Restoring a historic landmark for modern use
By Jenny Hannon
French for “an alley in a park lined with trees,” the Allée is a beloved setting for weddings, engagements, and family events, as well as for running, hiking, and horseback-riding on the connecting trails and bridle paths into the forest of Nashville’s Warner Parks. The Allée steps are a favorite for athletes and weekend warriors who utilize them for rigorous workouts.
Designed by the noted landscape designer Bryant Fleming in the early 1930s and built by Works Progress Administration (WPA) craftsmen, the structure includes mortared limestone columns, steps, terraces, and curving walls. Completed circa 1936, the Allée provides scenic views of the front entrance and introduces the scenic trail system of the park.
When I started as executive director of Friends of Warner Parks (FOWP), the board initiated a $3-million capital campaign to restore the Allée steps and surrounding woodlands at the main entrance to the park —perhaps the most iconic and treasured place/landscape on the park property.