Original Grand Ole Opry House

This modern photograph depicts Ryman Auditorium, in Nashville, Tennessee, a brick structure that opened in 1892 as the Union Gospel Tabernacle, a space for indoor religious revival meetings. In 1943 the auditorium became the home of the Grand Ole Opry, featuring weekly live country music performances that were broadcast nationally on radio. Ryman Auditorium was renamed the Grand Ole Opry House in 1963 and continued to hold the weekly performances until 1974, when a new, larger Grand Ole Opry building opened.