This story was first published in the WTVF.com Channel 5 news site.

Celebrating Bicentennial Mall’s 30th

Historians and Architects tell how the concept for Tennessee’s Bicentennial Mall was born, facilitated and created. In 2026 we celebrate its 30th Anniversary June 1st.

Nashville—Climbing up the steps of a closed school in Germantown in 1988, Historian John Bridges looked out a window to a straight shot of Tennessee’s State Capitol. An impression was made and an idea was born.

Bridges put pen to paper with a monumental civic space inspired by the National Mall in Washington D.C. Businessman Victor Johnson Jr. of Aladdin Industries championed Bridges’ idea to then Governor Ned McWherter and Senior Advisor Jim Hall who were planning Tennessee’s 1996 Bicentennial celebration. Lead architect Kem Hinton shaped the project to its final form with an outdoor museum and public landscape telling the story of the state: Land, People and Music of Tennessee! Public Historian Valeria Eadler, Ph.D. interviewed John Bridges “Many people know about the Bicentennial Mall today, but not many know what’s behind the story and how that great project started.”

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