Nashville is very fortunate to have a navigable waterway running right through the middle of downtown. For many years, the civic importance of this feature was overlooked to concentrate only on its commercial benefits. In the early 1980’s former Mayor Richard Fulton realized this waterway was a jewel to compliment our quality-of-life. In January of 1983 he dedicated Riverfront Park, much as we see it today.
Since that time, the cityscape surrounding Nashville’s Riverfront Park has changed considerably. Downtown Nashville is vibrant, the east bank of the river now houses LP Field, home of the Tennessee Titans, and areas that once were industrial now lie dormant for the most part, waiting for their next purpose.
In the mid-2000’s, a commission was formed to explore re-development of Nashville’s riverfront. Many feasible ideas came from this “open-to-the-public” forum, and also a few ideas that will probably never see the light of day. But so what…. aim for the moon and hit a few stars!
Under the leadership of Mayor Karl Dean, progress is underway for the first phase of Nashville’s riverfront redevelopment. Read the full story on the groundbreaking this past October:
http://www.nashville.gov/mayor/news/2010/1005.asp
This is exciting news for Nashville, especially during lackluster economic times. Take a look at what we can expect this summer on the east bank of the Cumberland River:
And there is even proposed docking for boats along the east bank as well, making Titans games all the better! (Hopefully they will have electrical service for overnight docking)
The re-development of our Riverfront Park even has its own website. View first hand the great improvements that are coming in the future!
http://www.nashvilleriverfront.org/ While checking out that website, don’t miss taking a look at what other future improvements will look like:
http://www.nashvilleriverfront.org/downloads.html
Even without the future improvements, Nashville’s Riverfront Park still has a lot to offer. There is docking for boats on each side of the river. Boaters can dock on the east side and enjoy a Titans home game, or dock on the west side and enjoy the sights and sounds that downtown has to offer. Electricity (30 & 50 amp) and water services are only available on the west (downtown) side. Docking reservations can be made by calling 615.862.8472.
I do have one major beef with Metro Parks & Recreation, who oversees Riverfront Park. For years, boaters were allowed to make reservations for dockage during holiday festivities. These reservations were extremely hard to get. The first year we secured a reservation to enjoy July 4th fireworks, we were elated!
Then Mayor Bill Purcell, through Metro Parks, cancelled all docking priviledges at Riverfront Park during holidays due to “homeland security concerns.” The docks remain closed to boaters on most holidays and special events to this day. “Homeland security concerns” my ass.
But all is not lost. We do live in America and can still throw out our anchors above the Korean Veterans Bridge, or the Woodland Street Bridge…which is exactly what we do. Hopefully, new re-development plans will be more boater-friendly, like they are now in Knoxville and Chattanooga! Take a look at what those cities have done:
Knoxville’s Riverfront Park is pictured above. Chattanooga’s Riverfront Park aerial view below:
Speaking of July 4th, Nashville’s fireworks displays are among the highest rated in the nation. Here is what we have in store for July 4, 2011:
Our riverfront is there for your enjoyment! This redevelopment project deserves participation from all Nashvillians, so please communicate support to Metro Council members every chance you get!
Trey Lewis is a licensed Real Estate Broker in the State of Tennessee with Ole South Realty, 615.896.0019 direct 615.593.6340. Specializing in new home sales in the Greater Nashville area to include Nashville, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, and Spring Hill, Tennessee
nashvillehomesblog.com 
Nice article. I travel the rivers often and the Cumberland River is a jewel. Chattanooga and Knoxville are good examples of cities that embrace their river heritage and I hope to see Nashville do even more. I visited Nashville (by boat) last summer and really enjoyed the city. If more docking was made available there would definitely be more visitors by boat.
Thank you so much for sharing! Our hopes that boating facilities at Riverfront Park will be a focus moving forward. Next time you are here, come on up to Old Hickory Lake and visit us at Blackjack Cove Marina!
WOW! I just checked out your website and it is simply awesome! I bet working on the Delta Queen was interesting and a lot of fun too. Thanks so much for sharing all of this information online..the pictures are perfect too!