A PROPOSAL FOR THETENNESSEE STATE FAIRGROUNDSAugust, 2008

Presented by helpsavetheracetrack-fairgrounds.comWritten ByLisa LeedsAndThomas Watson3D IllustrationsByThomas Watson

You see things; and you say, “Why?” But I dream things that neverwere; and I say, "Why not?"George Benard Shaw, "Back to Methuselah" (1921), part 1, act 1

Introduction

Who we are

We are simply a group of concerned citizens with an interest in the future of thefairgrounds. We include people from all walks of life, citizens of Davidson Countyfor the most part, but also citizens of other parts of Tennessee, and other partsof the country. Some of us live far away, and some of us live right next door tothe fairgrounds. But all of us share a concern for the future of this resource.

About the suggestions of this proposal

We understand that not everyone will share in our visions of a redevelopedfairgrounds. We also understand that there are practical reasons why some of these proposals would not be adopted. We further understand that specificdesigns can vary.But what we really hope to accomplish is to demonstrate that with a bit of imagination and yes, even a few dreams, the fairgrounds have the potential tobecome a centerpiece for the community and the state.So even if you don’t like a particular proposal or a particular design that we havepresented here, we hope that you can still see the potential, and dream a littlebit yourself.

About the illustrations

We have used 3D computer modeling to visually present most of our suggestionsand ideas. However, in producing these illustrations we did not have access toblueprints, engineering drawings, or even maps. Most of the illustrations werebased on the Google Maps satellite view of the fairgrounds along with a fewphotographs.So while some things are not exact, we have tried to maintain proportions andspatial relationships of the various features.Scaling may not always be exact or precise, but we are attempting to stimulateyour imagination, not produce engineering drawings or architect’s blueprints. And the same goes for some of the details of proposed and existing features—some objects may not look exactly as they do in the real world, and someobjects, both existing and proposed may lack some details.