Nashville continued its destruction of its musical history this week (December 26-27) with the sudden and unexpected demolition of the original Country Music Hall of Fame Building. Located on 16th Avenue, at the head of Music Row, the building with its familiar barnlike facade had become at one time the single image most associated with Nashville.

The building was opened with much hoopla on March 31, 1967; the upstairs part contained exhibits and a gift shop; downstairs were the archives, reading room, and offices of Country Music Foundation staff. On the entranceway was the "Walkway of Stars" in which "lesser" entertainers were enshrined with a gold star and their names—for a fee of $1,000 each, most of which was raised by generous stars or fan clubs.

The destruction of the old Hall of Fame was done in a manner befitting a Nazi blitzkrieg—very quickly, so media and fans would not have time to react and protest. And it was done during a time when many were on holiday vacations. The building was owned by BMI—can’t blame Gaylord here—and there were rumors that it would be visitor’s center, then an adjunct to BMI for songwriters Hall of Fame, and for a time as a possible set of songwriters offices (in the basement portion). But the final decision was—to make it a parking lot.

No one knows what happened to the Walkway of Stars—whether it was simply ground up under the bulldozer’s tread or somehow saved. No one knows what will become of the wonderful warren of basement offices and passages that go on for miles. Nobody knows if they even managed to get the rest of the beautiful, custom-built record cabinets to someplace safe.

The black humor on the streets in Nashville is to refer to the site as "The Country Music Hole of Fame." A few friends have tried to pick up bricks as souvenirs, but BMI guards tend to run them off. In the meantime. over at the new Hall of Fame, assistant director and head of special projects and publications, Paul Kingsbury, has resigned. John Knowles, the resident computer guru, has also resigned.

The Nazi strategy with the old HOF building worked—there was not a word about it on any local TV or radio station, and only an odd, lop-sided story in the Tennessean. One day it was there— the next gone. "Disappeared" is the term used by the Argentea hit squads. So— Happy New Year from Nashville, the town that used to be Music City.

CHARLES WOLFE