Ryman Auditorium is without music

In one photo you see Riverboat Captain Thomas "Tom" Green Ryman (1841 - 1904). He was a successful businessman who built the Union Gospel Tabernacle, which later became a performance hall and Nashville landmark known today as the Ryman Auditorium.

The statue of the man holding a guitar is none other than the famous Little Jimmy Dickens (1920 - 2015). The 4'11" entertainer was known for his bigger than life personality, novelty songs, comedy and his rhinestone-studded outfits.

Unlike the photos here, the Ryman is usually seen with lines of people waiting for tours or to get into the building for a concert. Today (3/19/2020), there were only two people taking photos in front of the building due to COVID-19.

Parking lots and streets around the Ryman were nearly empty.

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Walking in a dream

He was walking the dream in Nashville, TN. The famous Ryman Auditorium was on his right, the guitar on his back.

The 2,362-seat venue is the home of the Grand Ole Opry from 1943 to 1974. Music legend Elvis Presley made only one appearance at the Ryman. Elvis was a teen when he hit the stage for a special Opry performance on October 2, 1954. The performance took place right after he recorded his first album in Memphis, TN at Sun Studios. That album… “That’s All Right Mama.” He never made a return visit to the Ryman.

How many people have taken THIS exact same stroll past the Ryman in Nashville over the past 50 years? How many dreams have been dreamed and not become a career?

“Hold fast to dreams, For if dreams die Life is a broken-winged bird, That cannot fly.” ― Langston Hughes (1902 – 1967)