We Now Return to our Regular Programming

Now that the Olympics are over, I am glad to return to my regular topics, steeped as they are in the more absurd heroisms of everyday life, such as getting lunch.

I did find an ironic remnant of Olympian grandeur in a reference to ancient Greece during our visit this weekend to the Parthenon — no, not the one in Athens; the one in Nashville, Tennessee, which I understand is an exact replica, except not quite so old.

If you follow my Facebook posts, you will know that Ken and I frequently take small Architecture Nerd Tours – i.e. weekend road trips in search of interesting architectural sites. This one might have eluded us had it not been for the fact that we were in Nashville for some sightseeing and a show when we came upon a barbecue take-out establishment called “Hog Heaven,” which caused me to brake the car suddenly and veer across two lanes of traffic. It was situated next to a large city park.  I glanced for a second, away from the admirable illustration of a rather unctuous-looking oinker on a sign above the restaurant entrance, toward the vast green expanse adjacent and said, “Ken! Look! There’s the Parthenon!”  One does not often put the words, “Hog Heaven” and “the Parthenon” in the same sentence, but there you go. Someone with extraordinary vision must have seen the need for a hefty sandwich of greasy pork when contemplating classical architecture. Bless them.

Anyway, there it was, glistening on a slight rise in the landscape, no more than a half mile away. We could almost hear the incantation of a Greek chorus as clouds parted sending a beam of sunshine down  to illuminate this sublime structure.

Replicas can be somewhat unsatisfying, though, can’t they?  You know you aren’t looking at the “real thing” so your emotional response is often lukewarm. But the city of Nashville built this thing, likely with a certain amount of enthusiasm . And preserved it. And repaired it when it might have fallen down, so that today it is protected by the National Register of Historic Places. It is the centerpiece of Nashville’s Centennial Park, beloved by citizens and a bona fide tourist attraction. This made me ponder: why is it here? And who is to say that this redoubtable Parthenon, built in 1897 as part of the Tennessee Centennial Exposition, is any less honest  than its classical cousin? Or the double-wide trailer that houses the pork purveyor next door, for that matter? What defines “authentic” anyway?  I would argue that both the faux Greek temple and the porcine pavilion are genuine American originals. Las Vegas might have a mini Eiffel Tower, but only Nashville has an exact, to-scale copy of the Parthenon.  It was built as a temporary exposition building by architects whose sensibilities in the late 19^th century caused them to emulate classical forms as a communication about America  as a cultured society with bold ideas and muscular stance. It was built to acknowledge Nashville’s self-image as, “Athens of the South.”  And where’s the pretense in that, I ask you?

As for “Hog Heaven,” judging by the number of cars parked out front, it has a genuine, valued position in the community as well.  But that’s what’s great about America. A really divey-looking diner serving up authentic American barbecue can live alongside a giant ode to humankind’s loftiest endeavors. And both will elicit “Oh, wow!” reactions.

I’m only sorry we didn’t stop long enough at the Parthenon to photograph each other striking Olympian poses, you know, like those figures on Greek urns. Just to acknowledge the Games. And to say, “Thanks, Nashville! Nice Parthenon! And good pork barbecue!”

  Which is which?