Tennessee State Museum, SE corner of Rosa Parks Blvd. and Jefferson St.

[CenterHill]

Wow!    I'm definitely going to pay a visit.    

[Buildtall]

What’s  the admission now?

[donNdonelson2]

Free!

[BnaBreaker]

It kinda gives me a hospital vibe... but it does look really nice, inside and out.  

[markhollin]

Shots from the exhibit areas.  There are at least 8 projection screens at mini-theater set-ups with 5-7 minute films that are quite informative and many touchscreen interactive areas, etc. There is much more that I didn't capture. There is a LOT to take in.  

Tomorrow I will post some pics from the Music and Red Grooms areas.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Pdt2f]

Thanks for posting, Mark. This museum seems like a true credit to our city and state. I can’t wait to check it out!

[donNdonelson2]

I’m anxious to see it in person-won’t be until December, sadly!

[markhollin]

Some samples from the large Tennessee Music and Red Grooms Exhibits:
 

[NashvilleObserver]

On 10/4/2018 at 9:08 PM, Mr_Bond said:

Do I see some crab orchard stone to the right of that entrance?

https://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entries/crab-orchard-stone/

That's bronze cladding. 

[Nathan_in_DC]

It looks like they combined the collections of the State Museum and the Military Museum here. Is the Military Museum still open below the War Memorial Building?

[donNdonelson2]

Military Museum is still on the lower level of War Memorial Building.

https://tnmuseum.org/military-branch

[Mr_Bond]

7 hours ago, NashvilleObserver said:

That's bronze cladding. 

Thanks.  Crab orchard stone is so beautiful, a la Country Music Hall of Fame, Music City Center, Scarritt Bennett Center.

[BnaBreaker]

Nice little video tour of the new museum: 

 

[markhollin]

Sheila Dial-Barton, Principal at EOA Architects, talks about some of the unique aspects of theTennessee State Museum:

Just as the Bicentennial Mall’s Carillon represents all of Tennessee’s counties, the museum also represents each county through 95 ceiling light fixtures in the Grand Hall. The Grand Hall flooring incorporates three stars representing Tennessee’s three grand divisions: East, West and Middle Tennessee. Tennessee’s state wildflower, the passionflower, was incorporated into the domed ceiling of the first-floor rotunda. The museum’s southern colonnade creates a true Tennessee porch and upper veranda for visitors to enjoy an exterior connection to the grounds of the Bicentennial Mall and view of the Tennessee State Capitol. The museum’s south entry features a prominent limestone and Crab Orchard stone water feature. It represents Tennessee’s historical waterways, creeks and rivers; as well as the importance of the Tennessee Valley Authority in Tennessee’s history. 

More behind the NBJ paywall here:

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2019/04/12/their-vision-helped-shape-the-new-tennessee-state.html?iana=hpmvp_nsh_news_headline

 

[smeagolsfree]

They are going to move the military portion to the new museum. They are still working on that portion of the new museum. They are also looking into a building to house the Red Grooms carousel on the museum grounds as well.

[donNdonelson2]

I had not heard there were plans to move the Military Branch to the new building. Do you have any idea of the timeframe for this relocation?

[smeagolsfree]

I think later on this year. I know the WW II portion is underway and that will be a large part of the exhibit at the new museum.  I may have jumped the gun on the rest of the military exhibits, but if they are going to open the WW II portion then the rest of the Military portion would be moved I would think.

[TheRaglander]

I'm confused.  I thought everything at the TPAC building was moved over to the new location.  Are there still some exhibits open at the TPAC basement?  What about the Civil War stuff?

[donNdonelson2]

The military branch of the museum is on a lower level of War Memorial Building.

No public exhibits remain at TPAC.

[donNdonelson2]

The Military Branch of the Tennessee State Museum

A branch of the Tennessee State Museum, the Military Branch Museum is located in the historic War Memorial Building. Exhibitions explore America’s overseas conflicts, beginning with the Spanish-American War in 1898 and ending with Vietnam War.

There is no admission charge to the Military Branch Museum’s permanent and temporary exhibitions.

Hours: 
The Military Branch galleries are open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Closed on Sundays and Mondays.

The Military Branch Museum is closed on the following holidays: Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Day and Easter.

Location: 
301 6th Ave. North, in downtown Nashville, inside the historic War Memorial Building on Legislative Plaza. The entrance is on the left side of the building near the Vietnam War Memorial. The handicap entrance is located off of Union Street on the south end of Legislative Plaza.

 

[volsfanwill]

I actually visited the new museum this past Saturday before the Preds game.  1 year and 1 week earlier I visited the old location one last time.  so I have both in my recent memory for comparison.

they absolutely have not moved everything.  if you go to a show at TPAC soon, you can look down into the museum and see some of the displays still completely intact with artifacts untouched. you can also see a bunch of packed crates ready to move.  

my review:   

the old location suffered from artifact overload and context deficit.    the new location offers plenty of context but lacks artifacts.    example.   the old location had case after case of arrow heads.   the new location might have 6 on display.   the new location is much more audio visual enhanced than the old one.  every room has video screens, touch screens and projections on every wall.   you can hear different audio every few feet.

as far as the building goes.  I hope it is not complete!  there are very obvious panels missing or cut incorrectly starting from the door, continuing up the stairs, and into the exhibits.   one of the main doors didn't even have a frame around it!

the exhibits do flow better than the old location, but can get confusing.  the special exhibit rooms are only accessible from the permanent displays, but if you go in those, you will end up completely out of order with the permanent.  

[MLBrumby]

I hope you would send your observations to the museum's management.

[MidTenn1]

They should open branch museums in East and West Tennessee with some of that surplus. I'm sure Jackson or Memphis would love to have one and might help finance it.

[TheRaglander]

As an old fart that loves museums, I would rather have more exhibits than all that interactive stuff.  But I know those are important things to keep younger people interested.  

[smeagolsfree]

Yea, You & Me will be too old to interact with anything before long.