Floodwaters force evacuation of Nashville’s Gaylord Opryland Hotel

by Leigh Caldwell on

It was a late night for guests of the Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Convention Center, as the hotel was evacuated because of rising floodwaters.

The torrential rains have stopped in Nashville, Tenn., but the Cumberland River continued to rise overnight.

Around midnight CDT, Nashville emergency officials decided to remove the estimated 1,500 guests from the hotel. Instead of spending the night in their rooms, folks wound up sleeping on cots at nearby McGavock High School.

The hotel sits on the banks of the Cumberland River, which was cresting this morning. So far, Gaylord officials say the Nashville landmark has suffered only minor flood damage.

A note posted on the hotel’s Web site advises that Gaylord has temporarily suspended reservations for the Music City property.

Fifteen people have been killed in the weekend floods. The three interstates that intersect in Nashville – I-24, I-65 and I-40, were all closed over the weekend. Officials say I-40 may be closed for an extended period of time because of flood damage.

Hole breaks in fuselage, Southwest plane lands safely

by Tom Johansmeyer on

A Southwest Airlines 737 landed safely in West Virginia last night after a 1 foot by 1 foot hole opened in the fuselage. Passengers could actually see the sky through the gape. Cabin pressure dropped, and passengers put on their masks quickly. Nobody was injured.

The plane was flying from Nashville to Baltimore but diverted as a result of the hole. The pilot landed the plane, to the thanks, applause and hugs of the passengers. As a precaution, Southwest is now inspecting all its 737s, the company announced. So far, the cause of the problem remains unknown.

Chattanooga, Portsmouth among top art destinations in the U.S.

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Who thought that Tennessee and New Hampshire would be some of the top towns in the country for art lovers. AmericanStyle magazine just issued the results of its twelfth annual arts destinations poll. Some spots are predictable. Others, like Chattanooga, will just blow your mind.

This is the first year Chattanooga made the list, shooting all the way up to second in the mid-sized city category. If you’ve been there, some of the surprise wears off. I hit Chattanooga back in 1999, and it was turning into a pretty cool small city. The past decade, obviously, has treated the city well. More shocking is the top mid-sized city: Buffalo, NY.

At the top of the small city list, Santa Fe is an utterly predictable #1 – like New York in the big city category. Portsmouth, NH, toward the bottom of the small city list, is a sentimental favorite. I had my first real job in Portsmouth and drank away many a Friday and Saturday (and Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday) night on its sidewalks.

See the full lists after the jump.Big Cities (population of 500,000 or more)

  1. New York, NY
  2. Chicago, IL
  3. Washington, DC
  4. San Francisco, CA
  5. Albuquerque, NM
  6. Boston, MA
  7. Seattle, WA
  8. Atlanta, GA
  9. Philadelphia, PA
  10. Los Angeles, CA
  11. Portland, OR
  12. Baltimore, MD
  13. Denver, CO
  14. Phoenix, AZ
  15. Austin, TX
  16. Charlotte, NC
  17. Columbus, OH
  18. Nashville, TN
  19. San Diego, CA
  20. Tucson, AZ
  21. San Antonio, TX
  22. Las Vegas, NV
  23. Milwaukee, WI
  24. Dallas, TX
  25. Houston, TX

Mid-Sized Cities (population of 100,000 to 499,000)

  1. Buffalo, NY
  2. Chattanooga, TN
  3. Pittsburgh, PA
  4. Scottsdale, AZ
  5. New Orleans, LA
  6. Charleston, SC
  7. Savannah, GA
  8. Cleveland, OH
  9. Ann Arbor, MI
  10. Minneapolis, MN
  11. Alexandria, VA
  12. Miami, FL
  13. Tacoma, WA
  14. St. Louis, MO
  15. Athens, GA
  16. Kansas City, MO
  17. Colorado Springs, MO
  18. Providence, RI
  19. Salt Lake City, UT
  20. Honolulu, HI
  21. Rochester, NY
  22. St. Petersburg, FL
  23. Cincinnati, OH
  24. Raleigh, NC
  25. Tampa, FL

Small Cities (population of below 100,000)

  1. Santa Fe, NM
  2. Asheville, NC
  3. Sedona, AZ
  4. Taos, NM
  5. Saugatuck, MI
  6. Key West, FL
  7. Berkeley Springs, WV
  8. Boulder, CO
  9. Carmel, CA
  10. Corning, NY
  11. Sarasota, FL
  12. Beaufort, SC
  13. Chapel Hill, NC
  14. Burlington, VT
  15. Annapolis, MD
  16. Aspen, CO
  17. Laguna Beach, CA
  18. Northampton, MA
  19. Eureka Springs, AR
  20. Brattleboro, VT
  21. New Hope, PA
  22. Naples, FL
  23. Cumberland, MD
  24. Berea, KY
  25. Portsmouth, NH

Bring your car: America’s 10 least walkable cities

by Anna Brones on

It may come as no surprise that San Francisco ranks as America’s #1 walkable city, but what about the rest of the country? After compiling a list of the “walkability” of 40 American cities, Walk Score gives us a good idea of what cities are pedestrian friendly and which ones require cars. The bottom ten cities on the list give us a few places where pedestrians are far and few between and driving is the name of the game (read: expect to spend a lot of money on gas). So where can you plan on packing away your walking shoes and donning your driving cap?

  1. Jacksonville
  2. Nashville
  3. Charlotte
  4. Indianapolis
  5. Oklahoma City
  6. Memphis
  7. Kansas City
  8. Fort Worth
  9. El Paso
  10. Mesa

The listing of cities does however lay out their most walkable neighborhoods, so if you’re planning a trip to one of these places, give it a look.

[Via Huffington Post Green]

Photo of the Day (7-16-08)

by Jamie Rhein on

I’m a fan of funky, distinctive signs. Since I’m in Montana at the moment–and Montana is a land of meat and funky signs, this sign caught my attention.

Ultraclay! snapped this photo in Nashville,Tennessee, however. The hint of of Nashville behind the sign evokes the sense that this is a street for meandering and strolling. Any place that has period lamp posts shows some initiative. Jack’s Bar-B-Que won 3 Gold Medals at the 2008 BBQ Expo.

If you have a photo to share, send it our way to Gadling’s Flickr photo pool. It might be chosen as a Photo of the Day.