I was concerned the Stay-day, yeah I'm keeping it, was going to get derailed by an enormous amount of rain we have had in the last week or so that catapulted this February into the record books for TN. Across the state rivers and creeks rose to various flood levels. Many parks are actually still underwater because the rain may have stopped but the numerous dams around TN are releasing water at different times and the flood watch will continue for at least another 24 hours. Luckily we just had to skip one stop but the majority of the Stay-day was unaffected.
Most of out stops came from information I learned from a book my Mom had bought me for Christmas "Secret Nashville." The book listed not only odd stops around the city but gave some background information on more popular tourist spots. I looked through it to find a nice little walking tour of downtown and then we hopped in the car for a few short drives to other spots. Our day did start a little late because of a rock slide on I-24 that caused a back up and may take at least a week for T-DOT to clean up and re-open the highway. But since we were going to skip one other stop it didn't really effect things too badly. My sister and I got to my Mom's condo and picked her up and headed out to our first stop:
1. Breakfast at Biscuit Love in Franklin - so this was not from the book instead it was recommended to us by one of the valet's at the Downtown Omni Hotel. Sometimes when we are planning to go to Nashville for the day and don't want to take the bus we will drive to the Omni Hotel to get our car valet parked and then eat at Kitchen Notes inside the Omni so that we can validate our parking and basically park for free. Chances are we were going to eat somewhere and Nashville has a serious parking problem. Bonus is that Kitchen Notes is always a good meal (For lunch and dinner I really recommend the burger and stone ground grits). On the day we were there we were finally checking out breakfast at Kitchen Notes. On our way out the valet asked us how it was and told us Biscuit Love had the best biscuits around.
So on his recommendation I looked up Biscuit Love. They began as a food truck and have grown into three brick and mortar locations. I decided to go to the Franklin location which is their newest location. Right in downtown Franklin Biscuit Love has taken up residence in the Corn House. The house is a Queen Anne style building dating back to 1892, after the original home was destroyed by fire. The Corn family moved in around 1920, they were a prosperous family and owned Lillie Mills. Their patriarch Charlie Corn was apparently a character who was known for being very welcoming with a good sense of humor. The Corn family owned the house for over 60 years and then it became an event center before Biscuit Love moved in, as a result the 1892 home is well preserved with the original wood flooring and fixtures.
Now I don't know if I would say Biscuit Love biscuits are better than Kitchen Notes but they are different and really really good. I had the "East Nasty" a buttermilk biscuit with fried boneless chicken, sharp cheddar, and sausage gravy- next to it on the menu it said "voted best sandwich in America." It was the size of the plate and I don't know I would consider it a sandwich (since in my mind a sandwich can be held with two hands and eaten) but it was amazing and I know I will be ordering it again. We also split an order of Bonuts (fried biscuit dough, tossed in sugar, topped with lemon mascarpone, served over blueberry compote) between the three of us. The lemon mascarpone was super refreshing and very light on top of the fried biscuit dough.
Overall I'm pretty sure I will be visiting the other Biscuit Love locations and since I plan on returning to Franklin to explore its rich history I am sure I will be back to Biscuit Love in the Corn House as well.
2. Next began our walking tour of downtown. We parked at the Court House parking lot and began walking along James Robertson Parkway to one of Nashville's most well known tourist destinations: Bicentennial Park. We have been to the park before but the Secret Nashville book gave some insight into details that we had no idea about. For example at the start of the park is the largest map of TN. It is granite and is set in the concrete so you can walk over it and explore the different towns and counties of TN.
Just passed the map are two large American flags each standing for 100 years of statehood. Both of them are surrounded by 8 smaller TN state flags representing TN being the 16th state. And just beyond that is a splash area for children to play in during the summer that has 31 small fountains for each of the 31 main waterways of TN. The fountains are in front of a wall filled with facts and quotes about the waterways ofTN that have played a large part in the State's history and formation.
Once inside the park we came to the two thousand seat amphitheater with a spectacular view of the State Capitol behind it. Nashville has long prided itself as the "Athens of the South" and this theater is just one more connection to ancient Greece after all the word amphitheater has its roots in Greek: amphi means "around or on both sides" and theatron meaning "place for viewing." True to the amphitheaters of Ancient Greece this one is in the shape of a semi circle with the stage at the front.
We walked up the east side of the park along the walkway of counties where each county was represented by a circle giving the name and some information about the county ranging from history and formation to famous residents. Each circle also contains a time capsule. As we walked my Mom offered the idea of traveling to each county which made me wonder if I looked up the most interesting destination in each county how long would it take to drive?
At the north end of the park we came to the Court of Three Stars and Carillon of Bells. Something that maybe I had known but forgotten or just never really given much thought for was explained, the tri-star of TN represents the three regions of the state: East TN, Middle TN, and West TN. The Carillon of Bells had 95 pillars with bells at the top, each one representing the 95 counties of TN. Every 15 minutes the bells played bits of the TN waltz. On the hour it plays more of the Waltz and then the State Capital Bell answers. Near the bells was a small building with a piano inside of it that we think can control the bells. There was also a clock monitoring the time. While the bells are automatic I do wonder if the piano can be used at special events to play different songs?
We walked back on the West Side of the park along a wall that gave the history of TN. Since we were walking from north to south we travelled back in time. A little less than half way down we came to a memorial to WWII. In the Memorial is a globe that shows paths from TN to represent the different paths troops would have taken around the globe.
Then we came to a fountain pointing out that McNairy Spring had been discovered nearby and was an important source of fresh water for early residents.
As we walked along the wall we read different historical facts ranging from formation of schools, literature, musical accomplishments, disasters, and battles. The wall is broken into several fragments during the Civil War representing the fragmented country and state.
At the end (well beginning but we were going backwards) we came to a quote from James Weldon Johnson poet, diplomat, and activist:
"And God stepped out on space,
and He looked around and said:
I'm lonely-
I'll make me a world."
3. As we walked around to our next planned stop we saw a historical marker across the street. It marked the old location of the First Baptist Church that served as the headquarters for the Nashville Sit-In movement. The Nashville Sit-Ins lasted from February 13th to May 10th in 1960. The non-violent movement aimed at desegregating the downtown lunch counters.
Next we continued walking around the State Capital Building towards Broadway. At Union street we turned left and began walking towards 7th Avenue where a historical marker claimed to show the spot where the Barn Dance that became the Grand Old Opry began.
4. Two blocks further down Union Street we came to a statue of Chett Atkins playing a guitar with an empty stool next to him. As we approached my Mom commented that she has walked past the statue many times and Meghan responded "but this time you are coming to see it."
5. Next we crossed Union street to begin walking up fifth but first we detoured to a historical marker about the Tennessee Ornithological Society, the state's oldest conservation group.
6. Stop six was at the corner of 5th avenue and Church Street but before we got there we stopped at a couple more historical markers. The first was a marker honoring Sarah Estell.
We also passed Woolworth's and another marker for the Sit-In movement. It was at Woolworth's and three other downtown stores that the young students peacefully and with dignity staged their Sit-Ins. Through their good work Nashville became one of the first southern cities to desegregate lunch counters. Those students and many others continued their protest and fight for rights and in 1964 Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Stop six was supposed to be the Downtown Presbyterian Church however the church was locked and self guided tours are not allowed. I would have had to contact them ahead of time to arrange a tour of the Egyptian Revival styled Church. The location has been a Church dating back to 1814 but the current building was built in 1848 after a fire destroyed the earlier Church. William Strickland who designed and over saw the building of the State Capital, until his death, was called on for this building as well. During the Civil War it was used as a hospital. During WWII soldiers who were traveling through Nashville, a major hub for rail travel, slept in the church by the thousands. In 1954 the Congregation sought a new location in the suburbs and the Church was in danger of being destroyed and replaced with a parking lot. However the remaining Church members who did not want to move with the help of the National Trust for Historic Preservation purchased the Church and it still stands today serving the community in a variety of ways.7. As we walked up fifth the rest of the way to Broadway we came to the Ryman and a statue of Bill Monroe who is credited with being one of the pioneers of Bluegrass music.
And then we began walking up Broadway. The street was filled with tourists and music could be heard through the large open windows of the bars lining the street. We stepped into Music City Showcase one of the souvenir shops on Broadway and walked to the back where we found our next stop: A Willie Nelson fortune telling machine. For a dollar you can get some words of wisdom from Willie.
8. The next stop was on the way back to the car so we continued walking to first and Broadway to walk along the Cumberland and our parking garage. On the way we passed a historical marker calling out one of Nashville's first white settlers. Timothy DeMontbrun, which somehow became Demonbreun, settled and began trading furs in 1769 and became a permanent resident when he opened a store and tavern in 1790.
Also for the record it is pronounced De-mum-bree-un.
As we walked past the Hard Rock Cafe we saw a cool wall mural of a giant painter and tiny onlooker.
Then we came to Riverfront Park which due to the rain was more like River In Park. While the flooding is nowhere near 2010 it is still pretty high and you can see the steps of RiverFront Park disappear into the water. Also the statue across the River is not normally in the water.
We walked past Fort Nashborough, a recreation of the early 2 acre structure that had been built along the Cumberland River. Included in it was a statue of James Robertson and John Donelson two of the earliest settlers and also the namesakes of two counties including mine, I live in Robertson county.
This brought us to what was supposed to be stop eight on the list. It was a brick street. When we got there though we were a little underwhelmed. The book made it sound like a unique brick or something however it was a pretty normal brick street. I've seen lots of brick and cobblestone streets which is why this didn't really stand out to me much. I mean it is a nice street but pretty typical.
9. Stop nine required a short drive across the Cumberland to East Nashville. There we found a wall mural of a hot air ballon that has a basket you can actually stand in. I love wall murals and one that allows the viewer to become part of it was to cool to ignore.
10. Another short drive away took us to a Civil War Memorial for the Battle of Nashville.
Also in the park is an Oak tree that has stood since the battle December of 1864. It has actually been classified as a Historic Tree because of the important history it has "witnessed."
11. The next stop was 40 music square west and Starstruck Entertainment. The building is surrounded by a brick wall and hidden in the wall is a heart shaped brick signifying music row as the heart of Music City.
12. Stop twelve is truly a hidden gem in a parking garage underneath a row of stores right off Broadway and in the garage are a series of murals painted with acrylics by Brian Tull. The first one is titled "The Highway Has Always Been Your Lover." The inspiration came from a photo. The second mural is "Anabell" after Brian Tull saw Jesse Lee Jones, the owner of Robert Western World, 1952 Cadillac in an alleyway. The third is titled "Before We Abandoned It Out West" and is my favorite of the three.
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| Artist Brian Tull @artistbriantull |
13. The next stop is an old silo in a West Nashville neighborhood called the Nations. On the silo is the image of Lee Estes, a highly respected member of the community who has lived there his entire life. I used to work near the silo and saw the stunning painting every day as I drove by. The artist is Guido Van Helten who is known for his paintings that look almost like black and white photographs.
14. Our final stop was diner at the Patterson House a local Nashville restaurant that you could walk by and never realize it is a restaurant. It is famous for its cocktails and for strict rules about cell phone use. There are no pictures allowed inside the restaurant.
And that concluded a great day of discovering Nashville.
