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The Grand Ole Opry is a country music stage show that began broadcasting weekly concerts on the radio in 1925. Over time, the Opry evolved – its running time increased, its audience grew, and its concerts featured more and more professional musicians.
Between 1940 and 1974, the Opry had a home in the Ryman Auditorium, but in 74, it moved most of its concerts to the larger, 4,400-seat Grand Ole Opry House. A circular piece of the Ryman Auditorium’s wooden stage was moved to the Opry House and became an iconic piece of the new stage.
In 2010, at the end of April and through the first few days of May, parts of Tennessee, Kentucky, and Mississippi experienced record breaking heavy rains and severe thunderstorms. During just two days, over a foot of rain fell, doubling most local rainfall records.
The Cumberland River in Nashville crested at over 50 feet – a level not seen for over seventy years – and caused significant flooding that damaged the Grand Ole Opry House and various other halls, malls, arenas, auditoriums, hotels, churches and schools in the area. The Federal Government declared over 30 Tennessee counties major disaster areas.
The Opry House stage and its iconic wooden circle were under several feet of water. Memorabilia was removed from the House and the effort to repair damage to the building began. The Grand Ole Opry was moved temporarily back to the Ryman while the Opry House was unusable.
In September 2010, the Opry moved back home to the repaired Opry House, showing that the landmark building is as timeless and enduring as the music performed within its walls.
