Nashville has changed a lot in the last 60 years. One thing that hasn’t? Even in the past, Music City was a major hub for visitors.
Back in August 1966, Nashville attracted the Southeastern Shriners, a Masonic fraternity, for what was up until that point the town’s largest convention ever. An influx of visitors arrived in the city, ready to take part in convention festivities: 5,000 Shriners and their wives, hailing from 26 temples in nine states for a total of 10,000 visitors, according to an Aug. 21, 1966, edition of The Tennessean. While many stayed in the Nashville area, some ventured out to Lebanon and Murfreesboro.
According to reports, the Shriners were greeted by then-Tennessee Gov. Frank G. Clement and Nashville Mayor Beverly Briley,
both members of the host temple, Al Menah Shrine Temple. They explored Printer's Alley and pulled pranks, even turning a fellow Shriner's car into a barbeque pit. The former Andrew Jackson Hotel served as convention headquarters. It's a site now home to the Tennessee Performing Arts Center and the James K. Polk State Office Building.
The public had the chance to greet the Shriners, too. A major parade, dubbed by The Tennessean's Tom Gillem as "perhaps the largest, most spectacular parade in the city's history," took place on Aug. 27. Members of the Shriners' clown units dressed up in costumes to entertain crowds under sunny skies, and the mayor, governor and other representatives rode along in special cars.
The Shriners reportedly spent more than a million dollars in Nashville before they left, leaving an economic whirlwind in their wake. Today, the Al Menah Shriners are still an active organization, according to the group's website.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Southeastern Shriners convention once made Nashville history
