The Nashville Parthenon was built on this site as the centerpiece of the Tennessee Centennial Exposition of 1897. The original full-scale replica was intended as a temporary exhibit structure and was constructed of brick, wood and plaster. The building quickly endeared itself to all Nashvillians who protested plans for the building's demolition at the close of the Centennial Celebration. The original building stood until 1921, when the City of Nashville began reconstructing the worn structure with permanent materials. This building, the result of those efforts, was completed in 1931. The Parthenon was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on February 23, 1972. In 1987 the Metropolitan Board of Parks and Recreation undertook rehabilitation of the interior, including upgraded gallery space, a ground-level entrance and an elevator, resulting in barrier-free accessibility to the entire facility for the first time. Completed in 1988, these improvements, like those of 1897 and 1931, were a gift of the people of Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County and served as a reminder of Nashville's longstanding reputation as the Athens of the South.
