Nashville, TN

Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
DESCRIPTION: Focusing primarily on the evolution of the genre, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is an unforgettable experience for Country music lovers; a permanent exhibit is Sing Me Back Home:  A Journey Through Country Music; rare costumes, instruments, archival films and photographs, interactive exhibits, manuscripts, a wide variety of memorabilia and more tell the story of Country music from its early roots to the present day; a major exhibition and fine example of community outreach is Night Train to Nashville: Music City Rhythm & Blues, 1945-1970, which focuses on the city’s Rhythm & Blues peak years, an underreported, least understood era in the history of Country music, and the evolution of Nashville as Music City;  Night Train encompasses photographs, vintage television clips, sound recordings, artifacts, text narratives and more, revealing how—in the decades after World War II—Nashville was a home to both Country and Rhythm & Blues music scenes; arranged in distinct chapters, the exhibit is devoted to “the roots of Nashville R&B, the city’s live music scene, the influential radio and recording industries, R&B on television, and the songwriters’ and performers’ strong ties to Nashville’s Country music community,” together earning Music City a unique place in music history; the depth at which the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum presents the significance of R&B music and its performers at this time in history, demonstrates how closely many great African American performers were linked to both the history of the city and Country music

ADDRESS: 222 Fifth Avenue South  MAP

PHONE: 615-416-2001 or 800-852-6437

WEBSITE: http://www.countrymusichalloffame.com

Tennessee State Museum
DESCRIPTION: More than 60,000 square feet of exhibits tracing the history of Tennessee and the nation from prehistoric Indians through the Civil War into the early 1900s. Special displays of Tennessee quilts, silver, weapons, paintings and pottery; Military History Branch Located in the War Memorial Building as a tribute to all veterans, the Military Museum features an exhibit on America's involvement in foreign wars from the Spanish American War to World War II; displays include weapons, uniforms and battle histories

ADDRESS: 505 Deaderick Street  MAP

PHONE: 615-741-2692

WEBSITE: http://www.tnmuseum.org

Cheekwood Botanical Garden & Museum of Art
DESCRIPTION: Set amidst 55 picturesque acres of land and encompassing 10 botanical gardens, the Woodland Sculpture Trail with works by internationally known sculptors and world-class collections of American and contemporary painting and sculpture and English and American decorative arts in the museum; the museum is housed inside the original 30,000-square foot Georgian-style mansion formerly belonging to the Cheeks -- one of the city's early entrepreneurial families; the largest collection sculptures created by African American sculptor William Edmondson, hailed as one of the greatest folk carvers of the 20th Century; native of Nashville and the son of former slave parents, William Edmondson said he received an inspiration from God to chisel stone, and originally began working with a handmade chisel on limestone block discarded from demolished buildings; after carving tombstones for Nashville’s two African American cemeteries--Mt. Ararat and Greenwood—Edmondson moved on to carving primitive animals, angels and Biblical characters; his work—without formal training—was so detailed and elegant that it drew notice from Nashville’s elite and earned him a spot in a solo show at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1937

ADDRESS: 1200 Forrest Park Drive  MAP

PHONE: 615-356-8000

WEBSITE: http://www.cheekwood.org

Hartzler-Towner Multicultural Museum
DESCRIPTION: Features exhibits of cultural items from around the world, including a collection of 700 international dolls

ADMISSION: Free

ADDRESS: 1104 19th Ave, South  MAP

PHONE: 615-340-7481

WEBSITE: none

Hermitage, TN

The Hermitage
DESCRIPTION: Restored from pre-Civil War days state as a public museum and National Historic Landmark; it gives visitors a sense of American history from the perspective of President Andrew Jackson and his views of Native Americans, white men moving west, slavery and freedom after the Civil War, the changing roles of women, religion and reform, and fortunes made from cotton are the stories of Jacksonian America; as the extensively restored home of Andrew Jackson, The Hermitage welcomes 250,000 visitors each year

ADDRESS: 4580 Rachel's Lane  MAP

PHONE: 615-889-2941

WEBSITE: http://www.hermitage.org