Ryman rolls out $14 million expansion

After a yearlong, $14 million expansion for Nashville's Ryman Auditorium, visitors will have a much sleeker experience as they make their way into the historic theater.

Right out front is the venue's new restaurant, Cafe Lula, which sits next to an expanded outdoor box office. Once inside the renovated lobby, visitors will find more concessions, more bathrooms and — most importantly — more space, which will be music to the ears of anyone caught in a crowd just before a big concert.

But just past the lobby stairs is a doorway, a border that separates what's new and improved from what can't be touched.

This is the actual auditorium — the original Ryman building — first established in 1890 as the Union Gospel Tabernacle. Through the years, its keepers have striven to preserve its signature features, including its famed church pews and stained glass windows. All of the new construction has been done on the portion of the venue that was added in the early '90s.

That's because over its 125-year history, the Ryman has become one of the most sacred live music rooms in the country. And if you ask Vince Gill, that's not just because of its musical history.

"I remember the first time I played on that stage and sang a song, I was hit by this giant wave, feeling the spirit move through my body," he tells The Tennessean, sitting in one of the venue's redesigned dressing rooms.

"I just think that the original intent of the building matters. The whole point of this place was to be a tabernacle, a place to move people's souls, you know? And it does it."

'Soul of Nashville'

That sentiment is at the heart of one of the Ryman's flashiest new features: a new short film entitled "The Soul of Nashville" that's not unlike a high-tech movie you'd see at Walt Disney World. It's housed in a small theater on the second floor and makes use of multiple video projections on three sides of the room.

As it takes guests through the Ryman's history — from its religious roots to hosting entertainers such as Enrico Caruso and Houdini to being the home of the "Grand Ole Opry" for 31 years — the room springs to life. Silhouettes of cheering audience members appear on the walls, picture frames cycle through a century's worth of concert posters and a female narrator floats through three stained glass windows.

That narrator (an actress) eventually reveals herself as Lula C. Naff, the Ryman's real-life manager from 1920 to 1955. Her story is one of the unsung pieces of Ryman lore that the venue's current general manager, Sally Williams, hopes guests walk away with. But she says the film's main goal is for guests to "feel the emotion of this building."

"It's sort of an emotional roller coaster of the history," Williams says.

It's a building, after all, that was born out of a religious conversion. Nashville riverboat captain Thomas Ryman was so moved after hearing evangelist Samuel Porter Jones speak that he built the Union Gospel Tabernacle. At Ryman's funeral in 1904, Jones proposed that the building be renamed after Ryman.

And "Soul of Nashville" doesn't gloss over the Ryman's darkest days, either — when the "Grand Ole Opry" moved to its new building in 1974 and some were calling for the ailing Ryman to be demolished. It survived, but didn't host a public performance for the next 20 years.

"It gives people the sense of desperation that was real when the Opry left the Ryman," Williams says. "This theater was almost torn down. Can you imagine that now?"

"It was not all 'Zippity-doo-dah,'" Gill says. "It tugged at my heartstrings in a big way when you saw it come this close to being leveled (in the film). It was rundown. It probably wasn't a great experience, to some degree, back in those days when they had no air conditioning and no dressing rooms. A lot of the old guard, the folks that were here, they don't have the kind of warm and fuzzy thing like I do. I missed its toughest stretch."

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Growing pains

Instead, Gill got to be on hand for the Ryman's triumphant return in 1994. There were dressing rooms, air conditioning and a new addition housing the lobby, concessions and bathrooms. But 20 years later, as the venue continued to host sold-out shows, the facilities were stretched to the limit.

"We had growing pains," Williams says. "You would come in and you wouldn't know what line was the bathroom line, or the bar line or the merch line. It took you awhile to get to your seats. It left something to be desired."

Walking through the new lobby, it's noticeably wider, with bars and concession stands smartly tucked into a few spacious nooks. The gift shop has doubled in size and will now be open during concerts, too. Still, anyone who's visited the venue in recent years won't feel lost.

The exterior changes, on the other hand, are immediately noticeable. Cafe Lula (named after Naff) stretches out to the sidewalk, where trees and benches once stood. The statue of Thomas Ryman was reinstalled last week in front of a new entrance, with a sleek, flat facade, new signage and a scrolling video ticker.

But according to its keepers, these changes were made to ensure the Ryman's future — and celebrate its legacy.

Williams notes that visitors are seeking out Nashville's musical history at many sites, from the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum to the newer Johnny Cash and George Jones museums.

"I think the Ryman is such a perfect complement for everything else a tourist can experience here, because you're actually in the place where those things happened," she says. "You're experiencing the same sorts of things that people have experienced over the last 125 years. It's great because you can go look at artifacts, and then you can come to the living artifact."

Contact Dave Paulson at 615-664-2278 or on Twitter at @ItsDavePaulson.

The grand reopening

The Ryman Auditorium has its grand reopening on Tuesday. Cafe Lula opens at 7 a.m., and tours start at 9 a.m.

Self-guided tours (including "Soul of Nashville") are $20 for adults and $15 for children 4-11. Backstage tours (including "Soul of Nashville") are $27.50 for adults and $22.50 for children 4-11. Tickets can be purchased online at http://ryman.com/tours, at the Ryman box office or by calling 615-889-3060.

The Ryman is open for tours seven days a week (closing only for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's) from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.