Ryman Auditorium — Mother Church of Country Music, Nashville

The Ryman Auditorium at 116 Fifth Avenue North in downtown Nashville is the most sacred building in country music — a red-brick tabernacle built in 1892 as a gospel revival house by riverboat captain Thomas Ryman, which became the home of the Grand Ole Opry from 1943 to 1974 and the venue where country music was presented to the nation for thirty-one years of Saturday night broadcasts. Every major figure in country music history performed here: Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Bill Monroe. The church pew seating, the stained glass windows, and the extraordinary acoustics give the building a character unlike any other music venue.

The Opry moved to the purpose-built Grand Ole Opry House in 1974, and the Ryman deteriorated through a period of neglect before a major renovation in the 1990s restored it as a premier concert venue. The building's acoustics — designed for vocal projection without amplification — are remarkable for amplified music, and artists from Bob Dylan to Emmylou Harris to Jack White have spoken about the Ryman as the most special room they have ever performed in. Its weight of history is palpable in the worn pew wood and the quality of light through the Gothic windows.

The Ryman Auditorium presents concerts year-round and offers guided tours during the day. It is a National Historic Landmark. Lower Broadway, the Country Music Hall of Fame, and the Johnny Cash Museum are all within easy walking distance. The Grand Ole Opry itself continues its Saturday night broadcasts from the Opry House, about ten miles east — but the Ryman remains the soul of the institution.