Nashville: Yesterday & Today
Striving yet laid-back, sophisticated but with a just-plain-folks ethos, at the center of massive flows of commerce and yet smaller and less hectic than the nation's other great cities, Nashville is truly many things to many different people. Still, it is just the right fit for many of its residents, transplants and natives alike. Nashville - Yesterday and Today(TM) offers a neighborhood-by-neighborhood exploration of the soul of the city, with glimpses of the personalities and historical forces that have shaped the fate of what is now Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County.Founded by settlers with a vision for a new community in the untamed frontier beyond the Smoky Mountains, Nashville would grow up to discover over and over that it was in the right place at the right time. Its first European inhabitants arrived after arduous treks through the forest and harrowing river passages. In the span of a lifetime, however, Nashville became the crossroads of the West, where river, rail and roadway converged to create a regional hub for trade. By the late 20th century, the roads that led to Nashville were interstate highways converging from six directions, and its central location along air routes made it an aviation hub as well.For these reasons, the city's geography has determined much of its destiny for more than two centuries.Yet, the story of Nashville is not only about the commerce and human migration that has made it prosperous and bustling over the centuries, but also about the people who make the place unique. Nashville's neighborhoods have spawned colorful characters, unsung and undersung heroes such as Frank Maxwell Andrews and Ted Rhodes. The same streets have been home to future celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, good guys such as Cardinal Samuel Stritch, and even some bad guys like Jesse James. Celebrities, socialites, judges, politicians, and newspaper editors - all are part of the community's vibrant life and past.But Nashville is more than its history - because history is still being made as the city grows and changes. Nashville still overflows with creative musicians, inspired academics, business leaders, and hard workers of all types, all looking to put their stamp on the town. It's a place of inspiration, leafy suburbs, shady parks, rolling hills, spectacular mansions, and towering buildings, all rooted in a unique sense of place - this place - a good place to be, or just to be from.