[1] President William McKinley officially opened the event from the White House, where he pressed a button that started the machinery building at the fair; he would visit in person a month later.

The Exposition grounds covered about 200 acres and was located on the western fringe of the city, with access to the streetcar line.

The landscape plan featured the notable blue grass of the region planted in lawn areas.

The more than 100 buildings included those devoted to agriculture, commerce, education, fine arts, history, machinery, minerals and forestry, and transportation.

The Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railroad played a central role in the promotion and success of the Tennessee Centennial Exposition, and carried tourists to the event.

[2] Major Eugene Castner Lewis, who was the chief civil engineer for the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railroad, served as the director general of the Exposition.

[3] Lewis had suggested that a reproduction of the Parthenon be built in Nashville as the centerpiece of Tennessee’s Centennial Celebration to highlight the city as the "Athens of the South".