One of the Knoxville Museum of Art’s permanent exhibits is Higher Ground: A Century of the Visual Arts in East Tennessee,. This exhibit includes a variety of works by local artists from the mid-nineteenth to the late twentieth century. Another permanent exhibit, Currents: Recent Art from East Tennessee and Beyond, spotlights contemporary emerging and established artists.&nbsp;The museum is also the home of the largest figural glass installation in the world. This exhibit, Facets of Modern and Contemporary Glass, features twentieth and twenty-first-century glasswork, including Cycle of Life: Within the Power of Words and the Wonder of Infinity by Knoxville native Richard Jolley.&nbsp; The museum also hosts workshops, lectures, concerts, family activities, and other programs throughout the year.&nbsp;

The Knoxville Museum of Art. The exterior is sheathed in locally quarried pink Tennessee marble.

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The Knoxville Museum of Art dates back to the establishment of the Dulin Gallery of Art in 1961. That small museum was located in the Dulin House, a 1915 home designed by architect John Russel Pope. By the 1980s, however, the museum needed more space for its collections and wanted a more accessible location for Knoxvillians. Starting in 1984, a city-wide effort to raise approximately ten million dollars began with the goal of constructing a new art museum on the site of the 1982 World’s Fair. In 1987, the museum changed its name to the Knoxville Museum of Art. The building was designed by Edward Larrabee Barnes and following fundraising and construction, the museum opened its doors to the public on March 25, 1990. Over five thousand Knoxville residents gathered on that day to celebrate the opening of the museum which now welcomes over 70,000 people each year to their galleries and special events at the museum.

Knoxville Museum of Art

The downtown Knoxville, Tennessee walking tour takes users from the Blount Mansion,  Knoxville’s only National Historic Landmark, to the Church Street United Methodist Church. The walking tour highlights downtown Knoxville's prominent historical landmarks such as the Tennessee Woman's Suffrage Memorial and the Sunsphere, the site of the 1982 Knoxville World's Fair.

Downtown Knoxville, Tennessee Walking Tour

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William Blount was a signer of the U.S. Constitution as a delegate from North Carolina. He moved to Knoxville after being appointed the governor of the Southwest Territory by President George Washington. He chose the site for his future home after signing the Treaty of Holston nearby. Blount’s home, considered a mansion because of its size relative to those around it, became the capital of the territory. Here, Blount entertained politicians, businessmen, and French nobles, including the future “Citizen King” Louis Philippe. The constitution for the state of Tennessee was also drawn up here while Blount was still governor. Blount later became one of the state’s first two senators, but his career ended when he was caught in a plot to war with Spain so that Great Britain could take over the Louisiana Territory. He was removed from office but managed to avoid going to trial for treason. William Blount died in 1800.

Work on the house began in 1792 and ended in 1796, though the last main phase of construction was not completed until 1830. William Blount’s wife Mary insisted that the structure be “a proper wooden house” as opposed to the log homes more common in the area. Lumber and nails for the project were brought from North Carolina, and glass came from Richmond, Virginia. Once completed, the house comprised of a hall, parlor, two downstairs rooms, and a half-story loft. The family could entertain in the hall, while the parlor and other rooms were kept private.

After Blount’s death, the house was inherited by extended family and was later sold to other prominent Knoxvillians. These owners made changes such as adding a second floor, an attached kitchen, and a front porch. One addition, the west wing, was probably constructed after 1810. It appears to have been an outbuilding that was simply moved next to the mansion’s wall. The space might have been slave quarters according to some archaeological findings. The east wing, on the other hand, was built sometime before 1820.

Another owner of Blount Mansion was Knoxville Mayor Samuel Beckett Boyd. For a part of 1863, Boyd’s cousin and Confederate spy Belle Boyd stayed here. Despite the home’s history, it was doomed to demolition in 1925 to make way for a parking lot. However, local efforts led to its preservation and the founding of a preservation movement in town. The Bonny Kate Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution then purchased the home in 1926 and chartered the Blount Mansion Association (BMA). The BMA later removed the front porch, which was not original to the home, and opened the house as a museum in 1930.

A recent archaeological investigation confirmed that Blount Mansion had arrived at its final form after six phases of construction. Some of these later additions have been dismantled, while some structures, like the kitchen and the Governor’s Office, have been recreated.

Blount Mansion, built beginning in 1792, is Knoxville’s only National Historic Landmark. The house initially belonged to William Blount, once governor of the Southwest Territory and later one of Tennessee’s first state senators. It earned its nickname, “the house with many eyes,” after Native American visitors noted its many windows. The house continued to serve as the center of political action in Tennessee for many years. Following Blount’s death in 1800, various owners added to the house. Eventually, the mansion was used for slum housing and was slated for demolition in the 1920s, though local efforts to save it were successful. Since becoming a museum in 1930, preservationists have worked to restore the home to its original appearance. 

Blount Mansion 

Andrew Johnson was born in Raleigh, North Carolina in 1808. Despite growing up in poverty, Johnson successfully entered U.S. political arena. When Tennessee succeeded from the Union before the Civil War, Johnson, one of the state’s senators, remained in Congress, upsetting many Southerners. President Lincoln then appointed him Military Governor of Tennessee in 1862. Two years later, the Republican party chose Johnson to run for vice president, even though he was a Southerner and a Democrat. After Lincoln’s assassination in 1865, Johnson became president and ushered in the age of Reconstruction. Significantly, Johnson vetoed the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which recognized African Americans as citizens and forbade discrimination against them. Still, the act passed after Congress garnered enough votes to override his veto. By that point, both Southerners and Northerners, as well as Republicans and Democrats, saw Johnson as a traitor to their respective causes. After violating the Tenure of Office Act, Andrew Johnson became the first American president to be impeached.

For decades, Andrew Johnson’s reputation remained tarnished until some documents were discovered that made Johnson appear resolute and courageous. He was then thought of as a typical American hero, rising up from his position as a poor, small-town tailor and becoming president. Meanwhile, in Knoxville in the 1920s, plans were being laid for a new hotel to accommodate the droves of tourists already arriving in town to visit the then-unfinished Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The hotel was designed by Baumann &amp; Baumann and would become the tallest building in East Tennessee for almost fifty years. Originally, the project was called the “Tennessee Terrace,” but with this newfound pride in the president from Tennessee, it was renamed the Andrew Johnson Hotel.

Over the years, a long list of celebrities stayed in the Andrew Johnson Hotel. Amelia Earhart gave an interview in her room in 1936 (just one year before her disappearance) in which she revealed that she did not expect to live to an old age. In 1943, Russian composer and pianist Sergei Rachmaninoff rested at the hotel the night of his final performance. That same night, the hotel held a ball to celebrate the premiere of the film Tennessee Johnson, a heroic version of Andrew Johnson’s life. Most famously, singer-songwriter Hank Williams spent the last night of his life in the hotel in 1952, though accounts differ as to whether Williams died in his room or in his car. Other guests included Tennessee Williams, King Hussein of Jordan, actor Anthony Perkins, and Duke Ellington.

The hotel was acquired by tobacco heir R. J. Reynolds Jr. in the 1940s and the property stayed in the family until 1973. The hotel declined during the 1970s as fewer people chose to stay in the more expensive historic hotels of America's cities and the building changed hands several times before being renovated and used as office space starting in the 1980s. In 1980, the Andrew Johnson Hotel was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Twelve years later, it became home to the offices of the local school system and several county offices. In 2015, the school leaders indicated a desire to move from this building and the city began the process of soliciting bids for the property. Proposals for the historic building include conversion to an apartment building with commercial space on the first floor along with proposals to return it to use as a hotel.

This building opened in 1930 as a luxury hotel named in honor of Andrew Johnson, the seventeenth president of the United States. At that time, many Tennessee residents saw Johnson as a rags-to-riches type hero. Johnson was a controversial president in his own era and today for many of his actions and policies, including his support of Southern planters in the Reconstruction Era. The Andrew Johnson Hotel hosted many famous visitors over the years, from Elvis Presley to vice presidential candidate Lyndon B. Johnson and his wife. It is most well-known for being the place where twenty-nine-year-old Hank Williams, Sr. spent the last night of his life. The building is currently used as office space for Knox County, though there are plans underway to turn it into an apartment building or boutique hotel.

Andrew Johnson Building

Leading Knoxville merchant Thomas Humes acquired this site, known at the time as “Lot 38,” in 1801. Humes began construction on the building in 1815 that would become the leading hotel in the city but did not see its completion as he died a year later. The project was finished in 1817. After his death, the Lamar House was used for concerts, parties, and other social gatherings. Lamar House at that time consisted of the Knoxville Hotel, a ballroom, a bar, and a dining room.&nbsp;In 1817 (or 1819, sources differ), the Lamar House hosted a reception for Andrew Jackson. In 1852, W. M. Churchwell purchased the hotel, which had undergone a series of name changes, and began renovations. Churchwell nearly doubled the hotel’s previous size and added elevators, a new kitchen, stables, a courtyard, and a “ladies’ entrance.” After changing the hotel’s name back to the Lamar House in 1856, Churchwell sold it to Colonel William H. Sneed in 1857. Sneed leased the building out to a number of tenants in the following years.

During the Civil War, both Confederate and Union Armies made use of the Lamar House. In the space of just one year, it was used as both Confederate General Joseph Johnston’s headquarters and a Union hospital after the Union occupied the city of Knoxville. In the “Lamar Hospital,” Generals William Sherman and Phil Sheridan made plans for battle. General William P. Sanders died in the hospital in 1863, though he was buried secretly so as not to impair morale. William Sneed died in 1869, and the hotel was owned by seven different family members by 1881. After a few more name changes, including “The White House” and the “New Lamar House,” the hotel became known as the “Old Homestead” in 1904. By this point, other, larger hotels had sprung up in town, leading to hard times for the hotel.

Four years later, in 1904, the Auditorium Company purchased the property and transformed the ballroom into a theater. Jake Well’s Bijou Theatre opened on March 8, 1909, with a production of Little Johnny Jones. It was the only theater in Knoxville that admitted both Black and white patrons, though African Americans had to come in through a separate entrance and could only sit in the gallery. From 1913 until 1926, the theater focused mainly on vaudeville acts, though it occasionally showed motion pictures. Some of the acts that performed at the Bijou include Will Rogers, the Marx Brothers, and John Phillip Sousa.

In 1926, the Bijou Theatre was purchased by the owners of the Tennessee Theater. These men later sold the property to a businessman under the premise that the building would not be used as a theater for at least five years. As a result, the Bijou served as a used car lot and fruit stand during this time. In 1932, one of the first Chinese-American restaurants in the South, the Pagoda, opened at the site. In 1935, Paramount Pictures bought the theater and exhibited second-run pictures and live performances only occasionally graced the former grand stage.&nbsp;In 1965, Paramount gave up the theater, which then became “Bijou Art Theatre,” a movie theater geared toward adults. Meanwhile, the Lamar Hotel next door was used by homeless people and prostitutes. In 1969, it was declared a public health hazard and closed. In 1971, it was bequeathed to a local church who then sold it to a businessman. When the Bijou Theatre closed in 1975, the hotel and theater were slated for demolition. That same year, however, the Bijou Theatre was added to the National Historic Record and campaign to save the theater began.

<div>The Knoxville Heritage Group was founded to lead fundraising efforts. When the group came up short of its goal, John S. Goodstein, acting trustee for the Bijou, donated the remaining $50,000 needed. The Bijou Theatre then reopened in 1977. Seven years later, a million-dollar renovation provided much-needed repairs and updates to the theater. After a financially disastrous attempt to restore the theater again in the 1990s, the theater was forced to close in 2004. But, in 2006, the Bijou Theatre was able to reopen. In 2009, the Bijou Theatre celebrated its 100th birthday with the now-annual Bijou Jubilee. In 2017, the theater completed a new round of renovations.</div>

The third oldest remaining building in Knoxville, the Lamar House was built by Thomas Humes in 1815. Over the years, presidents such as Rutherford B. Hayes and Ulysses S. Grant have given speeches from the Lamar House’s balcony. In 1909, the ballroom of the hotel was transformed into the Bijou Theatre. Performers such as Tallulah Bankhead, John Barrymore, Dolly Parton, and the Dave Mathews Band have performed at the theater. After closures in 1975 and 2004, local residents and preservationists worked together to restore and reopen the Bijou Theatre. As a result of these efforts, the historic Bijou Theatre continues to operate as a performing arts center. In addition to its stately interior, the New York Times praised the Bijou's acoustics and declared that the theater was “one of the best sounding rooms in the country."

The Lamar House Hotel and Bijou Theatre

In 1797, Tennessee’s first
governor, John Sevier, purchased this lot and built the foundation for a house.
After running out of money for the project, he put his efforts back into his
Marble Springs farm located south of Knoxville. In 1801, Sevier sold it to his
son, George Washington Sevier, who later sold it to South Carolinian merchant
James Dunlap in 1807. James Park, an Irish immigrant who served as Knoxville’s
second and fourth mayor, finally bought the property five years later. He then
built this two-story Flemish bond brick Federal home. The L-shaped addition
came in the 1820s. 

The Park family remained in this
home until selling it in 1912. After that, the house was used for offices, a
World War I Red Cross workshop, and an ear, nose, and throat clinic. In 1945,
the Knoxville Academy of Medicine bought the house and used it as a museum with
space for offices, classes, and meetings. The Academy sold the property to Sam Furrow and
Natalie Haslam in 2002. They then sold it to Gulf and Ohio Railways, and it has
since been used as Gulf &amp; Ohio’s headquarters. Architect Lee Ingram led the
renovation of the structure, which including removing a 1968 rear medical
auxiliary and auditorium and restoring the house's Victorian-era porch. Work
was completed around 2007.&nbsp;

The James Park House is the second oldest structure in Knoxville. Construction on the home began in 1797 when Tennessee’s first governor John Sevier acquired this property. Sevier abandoned the project, and the property was later acquired by Knoxville’s second mayor, James Park. Park built his house in 1812, and his descendants kept the home in the family until selling the property in 1912. Given its location in the heart of downtown Knoxville, the structure served a variety of purposes from a Red Cross facility in World War I to the home of the Knoxville Academy of Medicine. In 2002, the property was acquired by the Gulf and Ohio Railways and restored for use as the company's headquarters. 

James Park House

Completed in 1929 and named in honor of a local attorney and donor, the Lindsay Young YMCA is the third-oldest remaining YMCA branch in the United States. The YMCA was established in London in 1844 and soon spread to the United States. The Knoxville YMCA dates back to 1854 when it was established by Second Presbyterian Church.

Lindsay Young Downtown YMCA

&nbsp;In 1834, physician J. G. M.
Ramsey, journalist and cleric Thomas Humes, and others founded the East
Tennessee Historical and Antiquarian Society. Their goal was to find and
preserve documents and objects relating to the founders of Tennessee. Ramsey
kept the group’s collection at his home. During the Civil War, the society
experienced a divide: Humes was a Unionist, while Ramsey was a Confederate. When
the Union Army occupied Knoxville, Ramsey left town. His house, and the historical
artifacts within it, later burned down.

It was not until years after the
war, and Ramsey’s death, that the society regrouped in 1885. It was led by
former District Attorney General and history professor William Gibbs McAdoo,
with both Union and Confederate veterans as members. This second incarnation of
the East Tennessee Historical Society died out sometime before 1925 when it was
re-founded once again. This time, the society was associated with the Calvin M.
McClung Historical Collection and the Knoxville Public Library. Three years
later, the society began publishing the Journal of East Tennessee History
annually as well as several books. Over time, the East Tennessee Historical Society
expanded its focus from the Knoxville-area to thirty-five nearby counties.

By 1982, the McClung Collection
and the Knox County Archive moved into the old post office, also called the “Custom
House,” built in 1874. In 1986, plans were made to turn the building into a
museum, and work on the project began in 1990. The society’s first, small
museum opened in 1993. A 2004 addition by architecture firm Barber McMurry
doubled the size of the structure, allowing for a bigger History Center. The “Voices
of the Land” exhibit is now larger than the original museum. There is also space
dedicated to a research library.

The East Tennessee Historical Society dates back to 1834 when a group of prominent Knoxvillians worked together to preserve the state’s early history. The society disbanded and regrouped several times before it was refounded in association with the Knoxville Public Library in 1925. Since then, the society moved into the “Custom’s House,” an old post office built in 1874. The East Tennessee Historical Society opened its first museum here in 1993, though the current version of the museum opened after an architectural expansion in 2004. The museum features both permanent and temporary exhibits, but its signature exhibition is “Voices of the Land: The People of East Tennessee,” which features artifacts and accounts from different eras of Tennessee history.

East Tennessee History Center and Museum

In 1917, Clay Brown Atkin bought the future site of the Tennessee Theatre. It was another eight years before architect R.E. Hall drew up plans for the theater's construction. Ultimately, however, it was the design of Graven and Mayger that was chosen for the project. This pair operated in Chicago and built eighteen movie houses during their fifteen-month partnership. Of these eighteen theaters, only two (the Tennessee and the Alabama in Birmingham) survive.&nbsp;Construction on the Spanish Moorish style theater was undertaken by the George A. Fuller Company (also of Chicago) from November 1927 into 1928. The finished building featured French-style chandeliers, Italian terrazzo flooring, and carpets and drapery with Asian motifs. It was also one of the first public places in Knoxville to be equipped with air-conditioning. In total, the Tennessee Theatre cost the Publix Theatres chain over one-million dollars to build.

More than 100,000 people attended the theater’s opening night showing of The Fleet’s In starring Clara Bow on October 1, 1928. During its early years, the theater would show two feature-length films a week in addition to cartoons, newsreels, short films, and live performances. One of its biggest acts was the “Tom Mix Roundup” in 1933. The actor, known for Westerns, rode his horse onto the stage ushering in his mini rodeo and circus acts. In 1935, the first touring Broadway show came to the Tennessee Theatre: Mary of Scotland with Helen Hayes. The one-night performance sold out. However, the most popular live show ever at the theater was the Ziegfeld Follies, who came to Knoxville in February 1935. The Follies comprised of over one-hundred performers, including comedian Fannie Brice. Other famous visitors to the Tennessee during the 1940s include band leaders Glenn Miller and Desi Arnaz.

Big changes came to the Tennessee Theatre in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1953, the Tennessee installed technology so that it could exhibit Cinemascope films, which had a larger aspect ratio than previous movies. School children were invited to watch The Robe (a Cinemascope film) at the theater, making it one of the first times African Americans were allowed inside as guests. After months of protests in 1963, the Tennessee Theatre finally became desegregated, starting with a showing of To Kill A Mockingbird. Later in the decade, the theater was fitted with new carpet, wider seating, an enlarged concession stand, and other decorative improvements. One modification ended up not being an improvement at all: the re-raking of the balcony impaired the line of vision for patrons who sat there. This was corrected as a part of later renovations.

During the 1970s, the Tennessee was forced to close several times as audiences flocked to newer multiplexes. In the late 1970s, the theater began showing classic movies, starting with San Francisco (1936). However, in 1980, the Tennessee Theatre turned to primarily live shows. It still showed movies occasionally, though. One such occasion was a special showing of It’s a Wonderful Life in December 1981, which director Frank Capra attended. That same year, the theater was purchased by James A. Dick, who transformed it into a performing arts venue. The theater had some successes in the 1980s and 1990s, including a sellout performance by Robert Palmer and the recording of Kenny Chesney’s “Somebody’s Callin’” music video there in 1994. But, there were some problems with the theater, such as it being too small for bigger productions and lacking backstage space. So, in 1996, the Historic Tennessee Theatre Foundation was founded to restore and renovate the building.

In 2000, parts of the Mighty Wurlitzer organ, which was original to the theater, were sent to Reno, Nevada for refurbishment. It was returned the following year. When folk singer Nanci Griffith filmed a concert DVD at the Tennessee Theatre, she donated the price of admission toward the theater’s restoration. Extensive renovations began in June 2003 and were led by local architects McCarty, Holsaple, McCarty and the contractor Denmark Construction. The stage and the theater itself were expanded. The exterior was repainted in its original colors. The twelve-foot chandeliers in the lobby were repaired. New lighting was also installed. After a renovation of about $25 million, the Tennessee Theatre reopened on January 15, 2005. In 2019, the Tennessee Theater bought four floors of the nearby Mechanics Bank and Trust building. Plans to expand into the interior and create more room for patrons to socialize before and after shows&nbsp;are currently underway.

This historic theater opened in 1928 before a crowd of over 100,000 people who gathered to witness the celebration of what would become Knoxville's leading theater. Many of the leading acts in the nation, including the Ziegfeld Follies and the Marx Brothers graced the stage of the Tennessee Theatre in the next year. While live performances were an essential function, the venue served primarily as a movie theater during the golden age of cinema. Many films even chose this theater to host their premieres, including Tennessee Johnson (1943), So This is Love (1953), and A Death in the Family (1963). After the rise of multiplex movie theaters in the 1970s, however, the Tennessee adapted and served primarily as a performing arts venue. In 1999, this venue was named the State Theatre of Tennessee as part of an effort to support renovation and restoration of the aging theater. Fundraising for renovations followed, and work was completed in 2005 when the theater reopened. Today, the Tennessee Theater showcases live performances, ranging from tours of Broadway productions to local musicians, with occasional showings of classic movies. 

Tennessee Theatre

The beginning of the Woman Suffrage movement is commonly dated from 1848 when Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, and others met for tea and planned the first Woman's Rights Convention.&nbsp;At the Seneca Falls Convention the Declaration of Sentiments, a protest modeled on the Declaration of Independence, was drafted and was the first public protest against women's political, social and economic inferiority. Included in the list of reforms was a demand for the ballot.Seventy-two years later, the Susan B. Anthony Amendment was finally ratified with Tennessee's crucial and dramatic vote in August of 1920.&nbsp;Ratification would not have been possible without the dedication and personal sacrifice of thousands of women across the state who worked continually to build a strong suffrage organization in Tennessee.Between June 4, 1919, when Congress approved the Amendment, and August 18th, 1920, it was unclear whether enough states in certain parts of the country would ratify the Amendment for it to meet the Constitutionally-mandated requirement of being ratified by three-fourths of the states. While many of the states in the West already recognized women's right to vote and ratified the measure shortly after Congress approved the measure, legislators in the Deep South expressed strong opposition. The movement for ratification also stalled in a handful of eastern states, meaning that the fate of ratification would come down to a handful of battleground states.&nbsp;Eight months after Congress approved the amendment, the momentum for ratification stalled. Advocates knew that their best chance for success was to carry states in the east and the Border South states. While Virginia rejected the measure, West Virginia turned in favor of women's suffrage in dramatic fashion in February of 1920. Still, with few other states considering the measure, the fate of women's suffrage came down to whether advocates could carry Tennessee.&nbsp;Thanks to the persuasive arguments of women's suffrage advocates, including the mother of one reluctant lawmaker, the 19th Amendment became part of the Constitution when Tennessee ratified the 19th Amendment by a one-vote majority on August 18, 1920. The links below include more details about the dramatic vote in Tennessee, including the story of 24-year-old lawmaker Harry T. Burn who claimed inspiration for his decision from a letter written by his mother. When defending himself from charges of changing his vote owing to a bribe, Burns told of the letter from his mother asking him to "be a good boy" and vote in favor of ratification.&nbsp;"I know that a mother's advice is always safest for a boy to follow," Burns responded, "and my mother wanted me to vote for ratification"

Dedicated in 2006, this monument honors leading advocates of women's suffrage in Tennessee. The 19th Amendment, which guarantees the right to vote to all Americans, became law when the Tennessee legislature became the 36th state to ratify the amendment on August 18, 1920. Between 1995 and 2006, Tennessee's Suffrage Coalition worked to raise awareness of this history, as well as secure funds to create this lasting memorial to the suffragists from Tennessee. On August 26, 2006, the Suffrage Coalition celebrated their success and dedicated this life-size, bronze statue featuring three of the most influential Tennessee suffragists. 

The statue depicts Lizzie Crozier French of Knoxville and Anne Dallas Dudley of Nashville, two leading advocates of women's rights who both served as Presidents of the Tennessee Equal Suffrage Association. Also depicted is  Elizabeth Avery Meriwether of Memphis. In 1876, Meriwether followed Susan B. Anthony and other women who attempted to register and vote. She also called the first public meeting on the subject of women's rights in Tennessee in that same year. 

Tennessee Woman's Suffrage Memorial

The Daylight is now an apartment building, with many units featuring the original hardwood floors, trim, and windows. The first commercial tenant in the retail space was, coincidentally, another photography studio: John Black Photography. During renovations, copper around the windows was uncovered after layers of paint had been removed. Another pleasant surprise was that the ceilings upstairs were over a yard taller than originally believed.&nbsp;

The Daylight Building was constructed in 1927 by real estate developer Benjamin H. Sprankle. The first floor was used for retail space, while the second floor housed offices and the studio of well-known local photographer Robin Thompson. By 1934, the newly-formed Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) moved into the building and housed the engineering, soil conversion, and training offices here along with some other internal services. As the TVA expanded, it acquired additional office space in nearby buildings. When the TVA moved to Market Square in 1976, this led to many vacant and underutilized spaces within these buildings although some TVA offices remained in the Daylight Building into the 1980s. When the last of the TVA offices moved into the new towers in the mid-1990s, the Daylight Building was mostly vacant until 2009 when it was purchased by Dewhirst Properties and converted into a mixed-use residential and retail building with condos replacing the former TVA offices. 

Daylight Building

In 1844, Tennessee Governor James C. Jones appointed a board who would work to establish a school for the deaf. The board began by gathering information about the deaf residents of the state and about schools in other states. Soon, they learned about Reverend Thomas MacIntire, a well-liked teacher at the Ohio Institution for the Education of the Deaf and Dumb. MacIntire agreed to become the Tennessee school’s first principal and teacher. The board also decided on the school’s first location: the Churchwell house in East Knoxville. Room and board at the school were originally published as $100 for the school year.

The school was officially incorporated under the name of the Tennessee Deaf and Dumb School on January 31, 1846. That same year, Knoxville native Calvin Morgan donated two acres of land for the construction of a new school building. The “east wing” was the first building on the campus. It was constructed so that it could be added to over time. The main building was constructed from 1848 until 1851 and cost about $28,000. White marble and columns gave the structure an ornate appearance and have remained in good shape over the years.

After the 1848-1849 school year, Mr. MacIntire worked to raise money to pay debts and construct new buildings, especially housing for more female students. Because enrollment increased dramatically, the school was discontinued in 1850 so that the construction of the west wing could continue uninterrupted. &nbsp;It was finally completed in 1852, one year after a Mr. Morris took over as principal. During the 1850s came a series of improvements: repairs, remodels, the installation of gas heating, and the purchase of new land. By 1861, the school had grown to be one of the largest schools for the deaf in the United States.

Unfortunately, during the Civil War, the school fell into a state of disrepair. Furniture and equipment were destroyed. &nbsp;Cannon balls hit the roof. The dining room was used as a hospital by the Union Army, and later as stables. After the war, the buildings were no longer fit for use. The state legislature then set aside $5,000 to be used for repairs and $5,000 to keep the school running. When the school reopened in December of 1867, the school’s trustees were surprised at the large number of pupils who enrolled.

In the 1870s, the school continued to expand. From 1870 to 1871, a new house was built for future principals to live in. Later, a new chapel was constructed, and the old chapel was turned into a girls’ dormitory. After the last of these improvements were completed in 1879, the school could accommodate 125 students. More classrooms, stables, a laundry building, a gymnasium, and a hospital were added in the 1890s. As the school entered the twentieth century, further improvements accommodated the ever-growing number of pupils and modern technology.

On September 2, 1922, the Tennessee School for the Deaf and Dumb was sold to the city of Knoxville for $400,000, though the school did not have to move for another two years. The new school, built on the former Dickinson estate property by a former student (architect Thomas Scott Marr), was dedicated in 1924. The next year, City Hall officially opened in the school’s former buildings. City Hall remained there until 1980 when it moved to the City-County Building. Also in 1925, the school officially changed its name to the Tennessee School for the Deaf, eliminating the word “dumb.” The school continues to operate today.

Established in 1846 and constructed in 1848, this structure served as the main building for the Tennessee School for the Deaf and Dumb (as it was then called). Despite being damaged while being used as a Union Army hospital during the Civil War, the building's columns and Tennessee white marble managed to remain intact. After the war, it was the first edifice on the school’s campus to be restored. In 1922, it and other Tennessee School for the Deaf buildings were sold to the city of Knoxville. City Hall moved in in 1925 and remained there until 1980. Most recently, the building has been used as the Duncan School of Law by Lincoln Memorial University.

Tennessee School for the Deaf (1846-1924), Old City Hall (1925-1980)

Completed in 1905, the Louisville and Nashville Passenger Station in Knoxville was designed in the Chateauesque style by engineer Richard Montfort. At a cost of $107,061, the grand train station opened in May or April of 1905 (sources differ). The terminal featured ornate details such as stained-glass windows and tile floors that mimicked the patterns of oriental carpets. The Ladies’ Waiting room boasted a fireplace, writing desks, and rocking chairs. Celebrities such as Senator Estes Kefauver and actor John Barrymore passed through this L&amp;N station during its early years.

Once the passenger rail was discontinued in 1969, many expected the station would be demolished, but it remained. In 1982, the L&amp;N station was put back into use during the Knoxville World’s Fair when it was used by temporary restaurants and offices. That same year, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places to protect it in the future. After the fair was over, some offices and restaurants continued to operate from the former train terminal. In 2011, however, it gained a new purpose when it was turned into a Knox County STEM Academy. Students voted to name the school L&amp;N STEM Academy.

Knoxville's L&N Station served as a passenger terminal from 1905 when the station was placed in service to 1969 when passenger service was discontinued. The station was slated for demolition until several businesses and restaurants saw the potential value of the location. With the increased traffic to the area during Knoxville's 1982 World’s Fair and several urban renewal projects aimed at bringing more people to the downtown area, the station has become a desirable location for retailers, restaurants, and several local businesses. In 2011, the former station also became home to the Knox County STEM Academy, which is now known as the L&N STEM Academy.

L&N Station

Constructed in 1981, the 266-foot tall Sunsphere contains three high-speed elevators that whisk guests up twenty-six stories. The iconic twenty-four-karat gold windows were achieved by placing vinyl film with gold dust lamented to it in between the glass panes. The finished gold panes cost about one thousand dollars each when they were created. At that time, the color of the tower’s base was sky blue, though it has since been repainted forest green.The idea of having the world’s fair in Knoxville, Tennessee was W. Stewart Evans’. Evans was the president of the Downtown Knoxville Association. Evans approached Mayor Kyle Testerman who went to banker Jake Butcher for financial advice. The abandoned Louisville and Nashville Railroad Yard was demolished to make room for the fair, which was the first World’s Fair in the South.President Ronald Regan opened the fair on May 1, 1982, and it remained open for five months, hosting over eleven million visitors. During the fair’s opening ceremonies, a band played from the top of the Sunsphere to the people from 22 nations present. The fair earned the city $25 million in tax revenue and $500 million in tourism revenue. Famous inventions that were presented at the fair included the Rubik’s Cube, Cherry Coke, and touchscreen monitors.&nbsp;The Knoxville, Tennessee 1982 World’s Fair cost $115 million and left Knoxville with $57 million in public debt and vacant buildings in the months after the fair took place. The Tennessee banking business controlled by Jake Butcher, chairman of the fair and Knoxville financer, left the city with more problems.&nbsp;One day after the fair ended on October 1, 1982, Federal bank examiners took control of Butcher’s 22 banks. In February of 1983, the United American Bank of Knoxville was the first of Butcher’s banks to be insolvent. Eight more banks were declared insolvent after this. This was the biggest set of bank failures in the United States since the Great Depression. The collapse of Butcher’s banks resulted in a lack of security in their plans for renovating the site after the fair. In 1984, William Schmidt of the New York Times reported that the old fairgrounds were only popular with local joggers who liked the deserted footpaths found there.&nbsp;

Although the&nbsp;Observation Deck and Sunsphere are two of the highlights of the downtown area today, they&nbsp;have had a complicated and often controversial past, with many public debates about what might be done with space and who should cover the expense of the facility's&nbsp;renovation and operation.&nbsp;Mayor Bill Haslam announced plans to renovate and reopen the Sunsphere, as well as the&nbsp;amphitheater, in 2005. In 2007, these plans were finally realized and the following year, the Sunsphere received its first paying tenant when a private company moved into the floors above the observation deck.&nbsp;Updates, such as a new HVAC system, new LED lighting, and upgrades to the elevators and plumbing, were undertaken in 2018.

The symbol of the 1982 World's Fair at Knoxville and the center of the fair's park, the Sunsphere held an observation deck as well as a restaurant offering visitors to the city an incredible view of the downtown area and the park. Along with the nearby Tennessee Amphitheater, it remains the only remaining feature of the fair. In 2007, the city reopened the Sunsphere's observation deck to the public, allowing one of the best views of the city. The sun was an appropriate symbol of the fair, officially known as the Knoxville International Energy Exposition, as its theme was "Energy Turns the World."

Sunsphere and the 1982 Knoxville World's Fair 

The congregation dates back to 1816 with 68 members meeting at the city's first Methodist church on&nbsp;East Hill Avenue. Twenty years later, the congregation completed a new edifice on Church Street (Church Avenue today), leading to the congregation's name. During the Civil War, that church served as a hospital. More importantly, members of&nbsp;the congregation who supported the Union left the congregation, creating the First Methodist Church. Members of the Church Street congregation continued to&nbsp;align with the Southern Methodists.&nbsp; In February 1928, a fire destroyed the building on Church Street, leading to plans to create this structure on nearby Henley Street. In the three years prior to the completion of this church, the congregation met at the&nbsp;Lyric Theater while Sunday School was held at the downtown YMCA. &nbsp;&nbsp;

A Knoxville landmark, Church Street United Methodist opened in 1931, replacing a previous Gothic structure that had been located on Church Street between Walnut and Market Streets and destroyed by a fire two years prior. The congregation hired New York architect John Russell Pope to design their new church. Pope's previous work included buildings on the campus of Yale University as well as several other churches for large congregations in major cities. The building has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2009, both for its architecture and its stained glass--commissioned by the same firm that created the stained glass windows of St. Patrick's Cathedral and several other prominent churches in New York. 

Downtown Knoxville, Tennessee Walking Tour

Knoxville Museum of Art

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information