Ryman Auditorium (originally Union Gospel Tabernacle and renamed Grand Ole Opry House for a period) is a historic 2,362-seat live-performance venue and museum located at 116 Rep. John Lewis Way North, in the downtown core of Nashville, Tennessee, United States.

Though the building was designed as a house of worship – a purpose it continued to serve throughout most of its early years – it was often leased to promoters for nonreligious events in an effort to pay off its debts and remain open.

In 1904, Lula C. Naff, a widow and mother who was working as a stenographer, began to book and promote speaking engagements, concerts, boxing matches, and other attractions at the Ryman in her free time.

In 1939, Naff won a landmark lawsuit against the Nashville Board of Censors, which was planning to arrest the star of the play Tobacco Road due to its provocative nature.

[8] Harry Houdini in 1924, W.C. Fields, Will Rogers in 1925, Charlie Chaplin, Bob Hope with Doris Day in 1949, and John Philip Sousa (among others) performed at the venue over the years, earning the Ryman the nickname "The Carnegie Hall of the South".

[7] 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.

After four years – and several reports of upholstery damage caused by its rowdy crowds – the Opry was asked to leave War Memorial and sought a new home yet again.

[10] During its tenure at Ryman Auditorium, the Opry hosted the major country music stars of the day and became a show known around the world.

In addition to its home on WSM, portions of the show (at various times throughout its history) were also broadcast on network radio and television to a wider audience.

Melding its then-current usage with the building's origins as a house of worship, the Ryman got the nickname "The Mother Church of Country Music", which it holds to this day.

[12] The Ryman through the mid-1960s hosted many musicians: Marian Anderson in 1932, Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys in 1945, Little Jimmy Dickens in 1948, Hank Williams in 1949, The Carter Sisters with Mother Maybelle Carter in 1950, Elvis in 1954, Johnny Cash in 1956, trumpeter Louis Armstrong in 1957, Patsy Cline in 1960, Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs (bluegrass) in 1964, and Minnie Pearl in 1964.

[10] Plans announced in 1969 centered around a larger, custom-built auditorium that would provide a more controlled and comfortable atmosphere for audiences and performers alike, as well as better radio and television production facilities.

Eventually and without fanfare, the building downtown resumed using the Ryman Auditorium name to differentiate it from the new Grand Ole Opry House.

[16][17] Waugh brought in a consultant to evaluate the building, noted theatrical producer Jo Mielziner, who had staged a production at the Ryman in 1935.

Architectural critic Ada Louise Huxtable ridiculed the decision in The New York Times, writing: "First prize for the pious misuse of a landmark, and a total misunderstanding of the principles of preservation.

)[10][11] However, Roy Acuff, an Opry stalwart and a major stakeholder of Opryland USA, reportedly said, "I never want another note of music played in that building."

[18] Acuff, a staunch supporter of moving the Opry to a modern home, told The Washington Post in 1974, "Most of my memories of the Ryman Auditorium are of misery, sweating out here on this stage, the audience suffering too... We've been shackled all of my career.

[17] A life-sized statue of Acuff (alongside one of Sarah Cannon as Minnie Pearl) has been installed in the lobby of the preserved Ryman Auditorium.

Members of historic preservation groups argued that WSM, Inc. (and Acuff, by proxy) exaggerated the Ryman's poor condition, saying the company was worried that attachment to the old building would hurt business at the new Opry House.

[20] In September 1983, soon after NLT Corporation was acquired in a hostile takeover bid by American General Insurance, the building was included in the sale of all the WSM and Opryland properties to Oklahoma-based Gaylord Broadcasting Company for US$250,000,000 (equivalent to $764,784,497 in 2023).

The company's chief executive, Ed Gaylord, had become acquainted with many of the Opry stars during his involvement with the long-running television series Hee Haw.

[10] 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 – Loretta Lynn Oscar-winning biopic), Sweet Dreams (1985 – story of Patsy Cline), and Clint Eastwood's Honkytonk Man (1982).

From April 30 to May 2, 1991, Emmylou Harris and the Nash Ramblers performed three acoustic concerts at the dilapidated building, during which no one was allowed to sit on or beneath the balcony due to safety concerns.

[23] The concerts and album's high acclaim are given near-universal credit for renewed interest in reviving Ryman Auditorium as an active venue.

[6] In October 1992, executives of Gaylord Entertainment announced plans to renovate the entire building and expand it to create modern amenities for performers and audiences alike.

An addition containing a lobby, restrooms, concessions, offices, and a grand staircase leading to the balcony was constructed and attached to the east side of the auditorium.

Gaylord Entertainment Company, the venue's owner since 1983, adopted the Ryman's name as its own when it transitioned into a real estate investment trust in 2012.

The renovation of the Ryman, combined with the construction of other attractions such as Bridgestone Arena and Wildhorse Saloon, helped revitalize Nashville's downtown district into a destination for tourists and locals alike in the mid-1990s.

Tammy Wynette, Chet Atkins, Skeeter Davis, Harlan Howard, Bill Monroe, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Billy Block, George Hamilton IV, Earl Scruggs, Jim Ed Brown, and Naomi Judd have all been memorialized from the Ryman stage.

It also features an original song performed by Darius Rucker, Sheryl Crow, Vince Gill, and the Fisk Jubilee Singers.