View source for Tennessee Centennial and International Exposition

{{Short description|Exposition held in Nashville, Tennessee in 1897}}
{{Infobox World's Fair
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| image           = Tennessee Centennial Exposition 1897 (LOC ppmsca.03354).jpg
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| caption         = [[Chromolithography|Chromolithograph]] of bird's-eye view of the expo grounds
| year            = 1897
| name            = Tennessee Centennial and International Exposition
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| building        = More than 100 buildings
| area            = 200 acres
| invent          = 
| visitors        = 1,786,714
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| country         = United States
| city            = [[Nashville]]
| venue           = now [[Centennial Park (Nashville)|Centennial Park]]
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| open            = May 1, 1897 
| close           = October 31, 1897
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The '''Tennessee Centennial and International Exposition''' was an exposition held in [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]] from May 1 – October 31, 1897 in what is now [[Centennial Park (Nashville)|Centennial Park]].  A year late, it celebrated the 100th anniversary of [[Tennessee]]'s entry into [[United States|the union]] in 1796.<ref>{{Cite web|title=TeVA: Tennessee Centennial Exposition|url=https://cdm15138.contentdm.oclc.org/customizations/global/pages/collections/centennial/centennial.html|access-date=2021-10-29|website=cdm15138.contentdm.oclc.org}}</ref> President [[William McKinley]] officially opened the event from the [[White House]], where he pressed a button that started the machinery building at the fair; he would visit in person a month later.

==Description==
The Exposition grounds covered about 200 acres and was located on the western fringe of the city, with access to the streetcar line. The landscape plan featured the notable [[Poa pratensis|blue grass]] of the region planted in lawn areas. The more than 100 buildings included those devoted to agriculture, commerce, education, fine arts, history, machinery, minerals and forestry, and transportation. Others had special exhibits related to children, women and the United States Government. Many cities and organizations built buildings and exhibit halls on the Exposition grounds. Foreign nations also were represented here. 

The [[Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway|Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railroad]] played a central role in the promotion and success of the Tennessee Centennial Exposition, and carried tourists to the event. John W. Thomas, who was president of the Railroad at the time, served as president of the Tennessee Centennial Exposition.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=TeVA: Tennessee Centennial Exposition |url=https://teva.contentdm.oclc.org/customizations/global/pages/collections/centennial/centennial.html |access-date=2024-08-08 |website=teva.contentdm.oclc.org}}</ref> Major [[Eugene Castner Lewis]], who was the chief civil engineer for the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railroad, served as the director general of the Exposition.<ref>{{Cite news|date=1918-11-11|title=Organ Recital in Memory of Maj. E. C. Lewis|pages=3|work=The Tennessean|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/68505151/organ-recital-in-memory-of-maj-e-c/|access-date=2021-10-29}}</ref> Lewis had suggested that a reproduction of the Parthenon be built in Nashville as the centerpiece of Tennessee’s Centennial Celebration to highlight the city as the "Athens of the South".   

[[Image:PyramidParthenon.jpg|thumb|The Nashville and Memphis pavilions at night along Watauga Lake; the Commerce Building is at rear]]
The City of [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]] featured a large pyramid in its exhibit, in honor of [[Memphis, Egypt|its Egyptian name]]. The Parthenon and the Pyramid were located next to each other on the shore of Lake Wautaga. Both the exhibits were lit at night. The separate Egyptian Pavilion featured popular [[Belly Dance|belly dancers]]. During the exposition, Italian-style gondolas plied the lake, carrying tourists by water between exhibits. 

Also located along Lake Watauga, the Negro Building was designed in a Spanish Renaissance style. Exhibits came from numerous cities, and [[Fisk University]] and [[Tuskegee Institute]] had their own exhibits. Booker T. Washington, president of the latter, was a featured speaker on Emancipation Day.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Negro Building|url=https://teva.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/Centennial/id/210/|access-date=2021-10-29|website=teva.contentdm.oclc.org|language=en}}</ref>

The total attendance was 1,786,714, of which the total paid attendance was 1,166,692. The total receipts were $1,101,285 (equivalent to  ${{formatprice|{{inflation|US-GDP|1101285|1897}}}} in {{inflation-year|US-GDP}}{{inflation-fn|US-GDP}}), and the disbursements $1,101,246 (equivalent to  ${{formatprice|{{inflation|US-GDP|1101246|1897}}}} in {{inflation-year|US-GDP}}{{inflation-fn|US-GDP}}).<ref>{{Cite NIE|wstitle=Tennessee Centennial Exposition|short=x|vb=x}}</ref>

The Parthenon was so popular that it was kept after most buildings and exhibits were dismantled. The original exposition grounds were adapted as [[Centennial Park (Nashville)|Centennial Park]] for the city. Lake Watauga was also retained in the city park. The Centennial Exposition was a great success and is still considered one of the most notable events ever to be held in the state. Unlike most World's Fairs, it did not lose money, but the final accounting showed a direct profit of less than $50.

==Later developments==
The fair remains a great source of civic pride for Nashvillians. Today the fairgrounds survive as  [[Centennial Park (Nashville)|Centennial Park]], the flagship park managed by the Metropolitan Nashville Parks and Recreation Department.<ref name=":0" /> 

The [[Parthenon (Nashville)|Parthenon replica]] built for the exhibition was made of temporary materials. Because of its popularity, it was reconstructed using permanent materials in a project lasting from 1920 to 1931. Today it is used as an art museum. Among its exhibits is [[Alan LeQuire]]'s 1990 re-creation of the ''[[Athena Parthenos]]'' statue. 

Nearly a century later, the United States held the [[1982 World's Fair]] in [[Knoxville, Tennessee]].

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://cdm15138.contentdm.oclc.org/customizations/global/pages/collections/centennial/centennial.html Tennessee Virtual Archive -- Tennessee Centennial Exposition]—Collection of photographs and sheet music as well as aspects of the history of the exhibition
*[https://www.nashvilleparthenon.com/ Nashville Parthenon Official Website]

==Further reading==
*Cardon, Nathan. "The South's 'New Negroes' and African American Visions of Progress at the Atlanta and Nashville International Expositions, 1895-1897" ''Journal of Southern History'' (2014).
*Cardon, Nathan. ''A Dream of the Future: Race, Empire, and Modernity at the Atlanta and Nashville World's Fairs'' (Oxford University Press, 2018).
*Justi, ''Official History of the Tennessee Centennial Exposition'' (Nashville, 1898).

{{List of world exhibitions}}
{{Nashville}}
{{List of world's fairs in The United States of America}}

[[Category:Tennessee Centennial and International Exposition| ]]
[[Category:1897 in Tennessee]]
[[Category:Events in Nashville, Tennessee]]
[[Category:History of Nashville, Tennessee]]
[[Category:1897 festivals]]
[[Category:19th century in Nashville, Tennessee]]
[[Category:Centennial anniversaries]]
[[Category:World's fairs in Tennessee]]