History of Centennial Park
The City of Nashville first undertook the construction of a full-scale replica of the Parthenon for the Tennessee Centennial Exposition of 1897. The exposition celebrated 100 years of Tennessee's statehood a year after its true centennial birthday of 1896. Centennial organizers blamed lack of funds, slow construction and the presidential election of 1896 for the delayed start date. Once started, the Tennessee Centennial was a huge success with approximately 1.8 million people in attendance over the six-month period.