Opryland U.S.A. concept drawings, c. 1971.
(Document/manuscript/pamphlet/archival material)

Materials housed in Special Collections Division of the Main Library, Nashville Public Library.

In library use only. Available by appointment.

Scope and content: Nine concept drawings of exterior views of Nashville's Opryland USA theme park, including a few of its shops and rides, and views of the Grand Ole Opry House, which opened on the park's grounds in March 1974. Three of the drawings were done in color on 11" x 14" mats; three pen and ink drawings are on 12" x 15" mats, and three more pen and ink drawings are on 13" x 15" mats.

Cite as: Opryland U.S.A. Concept Drawings, Special Collections Division, Nashville Public Library.

Copyright status is undetermined.

Peggy Whitaker,Gift;,2008,Acc. 2008.057.

Opryland U.S.A. was Nashville's theme park and a major tourist attraction and musical venue from its opening in 1972 to its closing in 1997. The park was planned and built by the National Life and Accident Insurance Company both as a source of revenue and a new home for its Grand Ole Opry radio show. Plans were first announced on October 16, 1968, and ground was broken on its 65-acre Cumberland River site on June 30, 1970, with a harnessed plow driven by the Opry's Bashful Brother Oswald. The park cost $66 million to construct, and on opening day, May 27, 1972, drew some 10,000 visitors. The Grand Ole Opry moved from the Ryman Auditorium to the new Grand Ole Opry House on March 16, 1974, in ceremonies attended by President Richard Nixon, and the Opryland Hotel, originally with 614 rooms, opened adjacent to the park in 1977. Park grounds for years housed the operations of the Grand Ole Opry, WSM Radio, the Country Music Radio Network, Opryland Music Group, Hee Haw, the Nashville Network, and later Country Music Television. While some of the music operations have remained in place there, in November, 1997, corporate officials announced that Opryland U.S.A. theme park would close at the end of that year, to be transformed into Opry Mills, a complex of shops, theaters, and restaurants.

In English.

Drawings given by National Life executive Irving Waugh to CMA's Peggy Whitaker, who donated them to the Nashville Public Library.

No accruals expected.