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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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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You’ve probably heard a lot about the history of the 19th amendment, which guaranteed women the right to vote. Tennessee played the key role in that Constitutional landmark event. Over the last couple of years, national events have celebrated its centennial. When Tennessee passed it in August of…
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There was a time when Knoxville seemed statue-shy—half a century ago, Knoxvillians could count their notable public statues on the fingers of one hand—but today there are striking statues all over. A New York Times columnist recently noted that Knoxville may be America’s only city with two statues…
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What was Christmas like 100 years ago? Many things in Knoxville were different. There was no TV, no Internet, and for most of the decade, no movies with sound. But the holidays were really not so different from the holidays today. In fact, you don’t need a whole lot of imagination to walk around…
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The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is soon to celebrate its centennial. A good hike in the mountains is a perfectly appropriate way to celebrate that. But so is a walk around downtown Knoxville. That’s where much of it happened, where lawyers, bankers, and engineers began the work that made the…
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History in the Making Gay Street was the site of the 1796 Constitutional Convention that resulted in the founding of the state of Tennessee and was a focal point for the early political activity of both the city and the state of Tennessee. On the eve of the Civil War, Gay Street was the site of…
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There’s a certain breed of traveler who loves old cemeteries. Knoxville has lots of old burying places, graveyards, churchyards, memorial parks—dozens of them, 230 years’ worth—no two are very much alike. Perhaps most rewarding is an autumn walk in Old Gray. The tree-shaded Victorian-era cemetery is…
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1. Clinch Avenue Geese Along Clinch Avenue, between Gay and State, is the big structure that contains the Tennessee Theatre. While the interior is extravagantly decorated with dozens of colorful designs and symbols from all over the world, the outside of the building is much more conservative. But…
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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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