RYMAN AUDITORIUM

The Ryman Auditorium was built in 1892 by a ship's captain, Thomas Ryman (1843-1904), as the Union Gospel Tabernacle. At the time, the auditorium was intended to house the influential preacher of the day, Samuel Porter Jones (1847-1906). The tabernacle was renamed Ryman Auditorium after Ryman's death.

The 2,362-seat circular auditorium became famous throughout America for The Grand Ole Opry (originally WSM Barn Dance), a radio program broadcast on WSM radio from 1925, but not from the Ryman Auditorium until 1943. The recording was transferred in 1974 to a purpose-built studio, the Grand Ole Opry House, located some 11 miles east of Downtown. Broadcast every Saturday night on radio and television, the success of this show, which popularized country music, is still very much alive today. Having fallen into disuse for 20 years, the Ryman Auditorium reopened its doors in 1994 as a concert hall with an exceptional program. In memory of what was once a place of worship, the auditorium is nicknamed the Mother Church of Country Music. It has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1971, and a National Historic Landmark since 2001.