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Knoxville

Knoxville is the county seat of Knox County, Tennessee, in the United States. Knoxville had a population of 190,740 people as of the 2020 United States census, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state’s third-largest city after Nashville and Memphis. Knoxville is the largest city of the Knoxville Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a population of 869,046 people in 2019.

Knoxville was Tennessee’s first capital, having been founded in 1786. Throughout the early nineteenth century, the city battled with geographic isolation. The introduction of the railroad in 1855 ushered in a period of economic expansion. The city was strongly split over the secession issue during the American Civil War and was occupied alternately by Confederate and Union soldiers. Following the war, Knoxville quickly established itself as a major wholesale and manufacturing hub. After the 1920s, the city’s economy stagnated as the manufacturing sector disintegrated, the downtown area decayed, and local leaders were embroiled in bitter political battles. The city was revitalized by hosting the 1982 World’s Fair, and revitalization initiatives by local leaders and private developers have had significant success in promoting growth in the city, particularly in the downtown region.

Knoxville is home to the University of Tennessee’s flagship campus, whose sports teams, the Tennessee Volunteers, are well-known in the surrounding area. The Tennessee Valley Authority’s headquarters, the Tennessee Supreme Court’s East Tennessee courthouse, and the corporate headquarters of various national and regional firms are all located in Knoxville. Knoxville, being one of the main cities in the Appalachian region, has positioned itself as a repository of Appalachian culture in recent years, as well as one of the entrances to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Economic renaissance in the twenty-first century

Economic development has brought a lot of events and services to downtown Knoxville. The Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame and the Knoxville Convention Center have opened, as well as the renovation of Market Square, a new visitors center, a regional history museum, a Regal Cinemas theater, multiple restaurants and bars, and a slew of new and refurbished condominiums. Knoxville has successfully reintroduced commerce to the downtown area since 2000. The arts, in particular, have begun to thrive; there are numerous outdoor music venues, and Gay Street is home to a new arts annex and gallery, as well as numerous studios and new businesses. The reconstruction of the Tennessee and Bijou Theaters provided an opportunity for the city and its developers to use the old downtown.

On the South Knoxville riverfront, development has also accelerated across the Tennessee River. The South Waterfront Vision Plan, a long-term rehabilitation project to rejuvenate the 750-acre waterfront fronting three miles of Tennessee River beachfront, was accepted by the City of Knoxville in 2006. The project’s main goal is to build commercial and residential space over a 20-year period. The historic Knoxville Baptist Hospital on the riverside was demolished in 2016 to make way for One Riverwalk, a mixed-use development. The project included three office buildings, including Regal Entertainment Group’s new headquarters, a hotel, student housing, and 300 multi-family residential units.

The Knoxville City Council announced in June 2020 that over $5.5 million in federal and municipal funding will be invested in the building of a business park near Interstate 275 in North Knoxville.

Randy Boyd, president of the University of Tennessee and owner of the Tennessee Smokies, revealed plans for a mixed-use baseball stadium complex in Knoxville’s Old City district in August 2020.

Airports in Knoxville

McGhee Tyson Airport (IATA:TYS), a 2,000-acre (810 ha) airport with two 9,000-foot (2,700 m) runways, serves Knoxville and the surrounding area. The airport is located in Alcoa, south of Knoxville, however it is owned by the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority, a non-profit organization (MKAA). McGhee Tyson serves 19 nonstop destinations with eight major airlines, with an average of 120 arrivals and departures per day. The Air Cargo Complex, which is 21 acres (8.5 hectares) and serves FedEx, UPS, and Airborne Express, is located at the airport. The 134th Air Refueling Wing of the Tennessee National Guard is based at McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base, which is next to the civilian airport.

The MKAA also owns the Downtown Island Airport on Dickinson’s Island in southeast Knoxville, which is a 200-acre (81 ha) general aviation site. This airport has a 3,500-foot (1,100-meter) runway and 225 operations per day on average. The airport is home to around 100 aircraft, the majority of which are single-engine planes.

Knoxville Culture

Knoxville is home to a rich arts community and has many festivals throughout the year. Residents are treated with access to outdoor adventure and world-class attractions. Its contributions to live music old-time, bluegrass, and country music are numerous, from Flatt & Scruggs and Homer & Jethro to the Everly Brothers.

The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra (KSO), established in 1935, is the oldest continuing orchestra in the southeast. The KSO maintains a core of full-time professional musicians and performs at more than 200 events per year. Its traditional venues include the Tennessee Theatre, the Bijou Theatre, and the Civic Auditorium, though it also performs at a number of non-traditional venues.

The Knoxville Opera performs a season of opera every year, accompanied by a chorus. Knoxville was the location of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s final concert in 1943, performed at Alumni Memorial Auditorium at the University of Tennessee.

In its May 2003 “20 Most Rock & Roll towns in the U.S.” feature, Blender ranked Knoxville the 17th best music scene in the United States. In the 1990s, noted alternative-music critic Ann Powers, author of Weird Like Us: My Bohemian America, referred to the city as “Austin without the hype”. Knoxville is also home to a vibrant punk rock scene, having emerged from venues in the Old City district, specifically the Mill & Mine and Pilot Light venues.

Knoxville’s Residential Areas

North Knoxville, South Knoxville, East Knoxville, and West Knoxville are the four cardinal directions that divide Knoxville into the Downtown area and sections. The river on the south, First Creek on the east, Second Creek on the west, and the railroad tracks on the north define Downtown Knoxville, though the definition has expanded to include the University of Tennessee campus and Fort Sanders neighborhood, as well as several neighborhoods along or just off Broadway south of Sharp’s Ridge (“Downtown North”). While the Old City and Gay Street are predominantly residential and commercial neighborhoods, they are also home to the city’s major business sector and municipal buildings.

Vestal, Lindbergh Forest, Island Home Park, Colonial Hills, and Old Sevier are among the neighborhoods in South Knoxville, which are located south of the river. Along Chapman Highway and Alcoa Highway, there are large commercial routes.

West Knoxville comprises the suburban subdivisions of Sequoyah Hills, West Hills, Bearden, Cumberland Estates, Westmoreland, Suburban Hills, Cedar Bluff, Rocky Hill, and Ebenezer, which are all located west of U.T. Vibrant shopping malls such as West Town Mall and Turkey Creek can be found in this neighborhood, which is centered mostly around Kingston Pike.

Parkridge, Burlington, Morningside, and Five Points are all part of East Knoxville, which is located east of First Creek and the James White Parkway. Chilhowee Park and Zoo Knoxville are located in this region, which is centered around Magnolia Avenue.

The Fountain City and Inskip-Norwood areas, located north of Sharp’s Ridge, make up North Knoxville. Broadway is the main business thoroughfare in this neighborhood.

List of notable neighborhoods

Bearden

Cedar Bluff

Chilhowee Park

Colonial Village

Cumberland Estates

Downtown

Emory Place

Fort Sanders

Fountain City

Oakland (former)

Fourth & Gill

Island Home Park

Lindbergh Forest

Lonsdale

Mechanicsville

North Hills

Oakwood-Lincoln Park

Old City

Old North Knoxville

Parkridge

Rocky Hill

Sequoyah Hills

South Knoxville

West Hills

Important suburbs

Alcoa

Blaine

Clinton

Concord

Corryton

Dandridge

Farragut

Halls Crossroads

Hardin Valley

Heiskell

Karns

Lenoir City

Louisville

Maryville

Mascot

Maynardville

Oak Ridge

Powell

Sevierville

Seymour

Strawberry Plains