Nashville’s Centennial Park To Get $22M Upgrade, With New Lighting for The Parthenon

Centennial Park — Nashville’s iconic public space — is about to get a $22 million upgrade.

The investment was announced this afternoon and includes improvements to the Great Lawn, which surrounds The Parthenon, and for the band shell, and the landscaping around Lake Watauga.

This is the second phase of a Centennial Park master plan. The
first phase included the daylighting of Cockrill Spring, a cleaning of Lake Watauga and a new permanent venue for Musicians Corner.

The next round will be carried out with a $5 million contribution from HCA, which has its corporate headquarters next door.

The city has already allotted a matching amount, with larger funding requests totaling $10 million yet to be considered by the Metro Council.

The work will begin next fall and includes re-engineering of the Great Lawn to better handle rain and large crowds — and a new lighting scheme to illuminate The Parthenon at night.

Officials say the park draws 2 million visitors per year. Created in 1897, Centennial Park started the city’s parks system.