Though Nashville, Tenn., might be best known for country music, it has a lot to offer those whose tastes run outside steel guitars and rhinestones. The city’s rich history and varied attractions make it a great destination—and the perfect location for MOAA’s 2004 national convention. MOAA members will convene Oct. 13–17 to conduct association business, attend informative seminars, and share camaraderie during a variety of optional tours and social events.

City of Gentility

Today, Nashville holds boasting rights as home turf to the seventh president of the United States, Gen. Andrew Jackson, as well as to Belle Meade, one of the most profitable Thoroughbred breeding facilities at the turn of the 20th century. The city also is known for its full-scale replica of the Parthenon, the ruins of which stand in Athens, Greece; a bevy of parks; and a host of recreational areas, not the least of which is the multi-acred Cheekwood.

Originally settled in the early 1700s by French fur traders, Nashville was known as Nashborough until 1784. In 1796, Tennessee became the 16th state of the union, but it took another 53 years before the seat of government was moved to Nashville.

Whether you stroll through downtown or tour the outskirts, you’ll find it’s easy to get around with a map and a friend to help read the road signs. The restaurants run the gamut of taste, and the Cumberland River winds around the city’s art, entertainment, and history. Even if you do get lost, the people are friendly, the landscape rolls out to greet every passing car, and the weather is pleasant. In October, the days typically are warm, averaging about 70 degrees, and quietly ease into light-sweater evenings. Stay as long as you can; you’ll be busy from morning to night—and will love every minute.

Ancient Greece in modern Nashville

Nashville’s reproduction of the Parthenon, located on the west side of town near Vanderbilt University, has to be labeled a “must-see” for the sheer wonder of its size. The 65-foot structure is a leftover from the 1897 Tennessee State Centennial and is the only full-scale facsimile of the ruins in Athens, Greece. Although the original Parthenon was carved out of marble, the one in Nashville first was constructed of wood and stucco. When city officials realized how popular the giant replica was, they reconstructed it using cement. The new Parthenon, like the original, has no true straight horizontal lines—all horizontal architectural elements arch slightly in the center.

Solid brass doors measuring 24 feet by 7 feet and weighing 7 and a half tons apiece are at each end of the Doric-columned building. On the inside of the west door stands the tallest indoor statue in the Western world—a 41-plus-foot gilded statue of Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, war, the arts, industry, justice, and skill. In the goddess’ right hand, she holds a 6-foot, 4-inch Nike—the goddess of victory, not the shoe—and a giant snake and carved shields of gold are at her feet.

Jackson’s rural retreat

As its name denotes, The Hermitage is moderately secluded in relation to Nashville. Home to President Jackson and his wife, Rachel, from 1804 until Jackson’s death in 1845, the vast grounds lie about 12 miles east of downtown Nashville. Don’t let the distance discourage you from making the trip; the house alone will keep you busy for hours.

As you drive onto the property, you’ll notice the driveway is in the shape of a guitar. Perhaps, even in 1821 when the mansion was built, Jackson had some inkling of things to come for the area. He and Rachel are buried on the property under a gazebo-like tomb he had built after her death. The grounds went unkempt from Jackson’s death until 1889, when the state of Tennessee chartered the Ladies’ Hermitage Association (LHA) to rebuild the property. Since then, the LHA has expanded Jackson’s 1,050-acre holdings to 1,120 acres, which now includes surrounding lands and historic buildings such as Tulip Grove, the home of Andrew Jackson Donelson, Rachel Jackson’s nephew and General Jackson’s private secretary.

Belle Meade

Depending on when you visit Belle Meade, the tour director might greet you dressed in funereal garb and show you how the house would have been appointed for such an occasion. But even if you miss this fascinating piece of history, the tour is well worth the short trip to the outskirts of town. Once a prestigious Thoroughbred breeding facility, the grounds now encompass only 30 of John Harding’s original 5,400-acre estate, and many of the barns that scattered the property are gone. But the house is authentically restored and history oozes from every wooden plank.

As you walk up to the front door of the manor, the guide pulls your imagination back to the “War Between the States” as he talks about the skirmish that took place in the front yard between Union and Confederate forces. The gunfire was so close to the house it left bullet holes in the front columns at the top of the stairs.

Having marveled at just how big those bullet holes are, you’ll walk through the entrance as the guide draws your attention to black glass over the front door transom, glass that changes to a bright ruby red as soon as you get inside and the sun shines through it. Ruby glass gets its color from gold that’s added as the glass is made: The more gold put in, the redder the glass. In the 19th century, the genteel class demonstrated their wealth by the amount and color of ruby glass they owned.

On the first floor, the tour winds past two horse’s hooves proudly displayed in a glass bookcase. They belonged to Belle Meade’s most famous Thoroughbred racing stallion, Iroquois. He earned $25,000 in stud fees during his lifetime—by today’s standards, approximately $1 million. Pointing to more portraits of horses than people, the guide also mentions that Seabiscuit, War Admiral, and every horse in the 2003 Kentucky Derby could trace its lineage back to another of Belle Meade’s studs—Bonnie Scotland.

Grounds of splendor

When you want to kick back and just breathe, there’s no better place to exhale than the grounds of Cheekwood. Completed in 1932, the 55-acre complex, located near Belle Meade, includes an art museum that houses nearly 8,000 objects, botanical gardens, an education center, a small shop, and the Pineapple Room Restaurant, which features a patio overlooking the gardens.

The estate originally was built by the second generation of Cheeks—Leslie and Mabel—who made their fortune investing in cousin Joel’s coffee venture. Joel had developed a superior blend of coffee that was marketed through the best hotel in Nashville—the Maxwell House. When then-President Theodore Roosevelt tasted the hotel brew, he was heard to say, “Good to the last drop,” and so was born the famous household brand’s slogan.
 
The limestone mansion is surrounded by vast gardens that mimic those of many of the grand English houses of the 18th century. The Botanical Gardens were designed by the estate’s architect, Bryant Fleming, but Leslie Cheek Sr. personally collected the boxwoods that still grow around the mansion.

Today, there are walking trails with surprises around every corner. Along the Carell Woodland Sculpture Trail, for example, you’ll pass sculpted animals, a “girdled” tree infused with a cast human midsection, and a couple of high-backed wind harp chairs that form an aeolian harp to capture the music of the winds.

Several greenhouses adorn the grounds, housing camellias and a rare cloud forest, a threatened ecosystem reliant on constant moisture from clouds. Through Oct. 31, 2004, a special exhibit, “Playhouses and Forts,” is installed throughout the grounds.

Only self-guided tours are available; each of the four routes offered lasts about an hour. If you make it through all of them, you will have seen the entire property. Regardless of which tour you choose, be sure to take the short walk up the access road and through the Boxwood Gardens to see whether George Rickey’s “One Line Horizontal Floating—Twenty Feet” is visible. At certain times of the day, the sun’s bright rays seem to turn the needle of stainless steel into a strip of pure light.

City of Music

Throughout the Nashville area, banners and billboards announce new recording stars; streets are named after many of the old-time greats; and everywhere you go, you’ll find little pieces of that wonderful country sound.

In 1941, Nashville was granted the first fm radio license in the United States, and Music City USA became the first to enjoy static-free radio. Since then, the Grand Ole Opry, Ryman Auditorium, and Bluebird Cafe have helped keep the city at the top of the country airwaves. Elvis Presley recorded more than 200 of his songs at RCA’s Studio B on Music Row, and Garth Brooks got his start at the Wildhorse Saloon.

Less than 600,000 people live in the area, but the swell of activity and music-industry influence make it one of the biggest draws for tourists and hopeful crooners. Behind every wait-staff uniform is a songwriter who wants to be a star, many of whom have had a brush with greatness and are delighted to regale you with their story as they pour your morning coffee.

If you’re visiting for the first time don’t forget your camera, because you never know who you might see strolling the streets or gracing the stage. Although he could pack the nearby concert hall several times over, Bruce Springsteen plays the 3,500-seat Ryman Auditorium because he likes the acoustics.

For God and country

Steamboat captain and prominent businessman Thomas Ryman opened his auditorium in 1892 as a tabernacle for his spiritual mentor, Rev. Samuel Jones. When the Grand Ole Opry show moved there in 1943, the Ryman became the “mother church” of country music until 1974, when the Opry moved to its current home on the outskirts of town. Twenty years later, the Ryman underwent an $8.5 million restoration, complete with state-of-the-art acoustics said to be second only to the Mormon Tabernacle.

Musicians ranging from Willie Nelson to James Brown and from Sheryl Crow to Coldplay clamor to play the Ryman, making it not just a historic venue, but also a current-day icon for music lovers everywhere. The auditorium is only a couple of blocks from the Renaissance Hotel, site of MOAA’s convention. Visit during the day so you can watch the crew set up for the evening performance. If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to stand on stage in front of hundreds of people, this is your chance. The hundreds of people probably won’t be there, but the stage has a microphone set up so you can have your picture taken as you sing to your imaginary audience—an experience not to be missed.

Hall of famers

One side of The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is a radio tower just like the one in the  RKO Pictures logo, while the main building has windows that resemble a piano keyboard—if you squint. Once inside, all those stars who’ve peppered the charts and the airwaves for decades become bona fide people. Several of Dolly Parton’s handwritten song sheets are hung, offering a glimpse of the person behind the persona, Garth Brooks’ signature hat is behind glass, and Elvis Presley’s Cadillac is displayed behind a thin separation rope.
 
In addition to the opulence you’ll see, you’ll hear the voices of many of those who started the traditions of country music: Hank Williams, Gene Autry, and Ernie Tubbs, to name a few. Walking through the halls and gazing at the plethora of displayed memorabilia gives every viewer a wonderful sense of the evolution of the industry.

Music central

Less than a mile southwest of downtown is Music Square. Here, you’ll find the star-studded offices of Nashville’s production companies, home to agents, managers, and promoters. Better known as Music Row, the corporate-looking buildings only are interesting if you know about some of what’s produced inside. RCA Studio B, for example, claims to have launched more hit records than any other recording studio in the country. A mere two blocks north is Demonbreun Street, where you can cruise museums dedicated to individual country crooners such as George Jones, record your own songs, sing karaoke, and even buy a guitar-shaped flyswatter.

You can do many of these same things just behind the Renaissance Hotel, where you’ll also find several honkytonks that give “practice” a good name. Some of today’s promising talent will play their hearts out for you at Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge, the Wildhorse Saloon, and the Bluebird Cafe. Many of the performers at the Ryman Auditorium used to walk out a side door, into the adjoining alley, and through a back door at Tootsie’s, signing their names on the walls.

The Wildhorse Saloon probably is one of the best-known Nashville bars today because it was used for several years as the stage for TNN cable channel’s now defunct show “Club Dance.” The Bluebird Cafe is where songwriters go to try out their new tunes. Seven days a week, you can find a guy, a girl, and a guitar or two onstage hoping someone will notice just how great they sound.

A haven for serious music fans, the Bluebird Cafe’s slogan is “Shhh!”. You might have to wait a while to get into Tootsie’s or the Wildhorse, but call ahead for the Bluebird because you’ll need a ticket to get through the door.

Welcome to Opryland

Whatever door you walk in to enter Gaylord’s Opryland Resort, be sure to first see the concierge for a map of the grounds. Without it, you might never see your car again. The resort houses nine acres of indoor gardens and “outdoor” restaurants, sans the bugs. Within the confines of the climate-controlled atriums, you can shop, walk, dine, gaze at the 44-foot waterfall, and take a ride along the river on one of the hotel’s Delta flatboats.

The Grand Ole Opry

When the show’s fans got too big for Ryman Auditorium, promoters moved the Grand Ole Opry to its current location in Music Valley, about a half hour’s drive from the Renaissance Hotel. On weekend nights you can watch the three-hour radio show unfold one act at a time. Every 20 minutes, a new “host” takes over, introducing three other artists; the more popular performers play later in the evening.

Because the Grand Ole Opry is live, on-stage logistics are scheduled to the letter. The musicians seem to know where to go without being told, and the announcer broadcasts commercials with precision timing.

Check the list of optional tours in the accompanying convention brochure for more information about visiting the Opry during MOAA’s convention.

Right outside the hotel and across the parking lot from the Grand Ole Opry is Nashville’s shopping mecca, Opry Mills. Filled with outlet stores, the biggest of which sells guitars, it’ll take most of a day to get through them all.