COMMUNITY PROFILE BRISTOL
“Over the last 10 to 15 years, you’ve seen a great transformation in Bristol,” says Beth Rhinehart, president and CEO of the Bristol Chamber of Commerce.
Crossing the line A
city famous for birthing country music and strad- dling the Virginia-Ten-
nessee state line, Bristol, Virginia, has spent the last decade strug- gling to recover from the Great Recession and the coal industry’s steep decline. However, a new surge of
economic life is reenergizing Bristol as it enters the 2020s.
52 | APRIL 2020
More visitors are flocking down- town. A new college prepares to reopen a once-closed campus. And new industries seek to add new elements to the regional economy while reviving the shuttered Bristol Mall. “Over the last 10 to 15 years,
you’ve seen a great transformation in Bristol,” says Beth Rhinehart, president and CEO of the Bristol
Bristol seeks to strike new chord as a destination for casinos and tourism by Mason Adams
Chamber of Commerce, which represents the Virginia and Tenn- essee sides of the border. (Some- times referred to as the “twin cities,” Bristol is neatly divided into Virginia and Tennessee cities, both named Bristol, both with their own governments. The iconic Bristol Virginia-Tennessee sign looms over State Street down- town, demarcating the state line
Photo by Earl Niekirk
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