Nashville’s charm runs deeper than its music. From U.S. presidents and candy bar firsts to hidden architectural gems, this city is packed with fascinating trivia. Whether you're prepping for your trip or sharing highlights online, here are seven fun facts about Music City to impress friends and fuel your curiosity.
There’s no end to the fun that can be had in Nashville. If you want to impress your friends and family after you get home (or on social media beforehand), commit a few of these seven random facts to memory. Maybe you’ll win a trivia contest while you’re at it.
Attorney William Walker was a Nashville native and, after a fraudulent election, briefly became president of Nicaragua in 1856. Only a handful of other Americans have served as president of another country.
Speaking of presidents, it was Richard Nixon who performed on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry during its first show at its new Opry House in 1974. Nixon played “God Bless America” on the piano, with the audience joining in to sing.
It can be hard to tell from a passing glance, but the architecture of The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum intentionally gives you an idea of what’s inside. Note the RKO-style radio antenna on one end. The narrow, long windows might look like a piano keyboard. And, if you are looking down from a drone or a plane, the building is shaped like a bass clef.
You might know that Goo Goo Cluster was born more than a century ago in Nashville. At the time, it was a gamechanger. It was the combination candy bar made anywhere in the world.
If you’ve hung out on the rooftop lounge of the Bobby Nashville, you’ve looked down at the Cumberland River, winding its way through the city. But you couldn’t imagine just from looking at it that the river basin comprises the third-most biodiverse freshwater region in the world (No. 1 and No. 2 are the Mekong River Delta and the Amazon Basin).
Need even more of a reason to celebrate with bright colored lights around the December holidays? How about to say, “happy birthday,” to Nashville. Music City was founded on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, 1779.
The Tennessee State Capitol doesn’t stand alone, but it is unusual for a few reasons. It is one of the few to have tombs within its walls. Architect William Stricklands was buried in the cornerstone. President James K. Polk and his wife, Sarah Childress Polk, are also interred on the grounds of the 1800s building. Also, it doesn’t have the traditional capitol dome. The Greek Revival building is one of only 12 state capitols that does not have a dome.
