Tennessee State Capitol at Dusk

This is the view of the Tennessee State Capitol at Dusk as seen from Bicentennial Mall.

Tennessee Zero Milestone

When you're on the highway and it says that Nashville is 37 miles away, it means you are 37 miles from this marker, which notes, "Distances on state highways measured from this point." TDOT placed this marker at Bicentennial Mall State Park when it opened in 1996.

The original Zero Milestone was placed om May 12, 1924 at the corner of Union Street and Sixth Ave. in Downtown. Later it was relocated in front of the highway department's new building on Charlotte Ave. Later, a new TDOT building was built and this multi-ton stone was misplaced. The new zero milestone seen here was added to the park after an extensive search for the original yielded no results.

Bicentennial Mall Fountains at night

During the day, the fountains at Bicentennial Mall are perfect for the kids to splash and play in. At night, the fountains light up and change color. There are 31 fountains here and each one represents one of the major rivers in the state.

Springtime at Bicentennial Mall

This photo was taken 6 years ago. Some of the trees had started to bloom and showed rich color, while others had yet to start. CSX 1111 rolls on through over the bridge at the park. Notice the outline of the state of Tennessee at the bottom? This photo was taken from Capitol Hill where you can get this view of the entire urban state park.

Train Bridge, Bicentennial Park, Nashville

A CSX train engine crosses over the bridge which is part of the entrance to Bicentennial Mall State Park in Nashville, TN. In the background, people sit in the ampitheater to enjoy a sunny day. This picture is taken from Capitol Hill on the north side of the state capitol.

Bicentennial Mall Carillon Bell Towers

Seen about an hour before dusk at the Tennessee State Park is a rare large instrument. A simple way of thinking about it, take a piano or organ keyboard, and for each key that is pressed, a bell is rung. Most Carillons are built into a large tower, however the one here has a separate tower for each bell. Carillons make for an inconvenient instrument, there are perhaps about a thousand in the world. There's 164 in the United States, but since Nashville is Music City, you know there's going to be more than one: Both Belmont University and Lipscomb University both have one. (side note: The one at Lipscomb was dedicated on the day I graduated, and later Lipscomb's Carilloneur played the harpsichord at my wedding.) There's also one at the University of the South and maybe one inside Knoxville's Sunsphere.

Bicentennial Mall Floating Globe

Did you know that a several ton ball of marble will float on just an inch or two of water? Well, it can, and there's one at Bicentennial Mall at downtown Nashville to prove it. (I've also seen one at Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum in Gatlinburg.) It takes a little bit of effort but you can spin the sphere. The one here also serves as a globe - Tennessee is somewhere on the other side.

In the background, you can see the State Capitol, as well as other downtown buildings.

Nashville's Farmer's Market at Sundown

It's that time where many local farmers have their produce for sale at the Farmer's Market. The Farmer's Market began in Nashville at the City Market Building along James Robertson Parkway. Eventually, that building became a city municipal building renamed as the Ben West Building, although City Market is still etched along the concrete above the main entrance.

The Farmer's Market was then moved to where the Bicentennial Mall is today. When the Bicentennial Mall was built in the 90's, the new Farmer's Market was built next door to the mall now at its Corn cob columned location along 8th Ave. I remember going to the market as a child with my mom and she would always buy a basket of fresh peaches.