Country Music Hall of Fame to open

Thursday, May 17th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

NASHVILLE (AP) - The $37 million, 135,000-square-foot Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum opens Thursday in downtown Nashville. Singer Marty Stuart is loaning more than 2,000 items from his personal collection, including a purple Johnny Cash performance outfit, for an exhibit.

The new Hall of Fame replaces a much smaller building that opened in 1967 on Music Row, a three-block area where much of Nashville's music industry operates. It's opening just in time for
the summer tourist season, and a month before the International Country Music Fan Fair, which is expected to attract thousands of fans to downtown Nashville.

"We're estimating 550,000 visitors in
the first year," said museum director Kyle Young. "I'd love to push a million."