Centennial Park Conservancy and Nashville Sites are partnering on a new self-guided audio tour that invites visitors to explore the layered history of Metro Parks’ Centennial Park, where art, activism, community, and nature have intersected for generations.
Accessible via QR codes placed throughout the 132-acre Centennial Park, the twelve-stop tour allows guests to follow in sequence or explore freely. Each location reveals stories that have shaped the landmark — from ancient Indigenous pathways to World’s Fair grandeur to modern-day music and activism.
Participants will encounter performance hubs like the Centennial Park Bandshell and Musicians Corner; sites of protest and reflection, including the Great Lawn and Centennial Art Center; environmental highlights such as the herb gardens and Lake Watauga beehives, and pop culture touchstones like the Croquet Cafe and the Taylor Swift bench.
“Centennial Park reflects Nashville’s ongoing story — its creativity, its struggles, and its sense of community,” says Centennial Park Conservancy President John Tumminello. “This Nashville Sites tour helps connect residents and visitors to the deeper history of the land while celebrating how the park continues to serve as a gathering place for culture, dialogue, and expression.”
“This is a phenomenal resource for both residents and visitors,” said Metro Parks Director Monique Horton Odom. “It’s an important and useful tool in helping us tell the story of the park and why it is an iconic feature of middle Tennessee.”
The tour is guided by Wesley Paine, Parthenon director from 1979 to 2021, and features voices from the Nashville Sites Cultural Ambassadors team, including Jerome Moore, Canesha Conger, Trenton Wheeler, Virginia Ezell Briley, and Dr. Angela Sutton.
The project is sponsored by the Centennial Park Conservancy and written by Dr. Learotha Williams Jr., professor at Tennessee State University and Nashville Sites director of public history. Additional contributors include Russell LeStourgeon, Abby Hikade, Mary Ellen Pethel, and Steve Citerin.
For more information on the tour, please visit www.conservancyonline.com/walking-audio-tour.
ABOUT NASHVILLE SITES
Nashville Sites is a free, interactive storytelling platform that brings the city’s history to life through curated walking and driving tours. The platform offers tours in multiple languages covering civil rights, music, architecture, neighborhoods, and cultural history. For more information, visit www.nashvillesites.org.
ABOUT CENTENNIAL PARK CONSERVANCY
Centennial Park Conservancy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a mission to preserve, enhance, and share the Parthenon and Centennial Park so all future generations may benefit from these cultural and enriching landmarks. The organization works in partnership with Metro Parks to protect and revitalize the Park’s green space, underwrite the Parthenon’s exhibition and educational programs, and present accessible and inclusive community programming to sustain the Park’s vibrancy. For more information, visit www.conservancyonline.com.
ABOUT METRO PARKS AND RECREATION
The Parks and Recreation Department offers a variety of facilities and programs throughout Davidson County. Currently, Metro Parks oversees nearly 16,000 acres of open space, including 189 parks and 110 miles of greenways. It is the department’s mission to sustainably and equitably provide everyone in Nashville with an inviting network of parks and greenways that offer health, wellness and quality of life through recreation, conservation and community.
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