When was the opry house built

However, rowdy Opry fans eventually wore out their welcome and the Opry was forced to find a new venue, but the show would be back for a brief stint decades later. In , steamboat shipping magnate Thomas Ryman commissioned the construction of the Union Gospel Tabernacle on the same spot where he heard Rev. Sam Jones deliver a fire-and-brimstone speech at a tent revival.

Lines wrapped around the venue to get into the 2,seat auditorium. The ceremony was attended by President Richard Nixon, who played piano and sang on the show that night. From Hank Snow to Stonewall Jackson to Jeannie Seely, the night featured a packed lineup, so each artist was limited to performing just one song.

In the decades that have followed, the Opry House has borne witness thousands of new memories, debuts, collaborations, and member inductions. In May , the venue was ravaged by a historic flood that forced the Opry House to close its doors for five months for restoration.

Even so, the show pressed on as it was held at other venues across Nashville, including two former homes: War Memorial Auditorium and the Ryman. The Opry House was beautifully restored, and the show made its triumphant return on September 28 of that same year. During the s and s Opry management continued to develop a live audience for their radio show; early venues included the original WSM studio at the downtown National Life building, the Hillsboro Theater, the Dixie Tabernacle on Fatherland Street, the War Memorial Auditorium downtown, and starting in , the venerable Ryman Auditorium.

The World War II years saw the show gain even more national attention through its popularity on the Armed Forces Radio Network and a series of military base tours called the Camel Caravan.

With a string of hit records and a series of Hollywood musicals, Roy Acuff, who joined the show in , had by now become a national star of the rank of Bing Crosby and Benny Goodman.

Important changes in music occurred on the Opry during the s. Modern instruments such as the steel guitar and electric guitar became common, and the older sentimental songs and banjo tunes were replaced with modern honky-tonk songs and musical styles of the West and Southwest represented by artists like Ernest Tubb and Hank Williams. During the late s, the Opry, like most country music, was seriously shaken by the challenge of the new rock-n-roll, and the show suffered from controversy and rancor.

Though it continued to attract major stars like Marty Robbins, Grandpa Jones, Hank Snow, Jim Reeves, and others, for a time it seemed to be marking time. Younger artists felt confined by the Opry's demands that they appear on a required number of shows per year, which meant giving up lucrative touring dates. Never Miss an Update Subscribe. Follow Us. About Contact. The venue was temporarily closed after receiving substantial damage in the historic flooding of May , but after five months of around-the-clock restoration work, the house was ready for the show to return.

In March , the Grand Ole Opry House celebrated 40 years as home of the show that made country music famous. From Philadelphia to Fiji, everyone knows the Grand Ole Opry is the show that made country music famous.