Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville is the of the  of. It is the second most populous city in the state after. It is located on the in, in the north-central part of the state. Nashville is a major hub for the, , , and industries.

Nashville has a government which includes seven smaller municipalities in a two-tier system. The population of Nashville-Davidson County stood at 607,413 as of 2005, according to  estimates. The 2005 population of the entire 13-county was 1,498,836, making it the largest and fastest-growing  in the state.

History
Nashville was founded by and a party of  in 1779, and was originally called, after the  hero. Nashville quickly grew because of its prime location, accessibility as a river, and its later status as a major center. In 1806, Nashville was as a city and became the  of Davidson County, Tennessee. In 1843, the city was named the permanent of the state of Tennessee.

By 1860, when the first began to be heard across the,  was a very prosperous city. The city's significance as a shipping port made it a desirable prize as a means of controlling important river and railroad transportation routes. In February 1862, Nashville became the first state capital to fall to Union troops.

Though the Civil War left Nashville in dire economic straits, the city quickly rebounded. Within a few years, the city had reclaimed its important shipping and trading position and also developed a solid base. The post-Civil War years of the late 19th century brought a newfound prosperity to Nashville. These healthy economic times left the city with a legacy of grand classical-style buildings, which can still be seen around the downtown area.

It was the advent of the in 1925, combined with an already thriving publishing industry, that positioned it to become "Music City USA". In 1963, Nashville consolidated its government with Davidson County and thus became the first major city in the United States to form a. Since the 1970s, the city has experienced tremendous growth, particularly during the of the 1990s under the leadership of Mayor (now-), who made urban renewal a priority, and fostered the construction or renovation of several city landmarks, including the , the  downtown, the Sommet Center, and LP Field.



The (formerly Nashville Arena and Gaylord Entertainment Center) was built as both a large concert facility and as an enticement to lure either a  or  (NHL) sports franchise. This was accomplished in 1997 when Nashville was awarded an NHL expansion team which was subsequently named the. (formerly Adelphia Coliseum) was built after the 's (NFL) agreed to move to the city in 1995. The NFL debuted in Nashville in 1998 at Stadium, and LP Field opened in the summer of 1999. The Oilers changed their name to the and saw a season culminate in the  and a close  game.

Today the city along the is a crossroads of American culture, and easily the fastest-growing part of the  and the territory between  and. Currently, there are many plans of building multiple residential and business towers in the downtown area, including the. If constructed, this will be the tallest building in both and  surpassing the, and will also become the tallest building in the USA outside of  and  surpassing the Bank of America Plaza in.

Geography
Nashville lies on the Cumberland River in the northwestern portion of the. Nashville's ranges from 117 meters (385 ft) above sea level at the Cumberland River to 354 meters (1,160 ft) above sea level at its highest point.

According to the, the city has a total area of 1,362.6 (526.1 ). 1,300.8 km² (502.3 mi²) of it is land and 61.8 km² (23.9 mi²) of it (4.53%) is water.

Climate
Nashville lies in a transitional climate zone between and , above the 0 °C  freeze line for genuine subtropical areas, but still below the &minus;3 °C mesotherm "persistent snow" line for genuinely continental areas. The city has unusually pronounced seasons for a Southern city, because of both the elevation of the area and the lack of a significant body of water nearby. Summers in Nashville are generally hot and humid, with July afternoons averaging 89 °F (32 °C). Winters are moderately cold by U.S. standards, with nighttime lows in January averaging 28 °F (&minus;2 °C). Average annual rainfall is 48.1 inches (1222 mm), typically with winter and spring being the wettest and autumn being the driest. Average annual snowfall is about 9 inches (229 mm), falling mostly in January and February. Spring and fall are generally pleasantly warm but prone to s, which occasionally bring es&mdash;with recent major events on and.

The coldest temperature ever recorded in Nashville was &minus;17 °F (&minus;27 °C), on, , and the highest was 107 °F (42 °C), on ,. The largest one-day snow total was 17 inches (432 mm) on,. The largest and most memorable event in the last few years was the storm on, , on which date Nashville received 7 inches (178 mm).

Nashville's long springs and autumns combined with a diverse array of trees and grasses can often make it uncomfortable for sufferers. In 2007, Nashville was ranked as the 65th-worst spring allergy city in the U.S. by the.

Metropolitan area
Nashville has the largest in the state of Tennessee, spanning several counties. The Nashville Metropolitan Statistical Area encompasses the counties of, , , , , , , , , , , , , and.

Government and politics
The City of Nashville and Davidson County merged in 1963 as a way for Nashville to combat the problems of. The combined entity is officially known as "the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County," and is popularly known as "Metro Nashville" or simply "Metro". It offers services such as, , , water, and sewage treatment. When the Metro government was formed in 1963, the government was split into two service districts-- the "urban services district" and the "general services district." The urban services district encompasses the 1963 boundaries of the former City of Nashville, and the general services district includes the remainder of Davidson County.

Nashville has a strong-mayor form of government. It is governed by a mayor, vice-mayor and 40-member Metropolitan Council. The current mayor of Nashville is. The Metropolitan Council is the legislative body of government for Nashville and Davidson County. There are 5 council members who are elected at large and 35 council members that represent individual districts. The Metro Council has regular meetings that are presided over by the vice-mayor, who is currently. The Metro Council meets on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m., according to the Metropolitan Charter.

Nashville is one of the few major Southern cities that has remained loyal to the. Most local elections are officially nonpartisan. However, Democratic dominance is so absolute that most local races take place between the populist (moderate-to-conservative) and "good government" (liberal) wings of the Democratic Party. ; the "good government" faction has held the upper hand for some time; mayor-elect Dean may be said to represent that perspective. Elected are few and far between. At the state level, only two Republicans&mdash;one in the and one in the &mdash;represent significant portions of Nashville. Most area residents who prefer conservative politics generally live in the outlying suburban counties (which themselves were represented by conservative Democrats well into the late 1970s). Much of this, of course, is a reaction in many respects, somewhat akin to urban-suburban polarizations elsewhere in America, to the lifestyle-driven liberal orientation of the city's unusually large (for the South) collegiate and white-collar professional population (with the musician community divided between the cultural traditionalists in and  and the progressive, even leftist, slant among  musicians and those in similar genres).

Democrats are no less dominant at the federal level. Since the end of, the Democratic presidential candidate has carried Nashville and Davidson County in every election with the exception of two. In the, of the  (and governor of nearby ) carried the city by a large margin, although he did not win the state ( did). In the, Nixon became the only Republican to carry Nashville since Reconstruction, gaining support from the then-dominant conservative Democrats in the area. However, since then, Democrats have usually won Nashville by some of the largest, if not the largest, margins in Tennessee, even when the rest of the state strongly favors the Republican. In the, carried Nashville with over 59% of the vote even as he narrowly lost his home state. In the, carried Nashville with 55% of the vote even as  won the state by 14 points. The only part of Tennessee more heavily Democratic than Nashville is the major portion of the city of, which has a far larger population of (some 60 percent as compared to Nashville's 25 or so), making Nashville's continued loyalty to the Democratic Party all the more remarkable--and increasingly unique--for a city so far south in the U.S.

Despite its size, all of Nashville has been in one for most of the time since Reconstruction. For most of the time, it has been numbered as the, currently represented by Democrat. A Republican has not represented a significant portion of Nashville since. While Republicans made a few spirited challenges in the mid-1960s and early 1970s, they have not made a serious bid for the district since 1972, when the Republican candidate gained only 38% of the vote even as Nixon carried the district by a large margin. The district's best-known congressman was probably, who represented the district from to  and was  for much of 's first term. Another nationally prominent congressman from Nashville was, who represented the district from to  and was  from  to. Former mayors and  also sat in the U.S. House before assuming the Metro mayoral office.

A tiny portion of southern Davidson County (between Hillsboro and Nolensville Roads, split by Interstate 65) was drawn into the heavily Republican 7th District after the 2000 Census. That district is currently represented by of neighboring Williamson County. Despite this, many living Nashvillians have never been represented by a Republican on the state or federal levels.

Demographics
The data below is for all of Metropolitan Nashville-Davidson County, including other incorporated cities within the (such as  and ). See for demographic data on Nashville-Davidson County excluding separately incorporated cities.

As of the, there were 569,891 people, 237,405 households, and 138,169 families residing in the city. The was 438.1/km² (1,134.6/mi²). There were 252,977 housing units at an average density of 194.5/km² (503.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 66.99%, 25.92% , 0.29% , 2.33% , 0.07% , 2.42% from and 1.97% from two or more races. or of any race were 4.58% of the population. Nashville's estimated population for 2005 is 607,413 people.

There were 237,405 households out of which 26.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.9% were living together, 14.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.8% were non-families. 33.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the city the population was spread out with 22.2% under the age of 18, 11.6% from 18 to 24, 34.0% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 11.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 93.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $39,797, and the median income for a family was $49,317. Males had a median income of $33,844 versus $27,770 for females. The for the city was $23,069. About 10.0% of families and 13.0% of the population were below the, including 19.1% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over. 4.6% of the civilian labor force is unemployed.

Because of its relatively low cost of living and large job market, Nashville has become a popular city for. Nashville’s foreign-born population more than tripled in size between 1990 and 2000, increasing from 12,662 to 39,596. Large groups of, , , , , and call Nashville home, among other groups. Nashville has the largest Kurdish community in the United States, numbering approximately 11,000. During the, Nashville was one of the few international locations where Iraqi expatriates could vote. The ish community in Nashville dates back over 150 years ago, and numbers about 6,500 (2001).

Economy
As the "home of country music", Nashville has become a major music recording and production center. All of the, as well as numerous independent labels, have offices in Nashville, mostly in the area. Since the 1960s, Nashville has been the second biggest music production center (after ) in the U.S. As of 2006, Nashville's music industry is estimated to have a total economic impact of $6.4 billion per year and to contribute 19,000 jobs to the Nashville area.

In 2009, the will be built in Downtown Nashville. Standing at more than 1,000 feet above the ground, it will be the largest skyscraper outside of either or  and among the top 20 tallest buildings in the world.

Although Nashville is renowned as a music recording center and tourist destination, its largest is actually health care. Nashville is home to more than 250 health care companies, including, the largest private operator of hospitals in the world. As of 2006, it is estimated that the health care industry contributes $18.3 billion per year and 94,000 jobs to the Nashville-area economy. The automotive industry is also becoming increasingly important for the entire Middle Tennessee region. moved its corporate headquarters in 2006 from  to Nashville, with corporate headquarters temporarily located in the  until 2008, when the ese auto maker will establish permanent headquarters in the Nashville suburb of. Nissan also has its largest North American manufacturing plant in, a Nashville suburb.

Other major industries in Nashville include, , and (especially  publishing). The city hosts headquarters operations for several denominations, including the, , and ., and the National Association of Free Will Baptists.

Nashville has a small but growing film industry. Several major motion pictures have been filmed in Nashville, including ', ', ', ', and 's .

companies within Nashville include (formerly Hospital Corporation of America),, and  (in ).

Companies based in Nashville with over $1 Billion in annual revenue

Education
Nashville is often labeled the "Athens of the South" due to the many colleges and universities in the city and metropolitan area. These colleges and universities in Nashville include, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , and.

Within 30 miles (50 km) of Nashville in is  (MTSU), a full-sized public university with Tennessee's largest undergraduate population. Enrollment in post-secondary education in the city is around 43,000. Within the Nashville Metropolitan Statistical Area which includes MTSU,, Volunteer State Community College , and O'More College of Design (Franklin) total enrollment exceeds 74,000. Within a 40 mile (65 km) radius are  and Columbia State Community College, enrolling an additional 13,600.

The city is served by the and numerous private schools.

Culture
Much of the city's cultural life has revolved around its large university community. Particularly significant in this respect were two groups of critics and writers who were associated with Vanderbilt University in the early twentieth century, the and the.

Popular destinations include Fort Nashborough, a reconstruction of the original settlement; the ; and, a full-scale replica of the original in. The State Capitol is one of the oldest working state capitol buildings in the nation, while is one of the older presidential homes open to the public. The is one of the city's newer attractions.

Country music
Many popular tourist sites involve country music, including the, , which was for many years the site of the , and Belcourt Theater. Each year, the (formerly known as Fan Fair) brings thousands of country fans to the city.

Nashville was once home to the, which operated from 1972 to 1997 before being demolished to make room for the mega-.

Lower Broadway is home to many bars and clubs. Probably the most famous of these is Tootsie's Orchid Lounge, which has hosted many big names from the country music scene while remaining small, intimate, and relatively unchanged since its founding in the 1960s.

Christian pop music
The industry is based in Nashville, with many of the genre's most popular acts such as, , , , and  based there.

Jazz
Although Nashville was never known as a jazz town, it did have many great jazz bands including The Nashville Jazz Machine led by Dave Converse and its current version, the Nashville Jazz Orchestra led by Jim Williamson as well as The Establishment led by Billy Adair. The Francis Craig Orchestra entertained Nashvillians from 1929 to 1945 from the Oak Bar and Grille Room in the Hermitage Hotel. Craig's orchestra was also the first to broadcast over local radio station WSM and enjoyed phenomenal success with a 12-year show that was aired over the entire NBC network. In the late 1930s, he introduced a newcomer,, a former cheerleader and local graduate of Hume Fogg High School and Vanderbilt University.

Radio station in nearby  has aided siginficantly in the recent revival of the city's jazz scene, as has the non-profit Nashville Jazz Workshop, which holds concerts in a renovated building in the north Nashville neighborhood of Germantown.

Civil War
Civil War history is important to the city's tourism industry. Sites pertaining to the and the nearby  and  can be seen, along with several well-preserved antebellum plantation houses such as Belle Meade Plantation and Belmont Mansion.

Performing arts
The is the major performing arts center of the city. It is the home of the, , the , and.

In September 2006, the opened as the home of the.

Art museums
Nashville has several arts centers and museums, including the, located in the former building; ; the ; Fisk University's Van Vechten and Aaron Douglas Galleries; Vanderbilt University's Fine Art Gallery and Sarratt Gallery; and the Parthenon.

Major annual events



 * The is a four day event in June featuring performances by country music stars, autograph signings, artist/fan interaction, and other activities for country music fans.
 * In September, Nashville hosts the at the State Fairgrounds. The State Fair lasts nine days and includes rides, exhibits, s,, and numerous other shows and attractions.
 * The takes place each year for a week in April. It features hundreds of independent films and is one of the biggest film festivals in the Southern United States.
 * In September, the African Street Festival takes place on the campus of Tennessee State University.
 * Other big events in Nashville include the celebration which takes place each year at Riverfront Park, the  and Half Marathon which normally includes over 25,000 runners from around the world, the Tomato Art Festival which takes place in East Nashville every August, and the Australian Festival which celebrates the cultural and business links between the U.S. and.

Media
The primary daily newspaper in Nashville is ', which, until, competed fiercely with another daily, the ' (although the two were housed in the same building under a joint-operating agreement). Although The Tennessean now enjoys a relative monopoly on the local newspaper market, a smaller free daily called  has cut into The Tennessean's market share somewhat. Online news service  competes with the printed dailies to break news of business and local/state politics. Several weekly papers are also published in Nashville, including the Nashville Scene, Nashville Business Journal, and The Tennessee Tribune. Historically, The Tennessean was associated with a broadly liberal editorial policy, while The Banner carried staunchly conservative views in its editorial pages; The Banner's heritage is carried on these days by The City Paper. The Scene is the area's broadsheet, while The Tribune serves Nashville's African-American population.

Nashville is home to nearly a dozen broadcast television stations, although most households are served by direct network connections. has a monopoly on terrestrial cable service in Davidson County (but not throughout the entire ). Nashville is ranked as the 30th largest television market in the United States.

Nashville is also home to cable networks (CMT),  (GAC), and  (TBN, actually located in nearby ), among others. CMT's facilities are located in  with the other  properties. The Top 20 Countdown and CMT Insider are taped in their Nashville studios. Nashville is also the home and namesake of the country music singing competition , which broadcasts from the.

Several dozen and  radio stations broadcast in the Nashville area, including five  and one. Nashville is ranked as the 44th largest radio market in the United States. Nashville is home to which originally stood for "We Shield Millions". is owned by Cumulus Media and is 95.5 FM the Wolf. , owned by Gaylord Entertainment Company, can be heard nationally on 650 AM or online at WSM Online from its studios located inside the. is a -owned talk station which was originally sponsored by the, and its competitor is owned by.

Sports
Nashville has several professional teams, most notably the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League and the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League. Several other pro sports teams also call Nashville home, as does the. The Vanderbilt Commodores are members of the. The football team of plays its home games at LP Field.

Sports venues in Nashville are:
 * at Vanderbilt University
 * at Vanderbilt University
 * at Belmont University
 * at Tennessee State University
 * at Lipscomb University
 * at state fairgrounds
 * at Belmont University
 * at Tennessee State University
 * at Lipscomb University
 * at state fairgrounds

Parks
Metro Board of Parks and Recreation owns and manages 10,200 acres (4,120 ha) of land and 99 parks and greenways (comprising more than 3% of the total area of the county). 2,684 acres (1,086 ha) of land is home to Warner Parks, which houses a 5,000 square-foot (460 m²) learning center, 20 miles (30 km) of scenic roads, 12 miles (19 km) of hiking trails, and 10 miles (16 km) of horse trails. In late 2005, began offering free wireless broadband internet service.

, the largest municipal parks in the state, are home to the annual Iroquois Steeplechase.

The maintains parks on  and. These parks are used for multiple activities including, , and. Percy Priest Lake is also home to the.

Transportation
Nashville is centrally located at the crossroads of three s:, , and. is a bypass route connecting I-40, I-65, and I-24 south of downtown Nashville. The  provides bus transit within the city.

The city is served by, which was a hub for between 1986 and 1995 and is now a mini-hub for.

Although it is a major rail hub, with a large freight rail yard, Nashville is one of the largest cities in the U.S. not served by.

Nashville launched a passenger rail system called the on,. The first and only currently operational leg of the system connects the city of Lebanon to downtown Nashville at. Legs to Murfreesboro and Gallatin are currently in the feasibility study stage. The system plan includes seven legs connecting Nashville to surrounding suburbs.

Notable bridges in the city are:

Notable residents
Some of the most notable people born in Nashville include novelist, civil rights activist , rapper (David Darnell Brown), singer , former  , artist ,  , actress , actor , and.

Many notable s have lived in Nashville including, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , and.

Other notable people who have resided in Nashville include former  and his wife, former , former  , civil rights leader , former  and  , -winning novelist and poet ,  actresses  and ,  host and  , and financial talk show host,.

Nicknames
Nashville is a colorful, well-known city in several different arenas. As such, it has earned various sobriquets, including:
 * Music City, USA: announcer David Cobb first used this name during a 1950 broadcast and it stuck. It is now the official nickname used by the . Nashville is the home of the, the , and many major s. This name also dates back to 1874, where after receiving and hearing a performance by the ,  of England is reported as saying that "These young people must surely come from a musical city."
 *  of the South: Home to twenty-four post-secondary educational institutions, Nashville has long been compared to the ancient city of learning, site of 's . Since 1897, a full-scale has stood in Nashville, and many examples of classical and neoclassical architecture can be found in the city.
 * The  or The Buckle of the : Nashville has over 700 churches (more than any other American city per capita), several seminaries, a number of Christian music companies, and is the headquarters for the publishing arms of both the  and the . It is also the seat of the, the , the  and , the world's largest producer of s.
 * Cashville: Nashville native, a rapper in the clique, released a very successful album called Straight Outta Ca$hville that has popularized the nickname among a new generation.
 * Thrashville: Commonly used variation of "Cashville".
 * Nashvegas: The rhinestones and neon of Nashville have given rise to a glitzy image that local residents have embraced. Playing off the image of, this nickname reflects the city's colorful nightlife and affluence. music artist  has popularized the nickname in song.
 * Titan Town: For its team, the.
 * Little Kurdistan: Nashville has the United States' largest population of, estimated to be around 11,000.

Sister cities
Nashville is an active participant in the program and has relationships with the following towns: The city is also exploring forming a sister city relationship with:
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