KENTUCKY and NASHVILLE
Aug. 17-18 2007
PART 1
Kentuckytennessee!
Remember those really old road atlases that pretended like Kentucky and Tennessee were one big state? These photos are from my trip to Nashville to see a Scandal concert. This 2-part set features Kentucky and Tennessee back together again after a long hiatus!
I'm warning you that this set contains several things that may be considered offensive (and in some cases rightly so). Also, the memory card I buyed for my camera is defective and tried to ruin several of my photos. I salvaged all the lost pictures, but you can tell which ones they are, because there's a very clear line across the photo where the hue changes.
This was the best photo I could get of this grotesque scene, because we could only find it from the freeway. The statue is the gray and gold object to the right of the third flag from the left. Laugh at this idiotic display.
This is in a major traffic jam in Louisville, on what is basically a dogleg from the south end of I-71 to I-65. What you see behind this is I-64 west, and behind that is the ramp from I-71 to I-64. The bridge you see is the Big Four - the now-closed rail span whose approaches are missing.
This shows just how bad the traffic in Louisville has become. It was stopped on the freeway.
A closer shot of the hilarious billboard visible in the distance in the first 2 photos. It depicts a frustrated Charlie Brown with his head cocked back, yelling, "AAUGH!" - which is what I yelled when I discovered my memory card lost some of my irreplaceable photos. The ramp you see is from I-64 west to the dogleg to I-65 that we're on. Behind that is I-64 being joined by the ramp from I-71.
Heading into Nashville on southbound I-65! The skyscraper on the left of the city's skyline - known as the Batman Building - wasn't even built until 1994.
I figured out this is on SEC 254 at I-65 on the south side of Nashville. SEC 254 here is part of Old Hickory Boulevard, a surface road that encircles Nashville (but seems to still have some gaps). This is a great view here: The horizon is probably on the other side of the lake east of the airport, so it would be about 13 miles from here. It looks like there's a large building on the horizon on the very left edge of the photo. That may be something near the airport, which is 8 miles from here.
This is perhaps the most offensive sight ever to worm its way into my road photos. All I could do was laugh at how stupid it is. This is along northbound I-65 on the south side of Nashville. In 1998 some right-wing nutjob who owned a strip of land here erected an equestrian statue of Nathan Bedford Forrest because he was angry about zoning regulations. The statue is comprised of fiberglass, like a merry-go-round horse or a theme park likeness of a cartoon character. The general has a goofy grin that makes him look exactly like the creepy monarch with an immovable face in the Burger King commercials.
Batman, na na na na na na na na na na na... Now you can see why they call it the Batman Building. The spires resemble the pointy ears of Batman's mask. Actually it's called the BellSouth Building. The top part of the building between the spires is supposed to look like a telephone receiver. As of 2007, the structure is the tallest building in the whole state of Tennessee.
Another great view of Nashville!
I'm so glad I was able to rescue this photo from the evil clutches of my memory card! This is at a roundabout in Nashville where 16th, Division, and Demonbreun streets all come together. This sculpture featuring several nude people is prominently displayed within the rotary. We were going pretty fast through the roundabout, so this picture is slightly off-center. This is only a PG-rated page, but since this is public art, it's suitable to be shown here. The bronze sculpture was unveiled in 2003, despite opposition by the Far Right.
Batman again! I'm not exactly sure what street this is, but it might be Demonbreun approaching where it goes over I-40. (Also, I had to look up how the name Demonbreun is pronounced. I think it's "de-mun-bree-un.")
Now we're in downtown Nashville, going north on 2nd Avenue. We're about to go under the Shelby Street Bridge. The building straight ahead at the end of the street is the courthouse.