In the more than 200 years since its founding in 1779, the community now known worldwide as Nashville, Tennessee, has earned fame and prestige in many areas and, in the process, earned a proportionate number of nicknames. “Music City” … “Athens of the South” … “Wall Street of the South” … “The Buckle of the Bible Belt” … “City of Parks”—those are just a few of the names Nashville has been given throughout its history.
The problem we have with such nicknames is that each is severely limited, generally paying tribute to only one facet of what is truly a multifaceted metropolitan area. At the same time, we appreciate that each of these names, in its own way, serves as a tribute to some of the accomplishments that have made our city great. In other words, it is significant that Nashville has inspired so many terms of endearment, and so we'll look at these nicknames in greater detail later in this chapter. But first, we'd like to take time to point out something that, although you probably already know it, can occasionally get obscured by all the hype. And that is: Nashville is a wonderful place to live or to visit.
You might say that Nashville is the embodiment of Southern hospitality. Waitresses call you “honey” while serving you down-home delicacies such as fried chicken, made-from-scratch biscuits, grits, and country ham. People smile and speak to you on the street and are generally willing to give you the time of day or directions if you need them. Adding to the laid-back hospitable atmosphere are a few antebellum mansions, some of which could have been used as sets for Gone With the Wind; elegant Victorian homes; and lush flowering gardens. Nashville is a casual place, and many businesspeople wear cowboy boots with their suits. If you're thinking now that we're merely catering to stereotypes, rest assured that these scenes are all very real, although they're only a part of the big picture. There are, of course, plenty of Nashvillians who wouldn't be caught dead in cowboy boots, for example, and many who prefer to dine on continental cuisine and live in modern condominiums. Such is the diversity that characterizes this town.
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With its two pointy peaks and dark facade, the tallest building in Nashville quickly got a nickname—the Batman Building. Actually, the Commerce Street skyscraper is the AT&T Tower, but hardly anyone calls it that because it resembles the shape of the comic book hero's mask. Built in 1994, the eye-catching $94 million structure is 632 feet tall and was originally designed for BellSouth by architects at Earl Swensson Associates. The architects have said the Batman resemblance wasn't intentional, and they did not even notice it on the small models prepared for the project.
This is a place where, fortunately, quality of life and cost of living don't go hand in hand. According to the ACCRA Cost of Living Index, for the first quarter of 2014 Nashville's cost of living was 87.6 percent of the national average. (In comparison, the cost of living for Richmond, Virginia—a comparable-size city—was 99.1 percent.) In Tennessee you pay no state income tax—although this may someday change.
Of course, with attractions like the Grand Ole Opry, the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum, the Ryman Auditorium, historic Belle Meade Plantation, the Hermitage estate of Andrew Jackson, and countless museums, art galleries, and outdoor recreational activities, Nashville remains a top tourist destination among Americans as well as visitors from other countries.
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Close to 40 historical markers decorate the roadsides and neighborhoods of west Nashville. They commemorate significant sites in the Battle of Nashville, the last major battle of the Civil War.
Nashville, the capital of Tennessee, is the center of a 14-county metropolitan statistical area (MSA) with a population of nearly 1.8 million, which makes it the most populated MSA in the state. The Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro MSA covers the counties of Davidson, Cheatham, Dickson, Maury, Robertson, Rutherford, Sumner, Wilson, and Williamson, as well as five counties that were added when the area's MSA was expanded in 2003: Cannon, Hickman, Macon, Smith, and Trousdale.
In addition, Montgomery, with its county seat of Clarksville, is considered part of the “Nashville Economic Market.”
Nashville-Davidson County has a combined metropolitan government. According to the US Census Bureau, the 2014 population of Nashville-Davidson County was 658,602. That population makes Nashville the second largest city in Tennessee, after Memphis, and Nashville's 533 square miles make it one of the United States’ largest cities in area.
Nashville is one of the fastest-growing large cities in the nation, with vigorous population growth that has continued for more than three decades. What brings so many people here is a strong economy that even in times of economic slowdown has bucked national trends, maintaining below-average unemployment rates and luring big corporate employers,
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Tennessee ties Missouri as the most neighborly state in the nation. Eight states border Tennessee: Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, and Virginia.
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Nashville is one of the largest cities in the United States in terms of area. It occupies 533 square miles. In comparison, Los Angeles covers 468 square miles.
When Nashville and Davidson County formed their combined city-county metropolitan government in 1962, it was one of the first of its kind. The act served a dual purpose: increasing a tax base that had been dwindling because of numbers of people moving from the city to the suburbs, and eliminating much duplication of services, thus resulting in a more efficient form of government. Still, several cities located within the boundaries of Metro Nashville opted to remain separate from the new metropolitan government. These include the cities of Belle Meade, Berry Hill, Goodlettsville, and Forest Hills. While located within the Nashville city limits, they maintain their own city governments and provide different levels of service to their residents.
Downtown Nashville today is a vibrant, thriving area that is a blend of old and new. While many of the old buildings that line Broadway have changed little since the turn of the 20th century, steel-and-glass skyscrapers loom nearby. Just down the street from the legendary honky-tonks where many of yesterday's country singers and songwriters first plied their trade, you'll also find newer attractions such as the Hard Rock Cafe. The Ryman Auditorium, a true landmark since its completion in 1892, has served as a tabernacle, assembly hall, and theater as well as onetime home of the Grand Ole Opry. The beautifully restored building still plays host to a variety of entertainers, including modern-day legends such as Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan.
Nashville Vital Statistics
Founded: 1779 as Fort Nashborough; established as town of Nashville by North Carolina Legislature in 1784
Mayor/governor: Mayor Karl Dean and Governor Bill Haslam
Population:
Area:
Counties in the Nashville area (with major cities and county seats):
Major airport/major interstates: Nashville International Airport; I-24, I-40, and I-65 converge in Nashville
Nickname: “Music City”
Average temperatures:
Average annual precipitation: Rainfall: 47.3 inches; snowfall: 11.0 inches
Major colleges and universities:
Major area employers: Vanderbilt University and Medical Center, HCA Inc., Nissan North America, Kroger Company, Saint Thomas Health Services, Randstad, Shoney's Inc., Electrolux Home Products
Famous sons and daughters: Andrew Jackson, Wilma Rudolph, Kitty Wells, Pat Boone, Miley Cyrus, Bill Belichick, Reese Witherspoon
Public transportation: Metropolitan Transit Authority operates intercity bus lines, downtown trolleys, and 2 downtown landports
Military base: Fort Campbell, on the Tennessee-Kentucky state line at Clarksville, Tennessee, and Fort Campbell, Kentucky
Driving laws:
Alcohol laws:
Daily newspapers: The Tennessean, The City Paper online daily newspaper
Weekly newspaper: The Nashville Scene
Taxes: State sales tax is 5 percent for food and grocery items and 7 percent for all other items; prepared meals are taxed at 7 percent. With a local option tax of 2.25 percent, combined 9.25 percent tax applies in most counties to almost all purchases. Hotel-motel occupancy tax is 15.25 percent in Nashville-Davidson County.
Chamber of commerce: Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, 211 Commerce St., Suite 100, Nashville, TN 37201; (615) 743-3000; nashvillechamber.com.
Visitor center: Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp., One Nashville Place, 150 Fourth Ave. N., Suite G250, Nashville, TN 37219; (615) 259-4700; visitmusiccity.com.
Time/weather: National Weather Service: weather.gov; Central Standard Time
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Union soldiers brought baseball to Nashville during the Civil War, playing in the area where the Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park now stands. In the early 1900s Nashville had a Southern Association team that played at Sulphur Dell Park, in the same area, and won championships in 1901, 1902, and 1908.
From Roy Acuff, Minnie Pearl, Ernest Tubb, and Hank Williams to Garth Brooks, Faith Hill, Alan Jackson, and Shania Twain, Nashville has long been known as the world's capital of country music. But while country music remains Nashville's signature sound, other styles of music call Nashville home as well. Music City is headquarters for the growing contemporary Christian and gospel music industry, and stars of the genre—such as Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Jars of Clay, and dc Talk—all live or spend large amounts of time here. Premier jazz and classical label Naxos USA moved its US headquarters from New Jersey to Nashville in 1998.
Record labels, recording studios, music publishers, video production firms, booking agencies, management companies, and more support all this activity; in turn, these industries increase the city's appeal to artists, musicians, songwriters, and executives from around the world.
Nashville is a great place to make music, learn, work, worship, play, or be yourself. At the risk of sounding like a broken record (which we suppose is appropriate), we'll again state that Nashville is a wonderful place to live or to visit. Whatever your reason for being here (or planning to be here), for however long, enjoy your stay. This city has a lot to offer. Welcome!