Successful cities are storytellers. They take the odds and ends of historical accident and meld them together into a story as compelling as any novel. Nashville is a city that loves to tell stories. A visitor to Nashville is rarely more than a few steps away from some reminder of the history of country music. But competing stories are here too. The 19th century Gothic architecture of Ryman Auditorium is crowded by glass-covered corporate office buildings. Country music’s Gothic vies with the Classical architecture of the state capitol and the replica Parthenon in Centennial Park. This visual essay is an examination of how one distinctive American city crafts its story for visitors. It is the first in a series of essays interpreting the spaces of American cities.
