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The next time you find yourself in Nashville, Tennessee, go and visit the Parthenon and the Belle Meade Plantation. These two tourist sites are architectural wonders that will have you amazed at their majesty and splendor.
The Parthenon is located in the Centennial Park in Nashville that is a replica of Athens’ world famous Parthenon Greek temple dedicated to the Goddess Athena. The Nashville Parthenon is a work of art in itself that houses artworks by American painters of the 19th and 20th centuries. Built in 1897, the Parthenon was built initially out of wood. The reason this was built was to commemorate Tennessee’s 100th year anniversary and to mark the first centennial exposition held in Nashville. Later, the structure was rebuilt in cement for better stability and sustainability.
The Parthenon was built with the idea that Nashville was well-known to be the Athens of the South in the 1800’s. In fact, if you check out the names of companies that were founded during the same time, many of their names had the word Athens in them. Nashville is now more known as the Music City, but the Athens of the South has resounded through the ages with the Parthenon replica still standing to prove its history.
Another unique place to visit is the Belle Meade Plantation that is an old mansion built in 1953. This Southern plantation mansion is one of the oldest and grandest architectural structures within Nashville, Tennessee. This expansive site is quite a site to tour as it also houses a mausoleum, a creamery, a smokehouse, and an old log cabin that merely add to the traditional charm of the place.
Located six miles from the Nashville Center, the Belle Meade Plantation is open daily for regular tours. Founded originally by John Harding in 1807 when he first purchased the land, he slowly built up his fortune over the decades and succeeded in making the plantation a center where he raised thoroughbred racing horses. Horse racing, a gentleman’s sport at the time, became the major business for the Harding family.
If you look closely at the walls of the house, you may see the remnants of the Battle of Nashville that took place right in the front yard of the Belle Meade Plantation. Bullet holes in the huge stone columns are proof of the house’s rich and proud history. Belle Meade has seen its share of historical figures with great people from President Grover Cleveland to General William T. Sherman visiting the plantation and the past Harding generations.
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