Ryman Auditorium

Ryman Auditorium, located at 116 Rep. John Lewis Way North in the heart of Downtown Nashville, is one of the most celebrated live-performance venues in the United States. The historic 2,362-seat venue serves as both a live-performance hall and museum. Known colloquially as the "Mother Church of Country Music," Ryman Auditorium began as the Union Gospel Tabernacle, built by local entrepreneur Thomas Ryman as a permanent location for tent revival-style gospel meetings. It is best known as the home of the Grand Ole Opry from 1943 to 1974 and was designated a National Historic Landmark on June 25, 2001, for its pivotal role in the popularization of country music. Over the course of more than 130 years, the Ryman has evolved from a place of religious gathering to one of the defining cultural institutions of Nashville and American music.

Origins and Construction

The story of the Ryman begins with Thomas Ryman, a wealthy riverboat captain who spent his time partying in downtown Nashville, before a revivalist from Georgia, Reverend Sam Jones, remarkably convinced him to turn his life over to God. Ryman had attended one of Jones' 1885 tent revivals with the intent to heckle, but was instead converted into a devout Christian who pledged to build a tabernacle so the people of Nashville could attend large-scale revivals indoors.

The project took seven years to complete and cost US$100,000. Jones held his first revival at the site on May 25, 1890, when only the building's foundation and six-foot walls had been completed. Architect Hugh Cathcart Thompson designed the structure, which exceeded its construction budget and opened US$20,000 in debt. Seven years after groundbreaking, with help and donations from the community, the Union Gospel Tabernacle opened three blocks from where Ryman was converted.

Jones sought to name the tabernacle in Ryman's honor, but Ryman denied the request several times. When Ryman died in 1904, his memorial service was held at the tabernacle, with Jones officiating. When Ryman passed away on December 23, 1904, the Union Gospel Tabernacle was unofficially renamed Ryman Auditorium; forty years later the name became official.

The Early Performance Era and Lula Naff

Before the arrival of the Grand Ole Opry, the Ryman Auditorium established itself as a premier gathering place for all manner of public events. In its early years, the Ryman was the largest structure of its kind in the area, so it became the place to host community gatherings, political rallies, and numerous entertainment events including operas, symphonies, ballets, and theatrical productions. It wasn't long before the Ryman was hosting some of the world's top performers and most important figures, including Ignacy Paderewski, Marian Anderson, John Philip Sousa, Harry Houdini, Charlie Chaplin, W.C. Fields, Katharine Hepburn, Bob Hope, and Mae West — earning the venue the nickname "Carnegie Hall of the South."

The auditorium was also the site of secular gatherings like Helen Keller's lectures and Fisk Jubilee Singers' performances. In 1892, the Fisk Jubilee Singers made their Ryman debut — and they continue to perform at the Ryman to this day.

A key figure in shaping the Ryman's identity as a performance venue was manager Lula Naff. The Ryman began to take shape as a music institution under Naff's leadership. Originally working as a secretary, she took a bold risk and leased the Ryman as an independent talent agent, and after filling the pews with hungry audiences night after night for years, the venue's board of directors recognized her as the Ryman's manager in 1920. She was known to rub people the wrong way, but she booked dozens of soon-to-be historical — and sometimes controversial — figures like Katharine Hepburn, Charlie Chaplin, and Harry Houdini.

Home of the Grand Ole Opry

After debuting in 1925, the local country music radio program known as the Grand Ole Opry — originally called the WSM Barn Dance — became a Nashville institution, broadcast over clear-channel AM radio station WSM and heard in 30 states across the eastern part of the nation. When crowds got too large for the WSM studio, in 1934 WSM began broadcasting the show from the Hillsboro Theatre (now Belcourt Theatre). The Opry moved to East Nashville's Dixie Tabernacle in 1936 and then to War Memorial Auditorium in 1939.

In 1943, the Grand Ole Opry — a weekly live country music radio show which had begun in 1925 — moved to the already-storied venue from the War Memorial Auditorium a few blocks away. The Ryman would officially be renamed the "Grand Ole Opry House" in 1963 and continue its residency there until 1974 when the new Opry House was constructed several miles from downtown.

For 31 years, the Ryman was the premier stage for the Grand Ole Opry's live radio shows, featuring the likes of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Minnie Pearl, Patsy Cline, Roy Acuff, and Hank Williams, among many others. The shortage of space at the Ryman forced performers to wait in the wings, narrow hallways, and the alley behind the building's south wall. As a result, many performers ventured across the alley to Tootsie's Orchid Lounge and other bars, a practice that enhanced the popularity and appeal of the honky-tonk bars along Nashville's Lower Broadway.

It was on the Ryman stage that Earl Scruggs and Bill Monroe took the stage together for the first time in December 1945, producing the first definitive sounds that would become known as Bluegrass.

The Opry radio show did not broadcast from the Ryman from 1974 until 1999 when the show began its annual pilgrimages to the building so closely associated with its history.

Decline, Preservation, and Restoration

Following the departure of the Opry in 1974, the Ryman failed to attract new performers. It was mostly vacant and deteriorating for nearly 20 years, and in that period the surrounding neighborhood also declined. Despite its regressing condition and the absence of performances, Ryman Auditorium was never closed. It remained a destination for heritage tourism in the city.

The owner of the Ryman, National Life Insurance, reconsidered its plans to demolish the building after community members and lawmakers worked to designate the Ryman as a National Historic Landmark. Local groups rallied to "save the Ryman" and a National Life Insurance chairman said they would consider other options.

While the auditorium was dormant, major motion pictures continued to be filmed on location there, including John Carpenter's Elvis (1979), Coal Miner's Daughter (1980), Sweet Dreams (1985), and Clint Eastwood's Honkytonk Man (1982).

In 1989, the auditorium's new owner, Gaylord Entertainment Company, began renovations. A new roof was installed, broken windows were replaced, the original woodwork was repaired, the brick chimneys were rebuilt, and a large arched pediment that had fallen into the attic was replicated and returned to the side of the building. Meanwhile, Emmylou Harris and The Nash Ramblers recorded a live album and accompanying documentary, Live at the Ryman, on its neglected stage in 1991.

In 1994, the auditorium received a much-needed $8.5 million restoration that returned the landmark to its original magnificence. The renovation included removing all the original oak pews, restoring them, and then reinstalling them. Also part of the project was installing performer dressing rooms for legendary acts that had graced the Ryman stage, upgrading sound and lighting technology, adding central heat and air conditioning, and constructing a 14,000-square-foot building for ticketing, concessions, and a gift shop. Ryman Auditorium celebrated its centennial in 1992 and reopened in June of 1994 as a premier performance hall and museum.

Recognition, Legacy, and the Modern Era

Ryman Auditorium is owned and operated by Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc., was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971, and was designated a National Historic Landmark on June 25, 2001. The Ryman was also named a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Landmark in 2022.

Ryman Auditorium has been voted Pollstar's "Venue of the Year" 15 times and is Nashville Scene's "Best Place to Hear Live Music." Coldplay calls it "The greatest theatre in the world," while Ed Sheeran hails it as "The best venue in the USA." In 2018, the Ryman was named the most iconic structure in Tennessee by Architectural Digest.

The venue's reach has long extended beyond country music. Rock legend Bob Dylan made a stop at the Ryman in 2007. Ringo Starr celebrated his 73rd birthday there in 2012. Pop artist Harry Styles made his Ryman debut in 2017. Wu-Tang Clan made history as the first hip-hop act to headline the venue in 2019. A few months later, R&B hitmaker Lizzo sold it out.

"Rock Hall at the Ryman" opened to the public on November 2, 2022, and includes artifacts from artists including Elvis Presley, James Brown, Joan Jett, Foo Fighters, and Dolly Parton.

The Ryman has also served as a gathering place for the memorial services of many prominent figures. Tammy Wynette, Chet Atkins, Skeeter Davis, Harlan Howard, Bill Monroe, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Earl Scruggs, and Naomi Judd have all been memorialized from the Ryman stage.

The Ryman is open for tours during daytime hours when the performance venue is not in active use. Guided tours include access to backstage facilities, while self-guided tours feature exhibits displayed in cases throughout the auditorium. A statue of Thomas Ryman stands outside the building, while a bronze tribute honoring Minnie Pearl and Roy Acuff is situated inside the lobby.