of the fastest growing in the nation.
Williamson County is a county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 247,726. The county seat is Franklin, and the county is located in Middle Tennessee. The county is named after Hugh Williamson, a North Carolina politician who signed the U.S. Constitution. Adjusted for relative cost of living, Williamson County is one of the wealthiest counties in the United States. Williamson County is part of the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area. In the 19th century, tobacco and hemp were cultivated here, and planters also raised blooded livestock, including horses and cattle.
The Sesqui-Centennial International Exposition of 1926 was a world's fair in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its purpose was to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence, and the 50th anniversary of the 1876 Centennial Exposition.
Belle Meade is a city in Davidson County, Tennessee. Its total land area is 3.1 square miles (8.0 km2), and its population was 2,901 at the time of the 2020 census.
The Tennessee Centennial and International Exposition was an exposition held in Nashville from May 1 – October 31, 1897 in what is now Centennial Park. A year late, it celebrated the 100th anniversary of Tennessee's entry into the union in 1796. President William McKinley officially opened the event from the White House, where he pressed a button that started the machinery building at the fair; he would visit in person a month later.
Antioch is a neighborhood of Nashville located approximately 12 miles southeast of Downtown Nashville. It is served by the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County.
Centennial Park is a large urban park located approximately two miles west of downtown Nashville, Tennessee, United States, across West End Avenue from the campus of Vanderbilt University. The 21st-century headquarters campus of the Hospital Corporation of America was developed adjacent to the park.
The Parthenon in Centennial Park, Nashville, Tennessee, is a full-scale replica of the original Parthenon in Athens. It was designed by architect William Crawford Smith and built in 1897 as part of the Tennessee Centennial Exposition.
Clifton David Briley is an American politician. A Democrat, he was the eighth mayor of Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County. He was elected in 2015 as vice-mayor and was sworn in as acting mayor after Megan Barry's resignation on March 6, 2018. Briley went on to win the May 24 special election for the balance of Barry's term with 55% of the vote over nearly a dozen challengers, avoiding a runoff and making him the official mayor of Nashville. John Cooper defeated Briley in the 2019 Nashville mayoral election. Briley was the first native of both Nashville and Tennessee since Bill Boner in 1991 to be mayor.
Edwin Warner Park and Percy Warner Park, collectively known as Warner Parks, are two major public parks in Nashville, Tennessee. They are part of the park system managed by the Metropolitan Board of Parks and Recreation of Nashville and Davidson County. Percy Warner Park's front entrance is located at the end of Belle Meade Boulevard. The parks are listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Warner Park Historic District. The district is primarily within Nashville along the southern edge of Davidson County, Tennessee, but it extends into Williamson County, Tennessee as well.
Centennial Sportsplex is a multi-use athletic complex in Nashville, Tennessee. The venue is owned by the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County and is operated by Metro Parks, the parks and recreation arm of the government.
Belle Marshall KinneyScholz (1890–1959) was an American sculptor, born in Tennessee who worked and died in New York state.
East Nashville is an area east of downtown Nashville in Tennessee across the Cumberland River. The area is mostly residential and mixed-use areas with businesses lining the main boulevards. The main thoroughfares are Gallatin Ave and Ellington Parkway, with smaller arteries interconnecting the neighborhoods. Some of these smaller arteries include Main Street, Shelby Avenue, Porter Road, Riverside Drive, Eastland Avenue, McFerrrin Avenue, and Woodland Street in no significant order. Ellington Parkway, which parallels Gallatin Ave and Main Street, bypasses I-24 and I-65 and connects Briley Parkway and downtown Nashville and many other secondary streets along the way. The Cumberland River confines most of the area with a semicircle design on the south, southwest and east. Since East Nashville has no defined boundaries on the west and north the exact perimeter is the cause of some debate. Some would say that Ellington Parkway creates a boundary on the west and northwest, while Cahal Avenue and Porter Road create the northern boundary, in the confines of zipcode 37206. Many would also state that with I-65 and I-24 as the western border and Briley Parkway as the northern boundary, this defines an area that constitutes Greater East Nashville. East Nashville is one of about 26 suburban neighborhoods in Nashville.
The Knights of Pythias Pavilion in Franklin, Tennessee, also known as Carlisle House, is a Classical Revival architecture building designed by Henry Gibel and built in 1897. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.
The Tennessee State Fair is an annual state fair, formerly held in Nashville, Tennessee. Until 2021, the fair was generally held in the second week of September, as well as the weekends surrounding it. The fair regularly had attendance over 200,000 people per year while located at the Nashville Fairgrounds. The State Fairgrounds have been under scrutiny since Nashville Mayor Karl Dean announced the closure of the fairgrounds in 2009. After much controversy, a referendum on the city's ability to redevelop the fairgrounds for other uses was held, with the voters choosing to increase the required votes to make changes from a simple majority to two-thirds majority. The Tennessee State Fair and Exposition Commission granted the Tennessee State Fair to the non-profit organization Tennessee State Fair Association through 2018. After 2019, the fair was moved to the Wilson County Fairgrounds in Lebanon and held in conjunction with the much larger Wilson County Fair.
James Marshall Head Jr. (1855–1930) was an American politician in the Democratic Party. He served as the Mayor of Nashville, Tennessee for two successive terms, 1900 to 1904, during which he created many of the city's public parks. In 1903, Head was mentioned by William Jennings Bryan as a possible Democratic candidate for President of the United States. He was editor of a newspaper called The Nashville American and served on the Democratic National Committee. He was president of the League of American Municipalities and was an orator and debater on the form of city government in the U.S., favoring a mayor and city council system rather than government by commissioners. After serving as Nashville mayor, Head moved to Boston where he practiced law and became vice-president of Warren Brothers Company, a road-building business.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Nashville, Tennessee, United States.
Elizabeth Lee Bloomstein was an American history professor, university librarian, clubwoman, and suffragist based in Nashville, Tennessee.
Major Eugene Castner Lewis was an American engineer and businessman. He served as the chairman of the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway from 1900 to 1917. As a civic leader, he helped develop Shelby Park and Centennial Park, including the Parthenon, as well as Union Station.