Wender·Vista
Opryland USA
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileTennessee · United States
in Nashville, on the bend of the Cumberland River

Opryland USA

— — the music park that turned back into music.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“Opryland USA was the music-themed park that sat for a quarter century on the bend of the Cumberland, just east of downtown Nashville. It opened in 1972, ran rides named after songs, and lived next door to the Grand Ole Opry House. It closed in 1997, and the land became Opry Mills the year after. The Opry House and the Gaylord Opryland resort never left. A piece of Nashville that exists now mostly in memory, in old photographs, and in the long arc of the river it stood beside.

from the studio
Opryland USA
— bring it home

Opryland USA, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Opryland USA

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Opryland USA was a music-themed amusement park in the Donelson area of Nashville, Tennessee, on a bend of the Cumberland River about 15 kilometres northeast of downtown. It opened on 27 May 1972, developed by the National Life and Accident Insurance Company alongside a new home for the Grand Ole Opry. At its peak the park covered 50 hectares and drew more than two million visitors a year. Gaylord Entertainment closed it after the 1997 season and the site reopened in 2000 as the Opry Mills shopping centre.

— the year

Opryland's 25 operating seasons ran from 1972 through 1997, opening each spring and closing in the autumn. The Wabash Cannonball roller coaster, named for the old folk standard, ran from 1975 until the park's final day. The Grand Ole Opry House, opened on the same campus on 16 March 1974, hosted its first live Opry broadcast a few days later and has run continuously since. The Opry's move from the Ryman Auditorium downtown to the Opryland campus was the anchor decision that brought the park into being.

— the visit

The park itself is gone. What remains on the site is the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center, with its nine-acre indoor glass-roofed atrium, the Grand Ole Opry House, the Opry Mills shopping centre, and the General Jackson showboat on the Cumberland. A Wender vista of Opryland reads as a memory piece rather than a guidebook stop. The Opry still records live in the same auditorium that opened during the park's second season, and the campus still carries the Opryland name on most of its signage.

— where
United States · Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee
— position
36.2065° N · 86.6927° E
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
at the lake
Grand Ole Opry House
live music auditorium
at the lake
Gaylord Opryland Resort
hotel and atrium
at the lake
Cumberland River
river
15 km SW
Downtown Nashville
city centre
N
Opryland USA
Grand Ole Opry House
Gaylord Opryland Resort
Cumberland River
Downtown Nashville
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Opryland USA — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

A music-themed amusement park in Nashville, Tennessee, that operated from 1972 to 1997. It sat next to the Grand Ole Opry House on a bend of the Cumberland River and was developed around the music of the American South.

The park closed after the 1997 operating season. Gaylord Entertainment announced the closure that year and the site reopened in 2000 as the Opry Mills shopping centre on the same footprint.

The Gaylord Opryland Resort with its nine-acre indoor atrium, the Grand Ole Opry House, the Opry Mills mall, and the General Jackson showboat on the Cumberland. The Opry still records live there each week.

In the Donelson area of Nashville, on a bend of the Cumberland River about 15 kilometres northeast of downtown. The same campus still carries the Opryland name on most of its signage and addressing.

The Wabash Cannonball, a steel roller coaster named for the old folk standard, opened in 1975 and ran through the park's final 1997 season. The Grizzly River Rampage rapids ride was the other long-running headliner.

Yes. The Grand Ole Opry House opened on the Opryland campus on 16 March 1974, hosted its first live broadcast days later, and has run continuously through and beyond the park's closure.

— about the piece in your home

It carries well for that recipient. The park lives mostly in memory now, and a tile of it reads as a quiet acknowledgement rather than a souvenir. A Small or Medium with a handwritten note from the studio travels well.

It sits well in Nashville-modern interiors with leather and walnut, in mid-century rooms with warm wood and brass, and in country-modern spaces that lean to muted jewel tones rather than primary colour.

Yes. Tribute walls in home music rooms and small home studios have grown steadily as a category, and a Nashville piece tied to the Opry sits naturally beside framed records, microphones, and instrument cases.

Above a standard sofa, a single Large reads at the right scale, a four-tile Mural fills the wall with quiet authority, and a nine-tile Mural gives a full feature-wall view across the Opryland campus.

Yes. Order in Dura Satin for a soft sheen that resists scratches and steam, or Matte for no sheen at all. Both finishes are made for backsplashes, showers, and other vertical wet installations.

A microfibre cloth and clean water are enough for the Glossy show-piece finish. Dura Satin and Matte tolerate a mild non-abrasive cleaner. No scouring pads, no bleach, no ammonia-based sprays.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original to our family studio in Knoxville, Tennessee. There is no outside licensing. Reid Wender selects each vista and the studio hand-finishes every tile in-house.

— if this one stayed with you

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