As someone who LOVES music who considers Sumner County “home,” I was disturbed by recent news reports that the home country music legend Conway Twitty known by locals as Twitty City — recognizable by the bright yellow bird (resembling the Tweety Bird) on its sign and “Hello Darlin’’ (one of his 55 #1 hits) greeting you as you entered the grounds — could soon face demolition due to damages caused by an EF-2 tornado that struck the property on Dec. 9, 2023.
That place is VERY special to me!
As I’ve stated in a previous article, “You couldn’t be involved in a music program in Sumner County that Conway Twitty wasn’t a part of.”
In the early 80s when it was new, our chorus was invited to perform several concerts there. At Christmastime people would come from all over just to see the lights/decorations. Think Opryland but on a more local level.
He hosted other events for us as well in an auditorium located inside his home. That was pretty cool too!
As a young person I thought it was rare to find a bonafide ‘star’ who would give so much of himself, opening his heart and his home, to others who shared his love of music.
Don’t get me wrong, in no way am I trying to minimize the damage done by the storm.
Frank Amedia a real estate developer and televangelist told the Hendersonville Planning Commission that TBN was highly under-insured on that site.
My question is why were they under-insured? They had to know the value of this unique piece of property. Surely an appraisal was done to determine its worth, right?
Now they want to tear it all down? Why?
To make room for an 80 unit assisted living facility, a 96 unit independent living facility, a clubhouse, a pool, a chapel, a community building for residents, along with other office buildings and production studios, and finally expansion of the Huckabee Theatre — worthwhile endeavors I suppose, but at what cost to the community?
I find myself wondering did TBN come up with all of this AFTER the recent tornado outbreak? To me, that seems highly unlikely.
It seems far more likely that these plans have been in development for quite some time, and the tornado has provided them an opportunity to proceed with their plans.
When their plans were submitted to community leaders, the vote was evenly split 4-4, which led to a negative recommendation, but it doesn’t end there. It will move on to the Mayor and Board of Alderman for the final decision in the weeks ahead.
I know money often wins out in cases like this (as in the case of Nissan Stadium), but hopefully the powers that be will see the REAL value of the property transcends money and recommend that it be restored rather than be torn down because once it’s gone, we CAN’T get it back.
For me it’s about preserving a piece of local Tennessee history that has meant SO much to SO many over the years!
In the past, many historic properties have been lost all in the name of progress. What will happen to this iconic property? Whether it stays or goes we’ll have to wait and see, but one thing is sure, no matter what happens nothing can take away my memories!
Between the writing of this story and the publication of this issue, it appears that Twitty City WILL NOT be demolished at this time-now the question becomes: Will it be refurbished and eventually open to the public as it was meant to be?