A Crossroads for Bison, Settlers, and Musicians
Originally the site of the 1897 Tennessee Centennial Exposition, Centennial Park had a faded Beaux-Arts core when NBW began work in 2013. While the Parthenon remained, the park lacked cohesion, a functional plan, and modern infrastructure to serve its three million annual visitors. NBW’s vision elevates the visitor experience, integrating history, ecology, and public space.
A major intervention was the daylighting of Cockrill Spring, buried in the 19th century due to cholera outbreaks. Uncovered in 2014, the spring now flows through a wetland glade to Lake Watauga, irrigating the park. Nearby, Musicians Corner — a new earthen amphitheater — honors Nashville’s musical legacy with a setting inspired by historic gathering spaces.
A renewed civic landmark that fosters gathering, reflection, and cultural continuity…
The park also commemorates pivotal civic moments. A bronze monument to leading suffragists marks Tennessee’s decisive role in ratifying the 19th Amendment. The redesigned Children’s Memory Garden offers a deeply contemplative sanctuary for remembrance. Originally conceived in 1996 as a tribute to children lost to violence, NBW transformed the space into a series of intimate terraces enclosed by curving pink granite walls. Seating invites quiet reflection, while small LED ground lights pulse gently after dusk, symbolizing the enduring presence of those remembered. The garden is a place of solace and healing, reinforcing the park’s role as a site of collective memory.
The Children's Memory Garden at Centennial Park
NBW revived a Beaux-Arts formality to frame the Parthenon and Great Lawn, extending tree-lined walkways to enhance views and provide spaces for festivals and daily use. Rooted in the site’s past while embracing its future, Centennial Park is a renewed civic landmark that fosters gathering, reflection, and cultural continuity in the heart of Nashville.
Research revealed the site’s layered histories — from Indigenous pathways along the Natchez Trace to the Exposition’s vision of Tennessee’s industrial future. The park’s landscape, shaped by Middle Tennessee’s limestone karst and historic salt licks, had long been a crossroads for bison, settlers, and musicians — foundations of Nashville’s cultural identity. NBW reintroduced native ecologies, enhancing the park’s historic spatial frameworks with new walking trails, commemorative elements, and tree plantings.
