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Hours of Operation: Tuesday – Saturday, 9:00 – 4:30 Th e Sunday , 12:30 – 4:30 Admi s s i on: Parthenon Members – free Adults – $6.00 Children (4 – 17) – $4.00 Seniors (62 +) – $4.00 Under 4 – free Map Group rates available, must be booked one week or more in advance; call 615-862-8431 for more information. Hours and admission prices subject to change without notice. Emergency Emergency Exit 11 Exit 11 Phone: 615-862-8431 Fax: 615-880-2265 6 www.parthenon.org 12 8 10 8 12 Food, drink and chewing gum are not permitted in the museum. 5 Photography is permitted only on the upper level. Please silence cell phones. 4 Reminder: enjoy the art with your eyes only; touching causes damage that will eventually destroy. The Parthenon is owned and operated by the Metropolitan Board of Parks and Recreation,Megan Barry, Mayor. 9 For information and group rates, please call 615-862-8431 or go to our web site www.parthenon.org. For ADA 5 5 information call 615-862-8400. 7 3 11 1 Entrance 7 Naos 2 Lobby 8 Elgin Casts 3 Gallery Lobby 9 Athena i 4 East Gallery 10 Treasury 5 Cowan Gallery 11 Bronze Doors 2 6 West Gallery 12 Pediment Models 1 The Parthenon The The ParthenonThe city of Nashville first undertook the construction of a full-scale replica of the The Elgin Casts Parthenon for the 1897 Tennessee Centennial Exposition. Many cities and states, major industries, and other interest groups also built pavilions for the celebration. Nashville’s pavilion was constructed of brick, wood lath, and plaster, and Between 1801 and 1804, British diplomat Sir Thomas represented the city’s reputation as the “Athens of the South.” The Parthenon Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, removed a group of sculptural housed the art exhibition, which consisted of 1,172 pieces from all over the world. fragments from the Acropolis to England; they The building was so popular that the city left the temporary structure standing included pieces from the Erectheon, the Parthenon, after the Exposition. In 1920, faced with crumbling pediments and decaying plaster, and the Propylea. Eventually, they became part of the the city authorized the reconstruction of the landmark with permanent materials. British Museum’s collection. Rather than rebuilding the structure exactly as it appeared in the Exposition, the city At the time of the Nashville Parthenon’s rebuilding, decided to create a complete replica of the original Greek temple, both inside and out. the city purchased a set of casts of the Parthenon What had been the basement of the 1897 Parthenon became gallery space in order to pediment fragments from England. Sculptors Leopold continue the Nashville Parthenon’s history of exhibiting fine art. and Belle Kinney Scholz used them as they re-created the complete pediments on the Nashville building. The casts On May 21, 1931, the Parthenon reopened to the public, attracting over 10,000 visitors remain, as do the Kinney-Scholz maquettes, as part of this Parthenon’s from 46 states and 12 foreign countries during its first month. permanent collection. Athena Centennial Park Goddess of wisdom, prudent warfare and the The area that Nashvillians and visitors enjoy today as Centennial Park has played useful arts; patron deity of the city an important role in Nashville’s development. The park was once a part of a 640 of Athens acre farm, purchased in 1783 for fifty cents an acre by pioneers John and Ann Original (now lost) created by Robertson Cockrill. Then, as now, the land marked the northern terminus of the Pheidias in the 5th century B.C.E., Natchez Trace. made of ivory and plates of gold fixed to a wooden frame It was used as a staging and assembly area during the War of 1812 and the Civil Modern Athena sculpted by War, and had become a race course and fairgrounds before serving as the site of Nashvillian Alan LeQuire the 1897 Centennial Exposition celebrating Tennessee’s first 100 years of 41’ 10” tall, from the floor statehood. to the top of the center crest on her helmet In 1902, just one year after the appointment of Nashville’s first Board of Park Made of gypsum cement, Commissioners, the city purchased the 130-acre Centennial Exposition site, reinforced with fiberglass, on a making it the first private land in Nashville to be converted to a park. Today, steel frame Centennial Park is home to two other arts centers, a gallery, playgrounds, and Commissioned in 1982, walking trails. It hosts numerous fairs and festivals and a variety of cultural unveiled in May, 1990 offerings throughout the year. Gilded and painted in 2002, with 8 pounds of 23.75 carat gold Nike, goddess of victory, perches on Athena’s right hand and stands 6’ 4” tall.