Hall of Fame reopens today

Friday, May 7, 2010 – The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum will reopen its doors at 10 a.m. Friday after being shut due to flooding in downtown Nashville since Monday.

The museum was ready to open its doors earlier, but had to wait for the power grid in the area to be turned back on.

Museum staff continue to work on updates to the permanent exhibition, Sing Me Back Home: A Journey Through Country Music, and those revisions will be completed as scheduled on May 14. The accompanying opening weekend programs set for May 14-15 will also take place as planned.

"We would like to thank all of our friends and patrons who have expressed concern about our situation and offered to help," said Director Kyle Young. "The museum has sustained minor damage, but the exhibits and collections-located on the second, third and fourth floors of the building-are safe and dry and were never in danger. Emergency generators are powering climate control systems to keep the collection safe and to allow crews to work on cleanup."

At the height of the downtown flooding on Monday, the museum had five and a half feet of water in one of its mechanical rooms, which is located below ground level. Water also came into the Ford Theater, which is at street level on the corner of Fourth Avenue South and Demonbreun Street. The theater sustained some minor damage, and personnel from American Constructors (which built the museum) have already begun repair and restoration efforts.

Hatch Show Print and Historic RCA Studio B also came through the rain and flooding unscathed. The poster shop is open now, and Studio B tours will resume today.

On Saturday, May 8, Songwriter Session will feature Marcus Hummon, the writer of many hits, including Bless the Broken Road. The session will not be streamed live on our Web site as originally announced. The museum will have its Family Program (Introduction to Square Dancing) on Saturday, and Instrument Demonstration (with Tim May and Gretchen Priest-May) on Sunday. This weekend's film screening ("Brenda Lee Live from Tokyo") was cancelled.