The Knoxville

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Jack Neely
Author
Jack Neely

Jack is the Executive Director of the Knoxville History Project, an educational nonprofit whose mission is to research and promote the history of Knoxville. He is a journalist who has been writing about his hometown’s character and heritage for many years. He has written several books about Knoxville and its history, and they can be purchased in various places throughout the city including Union Avenue Books and the Visit Knoxville Gift Shop.

Knoxville's Asian Festival: It Started a Long Time Ago

It didn’t start in recent years, with UT’s Min Kao building, named for the influential Taiwan-born scientist who a fond alumnus of the 1970s, or the Chinese Pavilion, the most popular and significant feature of Knoxville’s 1982 World’s Fair. Tennesseans were always fascinated with all things Asian…

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Knoxville: America's Underwear Capital?

Knoxville has an industrial history, but never relied on just one product. From its mid-19 th -century origins, the city’s industrial base was very diverse. We made nearly everything here. The phrase “the Marble City,” was first coined to describe Knoxville’s distinctive marble and limestone products…

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Knoxville's Historic Churches

Take a Sunday-afternoon stroll to behold Knoxville's ecclesiastical architecture! Churches are often the most striking buildings in any city, and that’s certainly the case in Knoxville. The stories behind downtown’s historic churches make them interesting to look…

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Five Knoxville Things to See in 2023

There are so many things to do and see in Knoxville that any short list is likely to seem pretty random. And it goes without saying that a walk around downtown that includes Gay Street, Market Square, and the Old City is an essential. That’s just what you do when you come to Knoxville. But the…

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Lights! Cameras! East Tennessee!

On Gay Street there’s a cineplex and a historic movie theater, and just across the street, at the Museum of East Tennessee History, is a comprehensive exhibit about the history of film here. It’s called “Lights! Cameras! East Tennessee!” and it’s pretty fascinating. Movies, still a favorite form of…

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Guide to Knoxville for Readers

Several cities tout their favorite local authors, because people like to see the places they’ve read about in novels. Knoxville has its own literary heritage, associated with nationally well-known books and authors, and a brand-new guide to the city’s notable writers, and the places they wrote…

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UT: The Historic Tour

The University of Tennessee is arguably the largest entity in Knoxville, and one of the oldest. But how well do we know it? About 100,000 people gather there now and then, especially in the fall to watch a football game, but may not see much of the rest of the university. But UT’s campus presents a…

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