For summer vacation, Knoxvillians often go to the beach, if they don’t prefer to go even farther away. But there was a time when many Americans came to Knoxville to spend the summer. Before the Smokies opened in 1930, our region’s biggest draw was our springs resorts, advertising either relaxation…
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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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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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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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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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Market Square today is known for its lively farmers’ market, open-air musical events, and its array of restaurants and nightspots. But this month, Knoxville will honor its heritage in the history of American journalism. As only a few people know, major publisher Adolph Ochs, founder of the modern…
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In and around Knoxville is an array of photogenic historic homes, houses noted for their age, architecture, and stories of the people who lived there. No two are very much alike. Some have been known and respected as house museums for almost a century, while another is a relatively recent addition…
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Downtown Knoxville never fails to attract attention, with relatively narrow streets reflecting its 18th-century origins, a public square of unusual shape, and a variety of large buildings of different styles in brick and marble, most of them built before 1930. And most of it’s on top of a 60-foot…
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We take World’s Fair Park for granted, as a venue for concerts and festivals, but next time you’re down there, have a look around. There may be nowhere like it in the world. It’s a pretty extraordinary assemblage of more than a century’s worth of architecture, from mid-Victorian industrial to some…
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A computer-generated list of Knoxville’s top 10 historical experiences, based on online queries, caught our attention. It’s an interesting list, and would pose a challenge for anyone trying to experience them all in one day or one weekend: Maple Hall Crescent Bend Ramsey House Knoxville Museum of…
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