These photos of graffiti, broken windows, and dilapidated spaces were all that was left after the fall of Greer Stadium, where the Sounds Baseball team once played. A friend and I snuck in after hearing it would be demolished the following week.
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. Joined by a fellow photographer, we went on a morning adventure to capture as many photos as possible, knowing it was a nostalgic part of Nashville's disappearing past.
My memories from all of the games I attended over the 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 there were intertwined with my memories of all the special times I had enjoyed at the ballpark with friends.
My friend and I explored the abandoned space for more than 3 hours, shooting 1000+ photos before climbing back through the fence and heading home. These images are a reminder that time moves on, things change, and the past slowly disappears without a trace. As a photographer and a storyteller, it is my role to capture these special moments in time that will someday be gone forever.
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.