The Union Gospel Tabernacle was built in 1892 after steamboat captain Thomas Ryman heard Rev. Sam P. Jones speak at a tent revival in 1885. Ryman commissioned architect Hugh C. Thompson to build the Gothic Revival church, which quickly became a place for secular and religious gatherings. After Ryman's death in 1904 it was renamed in his honor. Nicknamed the “Mother Church of Country Music,” the Ryman Auditorium was home to WSM's “Grand Ole Opry” from 1943-1974.
