The fall of Greer Stadium...
Last year when I heard that the old nostalgic Nashville Sounds stadium AKA Herschel Greer Stadium at 534 Chestnut Street was getting ready to be torn down, I went out on a morning adventure with a friend and shot as many photos as I could. My memories of going to the games for many years were met with sadness when I saw the shell of what was left. Although the life of what it was had disappeared, I still saw beauty in the broken spaces. The colors and textures I captured while I was there were intertwined with my thoughts of the many times I had enjoyed the ballpark. Like those people I spent time with at the park from my past, what was left of this special place reminded me that nothing ever really stays the same.
My friend and I explored the abandoned space for several hours and of the 1000+ photos I shot, these are my favorites.
The new ballpark now called First Horizon Park opened in the spring of 2015 in Germantown. The last game at Greer Stadium was on August 27, 2014 at and the property stood vacant until demolition in 2019. Not only did the stadium disappear but cougar Ozzie the mascot since 1997 was replaced by Booster, the hot chicken. The real person who played Ozzie was a personal friend of mine for many years and we did a photoshoot together in 2004.
On this beautiful and reflective morning I was reminded that time never stands still, things continuously change, time marches on and in the end all we truly have left of our time here is our memories. My work as a photographer has always been focused on capturing a single moment that will never happen again. I hope that these images show the beauty of what once was for years to come.