A few weeks ago, TravelGumbo had a feature blog on the Acropolis of Athens and the Parthenon. As I worked on it, I remembered this other Parthenon, in significantly better condition than the original (below).
This one is in Centennial Park in Nashville, TN, where it was built in 1897 for the Tennessee Centennial Exposition. It contains a 42-foot statue of Athena, based on the original, and the frieze is decorated with recreations of the classic sculpture whose fragments are (still) held in the British Museum, the so-called Elgin Marbles.
The Tennessee Parthenon also houses an art museum, featuring a collection of works by American artists of the 19th and 20th centuries.
And…as the sign below tells you, the recreational possibilities of the ramps and flat areas of the portico have not gone unnoticed.
In true American spirit, I think this belongs in Las Vegas, not Nashville.
Not enough neon…for Vegas they’d have to do lights and super-size!