The Tennessee Centennial Exposition, which celebrated Tennessee's 100th year of statehood, opened May 1, 1897, at Nashville's Centennial Park and enjoyed tremendous success during its six-month run. Citizens from all over Tennessee--and the nation--honored the state's history by sponsoring exhibits at the event, and thousands of visitors flocked to the fairgrounds each day to experience the excitement it offered. In this fascinating collection of over 200 images combined with informative, well-researched text, author Bobby Lawrence takes us on a journey into the past to relive the optimism and wonders of another time. Take a relaxing gondola ride on one of the park's four lakes or stroll the 200-acre grounds and visit a variety of buildings and exhibits featuring everything from ancient artifacts to scientific inventions, from on-site farms to international restaurants, from the thrilling Vanity Fair, a midway attraction comparable to today's amusement parks, to one of the first large displays of electric lights.

The era from 1890 to 1930 constituted a building boom for American art museums designed in a monumental, classical style; both the proliferation of the buildings and the ubiquity of the style seem to indicate an architectural as well as a sociocultural phenomenon. The present work is an attempt to place the American art museum building of this period into its historical milieu, and employs over one hundred illustrations and sociocultural analysis to explain the significance of both the institutions and the structures housing them to those who came into regular contact with them, including architects, patrons, journalists, and museum personnel.

A general survey of Tennessee history from the earliest settlements to the present.

"The authors introduce readers to famous personalities such as Andrew Jackson and Austin Peay, but they also tell stories of ordinary people and their lives to show how they are an integral part of the state's history. Sidebars throughout the book highlight events and people of particular interest, and reading lists at the end of chapters provide readers with avenues for further exploration."--BOOK JACKET.