{"id":331,"date":"2026-03-19T22:30:21","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T22:30:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/freshtaketn\/?p=331"},"modified":"2026-03-19T22:47:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T22:47:06","slug":"tennessee-capitol-to-open-new-visitors-center-in-2027","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/freshtaketn\/2026\/03\/19\/tennessee-capitol-to-open-new-visitors-center-in-2027\/","title":{"rendered":"Tennessee Capitol to open new visitor\u2019s center in 2027"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Construction underway on the new Visitors Center in Nashville. Photo by Jonathan Walker, Mar. 10, 2026<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Nashville, Tenn. – Nashville is set to unveil a new State Capitol Visitors Center as part of a larger renovation project of the War Memorial Building and Legislative Plaza, scheduled for completion in 2027.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ambitious project comes with a price tag of around $182 million paid from state tax dollars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re recreating the entrance of the building,\u201d said Director of Special Projects Peter Heimbach, who is coordinating the Capitol project. \u201cIt\u2019ll be much easier to find, it\u2019ll be a much more public-fronted building\u2026it\u2019s intended to be a much more open, much more welcoming facility.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coming through the front doors of the new facility, visitors may expect an entrance to the Tennessee State Military Museum from within the main lobby, a Visitors Center gallery, and a gift shop. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Director Heimbach compared the incoming facility to the Capitol Visitor Center in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen you come into the lobby space, you can sign up with the museum to take a tour, or you can go through the Visitors Center gallery and understand from that building how the Capitol operates. It\u2019s got elements in the exhibits of both how the Capitol operates and the history of the Capitol as a building, and how the Capitol functions as an entity of state government.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As it now operates, the Capitol only features an information desk upon entering the building, but it has never been presented to the public as a proper visitor\u2019s center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n