Father Ryan High School traces its roots to the Nashville Catholic High School for boys opened in September 1925 at 2015 West End Avenue. Within three years, the school was outgrowing its West End facility. Bishop Alphonse Smith launched a building campaign in March 1928 which raised $300,000 in ten days for a new school at 2300 Elliston Place.
The new school was named for Father Abram J. Ryan, priest and chaplain of the South known for his compassion to the injured and for his literary contribution in poetry. The facility was dedicated September 1929.
The Elliston place campus remained and expanded twice. Father Ryan became coeducational in 1970 when it merged with the all-female Cathedral High School. Eventually Father Ryan again outgrew its facilities and during the summer of 1991 relocated to its present home on Norwood Drive in the Oak Hill area of Nashville.
The 40-acre site includes an academic building containing computer labs, science labs, and many classrooms. There is also an administrative cloister building featuring art and drama rooms, band room, dining hall, and the St. James Chapel. The field house features three full size basketball courts, wrestling room, workout areas, locker rooms, and coaching offices. The spacious site also has softball, baseball, soccer, football fields and a track.
The recent addition of a freestanding Library and Center for the Arts reflects the school's commitment to remain on the cutting edge of educational advancement. Tennessean editor emeritus John Seigenthaler, a 1945 alumnus, spoke of the 40-acre campus, “In moving from one part of town to another, in expanding the campus to what looks like a junior college, Father Ryan was ahead of the curve. And now again, with these dramatic changes, Father Ryan is making its students better prepared than ever to live, work, and thrive in a changing world.”
Through three locations and over 75 years, Father Ryan High School has enjoyed a rich heritage of excellence in academics and a long and consistent history of outstanding sports teams. Most importantly, it has a long tradition of nurturing and guiding the spiritual growth of its young adults.
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