Cheekwood: Estate and Gardens

General information

Experience Cheekwood, the 55-acre estate built by the Maxwell House Coffee fortune in Nashville, Tennessee, and one of the finest examples of an American Country Place Era Estate in the United States. The Botanical Garden is a spectacular showcase of color and horticultural diversity. With eleven specialty display gardens and stunning natural landscape, every season offers something new. The Museum of Art has Collections of American and Contemporary Painting and Sculpture along with English and American Decorative Arts. Visitors can enjoy year-round family-friendly activities for all ages along with a restaurant and gift shop.
As an American Country Place Era Estate, which has served publicly for the past 50 years as both a Museum of Art and a Botanical Garden, Cheekwood has a uniquely rich legacy on which to build its future. Cheekwood’s new vision statement calls upon the institution to be a dynamic, nationally recognized destination renowned for its historical significance, distinctive beauty and excellence in art and horticulture.
The years 1895 to 1940 marked the era of the American Country Place as industrialists and entrepreneurs amassed fortunes in their pursuit of new industries and enterprises. To celebrate their ascent to American high society, these business icons looked to Europe for inspiration in designing estates that would proclaim their newfound social status and cultural sophistication. This was the time in America’s history when the socially prominent celebrated with grand country homes, exquisite gardens and lavish lifestyles, a time that would come to a close upon the arrival of the Great Depression, income tax and World War II.
Leslie Cheek and his wife, Mabel (Wood) Cheek, achieved their new found social status with Leslie’s investment in his cousin Joel Cheek’s Maxwell House coffee brand, which would be sold to what is now General Foods for $42 million dollars in 1928. When Leslie traded his shares for IBM stock, he solidified a fortune from which he and Mabel would build their own Country Place Estate. Upon visiting England with Olmsted-inspired landscape architect, Bryant Fleming, Leslie and Mabel chose to emulate the Georgian Revival style in the creation of their country home. Their garden design, in turn, was fashioned along the popular Beaux-Arts style with its progression from formal courtyard to outer woodland. Most visitors today will agree that it is still the grand vistas, intrinsic “long-views” and pastoral countryside that account for the majestic beauty that conjures such strong sentiments of affection for Cheekwood.
Cheekwood celebrates the seasons in style with four distinct festivals held during the year. Beginnng on the first day of Spring each year and continuing through April, Cheekwood welcomes spring with their Cheekwood in Bloom festival featuring over 75,000 tulips and entertainment every weekend for all ages. From Labor Day to Memorial Day Cheekwood celebrates Summertime at Cheekwood with family-focused outdoor exhibitions, fitness oriented activities and live music and events throughout the summer. As the glow of summer fades, color erupts from the trees and autumn flowers at Cheekwood. Beginning the first day of fall and continuing through October, visitors can celebrate the season’s changes at Cheekwood Harvest as they wander through the gardens, finding scarecrows hidden among the trails, a pumpkin patch, Chrysanthemum displays and a garden model railroad exhibition. The year ends with Holiday at Cheekwood, celebrated from the day after Thanksgiving through December. Featuring a children’s wonderland of Christmas trees, Trains, Santa, live reindeer, decorations, storytelling, cookie decorating, multi-cultural activities, and musical performances, visitors will be sure to get in the spirit of the Holiday at Cheekwood.
With something for everyone young and old, visit Cheekwood and celebrate the seasons of change with the whole family!