Knoxville, Tennessee

Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state's third-most populous city, after Nashville and Memphis.<ref name=2010census>U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 Census Interactive Population Search Template:Webarchive. Retrieved: December 20, 2011.</ref> It is the principal city of the Knoxville metropolitan area, which had a population of 879,773 in 2020.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

First settled in 1786, Knoxville was the first capital of Tennessee. The city struggled with geographic isolation throughout the early 19th century; the arrival of the railroad in 1855 led to an economic boom.<ref name=wheeler/> The city was bitterly divided over the issue of secession during the American Civil War and was occupied alternately by Confederate and Union armies, culminating in the Battle of Fort Sanders in 1863.<ref name=wheeler/> Following the war, Knoxville grew rapidly as a major wholesaling and manufacturing center. The city's economy stagnated after the 1920s as the manufacturing sector collapsed, the downtown area declined and city leaders became entrenched in highly partisan political fights.<ref name=wheeler/> Hosting the 1982 World's Fair helped reinvigorate the city,<ref name=wheeler/> and revitalization initiatives by city leaders and private developers have had major successes in spurring growth in the city, especially the downtown area.<ref>"Ask Doc Knox", "Downtown's Homegrown Revival", Metro Pulse, November 16, 2011. Accessed at the Internet Archive, October 1, 2015.</ref>

Knoxville is the home of the flagship campus of the University of Tennessee, whose sports teams, the Tennessee Volunteers, are popular in the surrounding area. Knoxville is also home to the headquarters of the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Tennessee Supreme Court's courthouse for East Tennessee, and the corporate headquarters of several national and regional companies. As one of the largest cities in the Appalachian region, Knoxville has positioned itself in recent years as a repository of Appalachian culture and is one of the gateways to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.<ref name="hillville">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="blueridge">Template:Cite web</ref>

History

Early history

The first people to form substantial settlements in what is now Knoxville were indigenous people who arrived during the Woodland period (Template:C. 1000 B.C. to 1000 A.D.).<ref name="Fletcher Jolly III 1976">Fletcher Jolly III, "40KN37: An Early Woodland Habitation Site in Knox County, Tennessee", Tennessee Archaeologist 31, nos. 1–2 (1976), 51.</ref> One of the oldest artificial structures in Knoxville is a burial mound constructed during the early Mississippian culture period (Template:C. 1000–1400 A.D.). The earthwork mound has been preserved, but the campus of the University of Tennessee developed around it.<ref>Frank H. McClung Museum, "Woodland Period Template:Webarchive". Retrieved: March 25, 2008.</ref>

Other prehistoric sites include an Early Woodland habitation area at the confluence of the Tennessee River and Knob Creek (near the Knox–Blount county line),<ref name="Fletcher Jolly III 1976"/> and Dallas phase Mississippian villages at Post Oak Island (also along the river near the Knox–Blount line),<ref>James Strange, "An Unusual Late Prehistoric Pipe from Post Oak Island (40KN23)", Tennessee Archaeologist 30, no. 1 (1974), 80.</ref> and at Bussell Island (at the mouth of the Little Tennessee River near Lenoir City).<ref>Richard Polhemus, The Toqua Site—40MR6, Vol. I (Norris, Tenn.: Tennessee Valley Authority, 1987), 1240-1246.</ref>

By the 18th century, the Cherokee, an Iroquoian language people, had become the dominant tribe in the East Tennessee region; they are believed to have migrated centuries before from the Great Lakes region. They were frequently at war with the Creek and Shawnee.<ref>Cora Tula Watters, "Shawnee". The Encyclopedia of Appalachia (Knoxville, Tenn.: University of Tennessee Press, 2006), 278–279.</ref><ref>Ima Stephens, "Creek", The Encyclopedia of Appalachia (Knoxville, Tenn.: University of Tennessee Press, 2006), 252–253.</ref> The Cherokee people called the Knoxville area kuwanda'talun'yi, which means "mulberry place".<ref>James Mooney, Myths of the Cherokee and Sacred Formulas of the Cherokee (Nashville: Charles Elder, 1972—reprint from 1891 and 1900), 526.</ref> Most Cherokee habitation in the area was concentrated in what the American colonists called the Overhill settlements along the Little Tennessee River, southwest of Knoxville.

The first white traders and explorers were recorded as arriving in the Tennessee Valley in the late 17th century. There is significant evidence that Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto visited Bussell Island in 1540.<ref>Jefferson Chapman, Tellico Archaeology: 12,000 Years of Native American History (Norris, Tenn.: Tennessee Valley Authority, 1985), 97.</ref> The first major recorded Euro-American presence in the Knoxville area was the Timberlake Expedition, which passed through the confluence of the Holston and French Broad into the Tennessee River in December 1761. Henry Timberlake, an Anglo-American emissary from the Thirteen Colonies to the Overhill settlements, recalled being pleased by the deep waters of the Tennessee after his party had struggled down the relatively shallow Holston for several weeks.<ref>Henry Timberlake, Samuel Williams (ed.), Memoirs, 1756–1765 (Marietta, Georgia: Continental Book Co., 1948), 54.</ref>

Settlement

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James White's Fort in downtown Knoxville

The end of the French and Indian War and confusion brought about by the American Revolution led to a drastic increase in Euro-American settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains.<ref>William MacArthur, Knoxville, Crossroads of the New South (Tulsa, Okla.: Continental Heritage Press, 1982), 1-15.</ref> By the 1780s, white settlers were already established in the Holston and French Broad valleys. The U.S. Congress ordered all illegal settlers out of the valley in 1785 but with little success. As settlers continued to trickle into Cherokee lands, tensions between the settlers and the Cherokee rose steadily.<ref>Yong Kim, The Sevierville Hill Site: A Civil War Union Encampment on the Southern Heights of Knoxville, Tennessee (Knoxville, Tenn.: University of Tennessee Transportation Center, 1993), 9.</ref>

In 1786, James White, a Revolutionary War officer, and his friend James Connor built White's Fort near the mouth of First Creek, on land White had purchased three years earlier.<ref name="ReferenceA">Kim, The Sevierville Hill Site, 9.</ref> In 1790, White's son-in-law, Charles McClung—who had arrived from Pennsylvania the previous year—surveyed White's holdings between First Creek and Second Creek for the establishment of a town. McClung drew up sixty-four Template:Convert lots. The waterfront was set aside for a town common. Two lots were set aside for a church and graveyard (First Presbyterian Church, founded 1792). Four lots were set aside for a school. That school was eventually chartered as Blount College and it served as the starting point for the University of Tennessee, which uses Blount College's founding date of 1794 as its own.

In 1790, President George Washington appointed North Carolina surveyor William Blount governor of the newly created Territory South of the River Ohio. One of Blount's first tasks was to meet with the Cherokee and establish territorial boundaries and resolve the issue of illegal settlers.<ref>MacArthur, 17.</ref> This he accomplished almost immediately with the Treaty of Holston, which was negotiated and signed at White's Fort in 1791. Blount originally wanted to place the territorial capital at the confluence of the Clinch River and Tennessee River (now Kingston), but when the Cherokee refused to cede this land, Blount chose White's Fort. Blount named the new capital Knoxville after Revolutionary War General and Secretary of War Henry Knox, who at the time was Blount's immediate superior.<ref>William MacArthur, Jr., Knoxville: Crossroads of the New South (Tulsa, Oklahoma: Continental Heritage Press, 1982), 17-22.</ref>

Problems immediately arose from the Holston Treaty. Blount believed that he had "purchased" much of what is now East Tennessee when the treaty was signed in 1791. However, the terms of the treaty came under dispute, culminating in ongoing violence on both sides. When the government invited Cherokee chief Hanging Maw for negotiations in 1793, Knoxville settlers attacked the Cherokee against orders, killing the chief's wife. Peace was renegotiated in 1794.<ref>G. H. Stueckrath, "Incidents in the Early Settlement of East Tennessee and Knoxville Template:Webarchive". Originally published in De Bow's Review Vol. XXVII (October 1859), O.S. Enlarged Series. Vol. II, No. 4, N.S. Pages 407-419. Transcribed for web content by Billie McNamara, 1999–2002. Retrieved: February 25, 2008.</ref>

Antebellum era

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The Craighead-Jackson House in Knoxville, built in 1818

Knoxville served as capital of the Southwest Territory and as capital of Tennessee (admitted as a state in 1796) until 1817,<ref name="ReferenceA"/> when the capital was moved to Murfreesboro. Early Knoxville has been described as an "alternately quiet and rowdy river town".<ref name="wheeler"/> Early issues of the Knoxville Gazette—the first newspaper published in Tennessee—are filled with accounts of murder, theft, and hostile Cherokee attacks. Abishai Thomas, a friend of William Blount, visited Knoxville in 1794 and wrote that, while he was impressed by the town's modern frame buildings, the town had "seven taverns" and no church.<ref>MacArthur, Knoxville: Crossroads of the New South, 23.</ref>

Knoxville initially thrived as a way station for travelers and migrants heading west. Its location at the confluence of three major rivers in the Tennessee Valley brought flatboat and later steamboat traffic to its waterfront in the first half of the 19th century, and Knoxville quickly developed into a regional merchandising center. Local agricultural products—especially tobacco, corn, and whiskey—were traded for cotton, which was grown in the Deep South.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> The population of Knoxville more than doubled in the 1850s with the arrival of the East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad in 1855.<ref name="wheeler"/>

Among the most prominent citizens of Knoxville during the Antebellum years was James White's son, Hugh Lawson White (1773–1840). White first served as a judge and state senator, before being nominated by the state legislature to replace Andrew Jackson in the U.S. Senate in 1825. In 1836, White ran unsuccessfully for president, representing the Whig Party.<ref>Jonathan Atkins, "Hugh Lawson White Template:Webarchive". The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, 2002. Retrieved: February 26, 2008.</ref>

American Civil War

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Engraving of a Confederate soldier firing at Union supporter Charles Douglas on Gay Street in Knoxville in late 1861

Anti-slavery and anti-secession sentiment ran high in East Tennessee in the years leading up to the Civil War. William "Parson" Brownlow, the radical publisher of the Knoxville Whig, was one of the region's leading anti-secessionists (although he strongly defended the practice of slavery).<ref>Forrest Conklin, "William Gannaway "Parson" Brownlow Template:Webarchive". The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, 2002. Retrieved: February 27, 2008.</ref> Blount County, just south of Knoxville, had developed into a center of abolitionist activity, due in part to its relatively large Quaker faction and the anti-slavery president of Maryville College, Isaac Anderson.<ref>Durwood Dunn, Cades Cove: The Life and Death of An Appalachian Community (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1988), 125.</ref> The Greater Warner Tabernacle AME Zion Church was reportedly a station on the Underground Railroad.<ref>Knoxville-Knox County Metropolitan Planning Commission, "Designated Properties: Knoxville Historic Zoning Commission Template:Webarchive". Retrieved: February 27, 2008.</ref>

Business interests, however, guided largely by Knoxville's trade connections with cotton-growing centers to the south, contributed to the development of a strong pro-secession movement within the city. The city's pro-secessionists included among their ranks J. G. M. Ramsey, a prominent historian whose father had built the Ramsey House in 1797.

Thus, while East Tennessee and greater Knox County voted decisively against secession in 1861, the city of Knoxville favored secession by a 2–1 margin. In late May 1861, just before the secession vote, delegates of the East Tennessee Convention met at Temperance Hall in Knoxville in hopes of keeping Tennessee in the Union. After Tennessee voted to secede in June, the convention met in Greeneville and attempted to create a separate Union-aligned state in East Tennessee.<ref>MacArthur, Knoxville: Crossroads of the New South, 42-44.</ref><ref>Eric Lacy, Vanquished Volunteers: East Tennessee Sectionalism from Statehood to Secession (Johnson City, Tenn.: East Tennessee State University Press, 1965), pp. 217–233.</ref>

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Photograph showing the aftermath of the siege of Knoxville, December 1863

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Statue representing the signing of the Treaty of the Holston in downtown Knoxville

In July 1861, after Tennessee had joined the Confederacy, General Felix Zollicoffer arrived in Knoxville as commander of the District of East Tennessee. While initially lenient toward the city's Union sympathizers, Zollicoffer instituted martial law in November, after pro-Union guerrillas burned seven of the city's bridges. The command of the district passed briefly to George Crittenden and then to Kirby Smith, who launched an unsuccessful invasion of Kentucky in August 1862. In early 1863, General Simon Buckner took command of Confederate forces in Knoxville. Anticipating a Union invasion, Buckner fortified Fort Loudon (in West Knoxville, not to be confused with the colonial fort to the southwest) and began constructing earthworks throughout the city. However, the approach of stronger Union forces under Ambrose Burnside in the summer of 1863 forced Buckner to evacuate Knoxville before the earthworks were completed.<ref>Kim, The Sevierville Hill Site, 10.</ref>

Burnside arrived in early September 1863, beginning the Knoxville campaign. Like the Confederates, he immediately began fortifying the city. The Union forces rebuilt Fort Loudon and erected 12 other forts and batteries flanked by entrenchments around the city. Burnside moved a pontoon bridge upstream from Loudon, allowing Union forces to cross the river and to build a series of forts along the heights of south Knoxville, including Fort Stanley and Fort Dickerson.<ref>Kim, The Sevierville Hill Site, 10-12.</ref>

As Burnside was fortifying Knoxville, a Confederate army under Braxton Bragg defeated Union forces under William Rosecrans at the Battle of Chickamauga (near the Tennessee-Georgia line) and laid siege to Chattanooga. On November 3, 1863, the Confederates sent General James Longstreet to attack Burnside at Knoxville and prevent him from reinforcing the Union at Chattanooga. Longstreet wanted to attack the city from the south, but lacking the necessary pontoon bridges he was forced to cross the river further downstream at Loudon on November 14 and march against the city's heavily fortified western section. On November 15, General Joseph Wheeler unsuccessfully attempted to dislodge Union forces in the heights of south Knoxville, and the following day Longstreet failed to cut off retreating Union forces at the Battle of Campbell's Station (now Farragut).

On November 18, Union General William P. Sanders was mortally wounded while conducting delaying maneuvers west of Knoxville, and Fort Loudon was renamed Fort Sanders in his honor. On November 29, following a two-week siege, the Confederates attacked Fort Sanders but failed after a fierce 20-minute engagement. On December 4, after word of the Confederate defeat at Chattanooga reached Longstreet, he broke his siege of Knoxville.<ref>Kim, The Sevierville Hill Site, 15-17.</ref> The Union victories in the Knoxville campaign and at Chattanooga put much of East Tennessee under Union control for the rest of the war.

Reconstruction and the Industrial Age

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Early-1900s photograph of the Republic Marble Quarry near Knoxville

After the war, northern investors such as brothers Joseph and David Richards helped Knoxville recover relatively quickly. The Richards brothers convinced 104 Welsh immigrant families to migrate from the Welsh Tract in Pennsylvania to work in a rolling mill. These Welsh families settled in an area now known as Mechanicsville.<ref name=atkin>The Old Atkin Street Church and Knoxville's Welsh Community Template:Webarchive. Originally published in the Knoxville Journal and Tribune. Retrieved: September 7, 2010.</ref> The Richards brothers also co-founded the Knoxville Iron Works beside the L&N Railroad, also employing Welsh workers. Later, the site was used as the grounds for the 1982 World's Fair.<ref name="hindsight">Template:Cite web</ref>

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Child labor at Knoxville Knitting Works, photographed by Lewis Wickes Hine in 1910

Other companies that sprang up during this period were Knoxville Woolen Mills, Dixie Cement, and Woodruff's Furniture. Between 1880 and 1887, 97 factories were established in Knoxville, most of them specializing in textiles, food products, and iron products.<ref name=wheelereoa>William Bruce Wheeler, "Knoxville, Tennessee". The Encyclopedia of Appalachia (Knoxville, Tenn.: University of Tennessee Press, 2006), 375.</ref> By the 1890s, Knoxville was home to more than 50 wholesaling houses, making it the third largest wholesaling center by volume in the South.<ref name=wheelereoa/> The Candoro Marble Works, established in the community of Vestal in 1914, became the nation's foremost producer of pink marble and one of the nation's largest marble importers.<ref>Linda Snodgrass, "The Candoro Marble Works Template:Webarchive". 2000. Retrieved: February 28, 2008.</ref> In 1896, Knoxville celebrated its achievements by creating its own flag.<ref>Found in Knoxville City Code of Ordinances Chapter 1, Section 1-12 www.knoxvilletn.gov/government/city_ordinances_charter</ref> The Flag of Knoxville, Tennessee represents the city's progressive growth due to agriculture and industry.<ref>"Statement as to the Adoption of the Knoxville City Flag", November 6, 1896, Knoxville Minute Book, Book L, p.380.</ref>

In 1869, Thomas Humes, a Union sympathizer and president of East Tennessee University, secured federal post-war damage reimbursement and state-designated Morrill Act funding to expand the college, which had been occupied by both armies during the war. Charles Dabney, who became president of the university in 1887, overhauled the faculty and established a law school in an attempt to modernize the scope of the university. In 1879, the state changed its name to the University of Tennessee, at the request of the trustees, who hoped to secure more funding from the Tennessee state legislature.<ref name="The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, 2002">Milton Klein, "University of Tennessee Template:Webarchive". The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, 2002. Retrieved: February 28, 2008.</ref>

The post-war manufacturing boom brought thousands of immigrants to the city. The population of Knoxville grew from around 5,000 in 1860 to 32,637 in 1900. West Knoxville was annexed in 1897, and over 5,000 new homes were built between 1895 and 1904.<ref name=wheeler>W. Bruce Wheeler, "Knoxville Template:Webarchive". The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, 2002. Retrieved: February 28, 2008.</ref> In 1901, train robber Kid Curry (whose real name was Harvey Logan), a member of Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch was captured after shooting two deputies on Knoxville's Central Avenue. He escaped from the Knoxville jail and rode away on a horse stolen from the sheriff.<ref name="kidcurry">Template:Cite news</ref>

Progressive Era and the Great Depression

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Kingston Pike, Template:C. 1910, with the former Cherokee Bridge

Knoxville hosted the Appalachian Exposition in 1910 and 1911 and the National Conservation Exposition in 1913. The latter is sometimes credited with giving rise to the movement to create a national park in the Great Smoky Mountains, some Template:Convert south of Knoxville.<ref name="Jack Neely 2006">Jack Neely, "Knoxville, Tennessee". The Encyclopedia of Appalachia (Knoxville, Tenn.: University of Tennessee Press, 2006), 654.</ref> Around this time, several affluent Knoxvillians began purchasing summer cottages in Elkmont and began to pursue the park idea more vigorously. They were led by Knoxville businessman Colonel David C. Chapman, who, as head of the Great Smoky Mountains Park Commission, was largely responsible for raising the funds for the purchase of the property that became the core of the park. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park opened in 1933.<ref>Carlos Campbell, Birth of a National Park In the Great Smoky Mountains (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1969), 13-18, 32.</ref>

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Gay Street in the early 1900s

Knoxville's reliance on a manufacturing economy left it particularly vulnerable to the effects of the Great Depression. The Tennessee Valley also suffered from frequent flooding, and millions of acres of farmland had been ruined by soil erosion. To control flooding and improve the economy in the Tennessee Valley, the federal government created the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in 1933. Beginning with Norris Dam, TVA constructed a series of hydroelectric dams and other power plants throughout the valley over the next few decades, bringing flood control, jobs, and electricity to the region.<ref name=wheelertva>W. Bruce Wheeler, "Tennessee Valley Authority Template:Webarchive". The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, 2002. Retrieved: February 28, 2008.</ref> The Federal Works Projects Administration, which also arrived in the 1930s, helped build McGhee Tyson Airport and expand Neyland Stadium.<ref name=wheeler/> TVA's headquarters, which consists of twin high rises built in the 1970s, were among Knoxville's first modern high-rise buildings.

In 1947, John Gunther dubbed Knoxville the "ugliest city" in America in his best-selling book Inside U.S.A. Gunther's description jolted the city into enacting a series of beautification measures that helped improve the appearance of the downtown area.<ref name="Jack Neely 2006"/>

1982 World's Fair and 20th century

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Research laboratory at U.T. in the early 1940s

Knoxville's textile and manufacturing industries largely fell victim to foreign competition in the 1950s and 1960s, and after the establishment of the Interstate Highway System in the 1960s, the railroad—which had been largely responsible for Knoxville's industrial growth—began to decline. The rise of suburban shopping malls in the 1970s drew retail revenues away from Knoxville's downtown area. While government jobs and economic diversification prevented widespread unemployment in Knoxville, the city sought to recover the massive loss of revenue by attempting to annex neighboring communities. Knoxville annexed the communities of Bearden and Fountain City, which were Knoxville's largest suburbs, in 1962.<ref name="big180">Template:Cite web</ref> Knoxville officials attempted the annexation of the neighboring Farragut-Concord community in western Knox County, but the city failed following the incorporation of Farragut in 1980.<ref name="smith40">Template:Cite web</ref> These annexation attempts often turned combative, and several attempts to consolidate Knoxville and Knox County into a metro government failed, while school boards and the planning commissions would merge on July 1, 1987.<ref name=wheeler/>

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The Sterchi Lofts building, formerly Sterchi Brothers Furniture store, the most prominent building on Knoxville's "100 Block"

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The Sunsphere, with riders aboard a nearby sky-lift during the 1982 World's Fair

With further annexation attempts stalling, Knoxville initiated several projects aimed at boosting revenue in its downtown area. The 1982 World's Fair—the most successful of these projects, with eleven million visitors—became one of the most popular expositions in U.S. history.<ref name="bie1982">Template:Cite web</ref> The Rubik's Cube made its debut at this event.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The fair's energy theme was selected because Knoxville was home to TVA's headquarters and for its proximity to Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The Sunsphere, a Template:Convert steel truss structure topped with a gold-colored glass sphere, was built for the fair and remains one of Knoxville's most prominent structures,<ref>W. Bruce Wheeler, "Knoxville World's Fair of 1982 Template:Webarchive". The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History Culture, 2002. Retrieved: February 28, 2008.</ref> along with the adjacent Tennessee Amphitheater.

During the 1980s and into the 1990s, the city would see one of its largest expansions of its city limits, with a reported 26 square miles of "shoestring annexation" under the administration of Mayor Victor Ashe. Ashe's efforts were controversial, largely consisting of annexation of interstate right-of-ways, highway-oriented commercial clusters, and residential subdivisions to increase tax revenue for the city. Residents voiced opposition, citing claims of urban sprawl and government overreach.<ref name="deannex">Template:Cite web</ref>

21st century and economic renaissance

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The north end of the Market Square in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA, viewed from the TVA towers courtyard. The square's stage dominates the view at the center. The seven-story Arnstein Building rises top-center.

Knoxville's downtown has been developing, with the opening of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame and the Knoxville Convention Center, the redevelopment of Market Square, a new visitors center, a regional history museum, a Regal Cinemas theater, several restaurants and bars, and many new and redeveloped condominiums. Since 2000, Knoxville has successfully brought business back to the downtown area. The arts in particular have begun to flourish; there are multiple venues for outdoor concerts, and Gay Street hosts a new arts annex and gallery surrounded by many studios and new businesses as well. The Bijou and Tennessee Theatres underwent renovation, providing an initiative for the city and its developers to re-purpose the old downtown.<ref name="revitalize">Template:Cite web</ref>

Development has also expanded across the Tennessee River on the South Knoxville waterfront. In 2006, the city adopted the South Waterfront Vision Plan, a long-term improvement project to revitalize the 750-acre waterfront fronting three miles of shoreline on the Tennessee River.<ref name="waterfront">Template:Cite web</ref> The project's primary focus is the commercial and residential development over a 20-year timeline.<ref name="waterfront"/> Knoxville Baptist Hospital, located on the waterfront, was demolished in 2016 to make room for a mixed-use project called One Riverwalk.<ref name="oneriverwalk">Template:Cite news</ref> The development consisted of three office buildings, including a headquarters for Regal Entertainment Group, a hotel, student housing, and 300 multi-family residential units.<ref name="oneriverwalk"/>

In June 2020, the Knoxville City Council announced the investment of over $5.5Template:Spacesmillion in federal and local funds towards the development of a business park along the Interstate 275 corridor in North Knoxville.<ref name="raucoules">Template:Cite news</ref> The project was first proposed by a study prepared Knoxville-Knox County Metropolitan Planning Commission in 2007.<ref name="corridorstudy">Template:Cite web</ref> In August 2020, UT President and Tennessee Smokies owner Randy Boyd announced plans of a mixed-use baseball stadium complex in the Old City neighborhood.<ref name="oldcitypark">Template:Cite news</ref>

Geography

Topography

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Downtown Knoxville, with the Great Smoky Mountains rising in the distance, viewed from Sharp's Ridge

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert is land and Template:Convert, or 5.42%, is water.<ref name="Census 2010">Template:Cite web</ref> Elevations range from just over Template:Convert along the riverfront to just over Template:Convert on various hilltops in West Knoxville,<ref>Template:Cite GNIS</ref><ref>Template:Cite GNIS</ref> with the downtown area setting at just over Template:Convert.<ref>Template:Cite GNIS</ref> High points include Sharp's Ridge in North Knoxville at Template:Convert and Brown Mountain in South Knoxville at Template:Convert.<ref>Template:Cite GNIS</ref><ref>City of Knoxville, Sharp's Ridge Memorial Park History Template:Webarchive. Retrieved: December 29, 2011.</ref>

Knoxville is situated in the Great Appalachian Valley (known locally as the Tennessee Valley), about halfway between the Great Smoky Mountains to the east and the Cumberland Plateau to the west. The Great Valley is part of a sub-range of the Appalachian Mountains known as the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, which is characterized by long narrow ridges flanked by broad valleys. Prominent Ridge-and-Valley structures in the Knoxville area include Sharp's Ridge and Beaver Ridge in the northern part of the city, Brown Mountain in South Knoxville, parts of Bays Mountain just south of the city, and parts of McAnnally Ridge in the northeastern part of the city.

The Tennessee River, which passes through the downtown area, is formed in southeastern Knoxville at the confluence of the Holston River, which flows southwest from Virginia, and the French Broad River, which flows west from North Carolina. The section of the Tennessee River that passes through Knoxville is part of Fort Loudoun Lake, an artificial reservoir created by TVA's Fort Loudoun Dam about Template:Convert downstream in Lenoir City. Notable tributaries of the Tennessee in Knoxville include First Creek and Second Creek, which flow through the downtown area, Third Creek, which flows west of U.T., and Sinking Creek, Ten Mile Creek, and Turkey Creek, which drain West Knoxville.

Climate

Knoxville falls in the humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cfa) zone. Summers are hot and humid, with the daily average temperature in July at Template:Cvt, and an average of 36 days per year with temperatures reaching Template:Cvt.<ref name="NOAA 90F">NOAA Template:Webarchive, Mean Number of Days With Maximum Temperature 90 Degrees F or Higher.</ref> Winters are generally much cooler and less stable, with occasional small amounts of snow. January has a daily average temperature of Template:Cvt, with an average of 5 days<ref name=NOAA-K/> where the high remains at or below freezing.Template:Efn The record high for Knoxville is Template:Cvt on June 30 and July 1, 2012,<ref>Lance Coleman, "Knoxville Having Hottest Day Ever at 105 Degrees Template:Webarchive", Knoxville News Sentinel, June 30, 2012. Retrieved: June 30, 2012.</ref> while the record low is Template:Cvt on January 21, 1985.<ref name="Knoxville Climate Page">Template:Cite web</ref> Annual precipitation averages just under Template:Cvt, and normal seasonal snowfall is Template:Cvt. The one-day record for snowfall is Template:Cvt, which occurred on February 13, 1960.<ref>"Top 10 Snowfalls in Knoxville Template:Webarchive", Knoxville News Sentinel, February 12, 2014.</ref>Template:Efn <section begin="weather box"/>Template:Weather box<section end="weather box"/>

Metropolitan area

Template:Main Knoxville is the central city in the Knoxville Metropolitan Area, an Office of Management and Budget (OMB) designated metropolitan statistical area (MSA) that covers Knox, Anderson, Blount, Campbell, Grainger, Loudon, Morgan, Roane and Union counties.<ref name=Censusmetro/> Researchers have mapped the Knoxville Metropolitan area as one of the 18 major cities in the Piedmont Atlantic megaregion.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Knoxville Metropolitan area includes unincorporated communities such as Halls Crossroads, Powell, Karns, Corryton, Concord, and Mascot, which are located in Knox County outside of Knoxville's city limits. Along with Knoxville, municipalities in the Knoxville Metropolitan Area include Alcoa, Blaine, Maryville, Lenoir City, Loudon, Farragut, Oak Ridge, Rutledge, Clinton, Bean Station, and Maynardville. As of 2012, the population of the Knoxville Metropolitan Area was 837,571.<ref name=Censusmetro>Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas Template:Webarchive, U.S. Census Bureau</ref>

The Knoxville MSA is the chief component of the OMB-designated Knoxville-Sevierville-La Follette larger Combined Statistical Area (CSA). The CSA also includes the Morristown metropolitan area (Hamblen, Grainger, and Jefferson counties) and the Sevierville (Sevier County), La Follette (Campbell County), Harriman (Roane County), and Newport (Cocke County) micropolitan statistical areas. Municipalities in the CSA but not the Knoxville MSA, include Morristown, Rutledge, Dandridge, Jefferson City, Sevierville, Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, LaFollette, Jacksboro, Harriman, Kingston, Rockwood, and Newport. The combined population of the CSA as of the 2000 Census was 935,659. Its estimated 2008 population was 1,041,955.<ref name=Censusmetro/>

Neighborhoods

Knoxville is roughly divided into the Downtown area and sections based on the four cardinal directions: North Knoxville, South Knoxville, East Knoxville, and West Knoxville. Downtown Knoxville traditionally consists of the area bounded by the river on the south, First Creek on the east, Second Creek on the west, and the railroad tracks on the north, though the definition has expanded to include the U.T. campus and Fort Sanders neighborhood,<ref name=parks/> and several neighborhoods along or just off Broadway south of Sharp's Ridge ("Downtown North").<ref>City of Knoxville, Downtown North Redevelopment Template:Webarchive. Retrieved: January 7, 2012.</ref> While primarily home to the city's central business district and municipal offices, the Old City and Gay Street are mixed residential and commercial areas.

South Knoxville consists of the parts of the city located south of the river<ref name=parks>City of Knoxville, Parks Template:Webarchive. Retrieved: January 7, 2012.</ref> and includes the neighborhoods of Vestal, Lindbergh Forest, Island Home Park, Colonial Hills, and Old Sevier. This area contains major commercial corridors along Chapman Highway and Alcoa Highway.

West Knoxville generally consists of the areas west of U.T.<ref name=parks/> and includes the suburban neighborhoods of Sequoyah Hills, West Hills, Bearden, Cumberland Estates, Westmoreland, Suburban Hills, Cedar Bluff, Rocky Hill, and Ebenezer. This area, concentrated largely around Kingston Pike, is home to thriving retail centers such as West Town Mall and Turkey Creek.

East Knoxville consists of the areas east of First Creek and the James White Parkway<ref name=parks/> and includes the neighborhoods of Parkridge, Burlington, Morningside, and Five Points. This area, concentrated along Magnolia Avenue, is home to Chilhowee Park and Zoo Knoxville.

North Knoxville consists of the areas north of Sharp's Ridge,<ref name=parks/> namely the Fountain City and Inskip-Norwood areas. This area's major commercial corridor is located along Broadway.

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

Demographics

Historical racial composition	1970<ref name=historicaldemographics/>	1990<ref name=historicaldemographics>Template:Cite web</ref>	2000<ref name=censussite>Template:Cite web</ref>	2010<ref name=censussite/>	2018 est.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
White	87.0%	82.7%	79.9%	76.1%	76.1%
Black	12.7%	15.8%	16.0%	17.1%	17.0%
Asian	0.2%	1.0%	1.5%	1.7%	1.8%
Native	0.1%	0.2%	0.3%	0.4%	0.4%
Native Hawaiian and Template:Nowrap	–	–	0.0%	0.2%	0.1%
Other race	0.1%	0.2%	0.7%	2.2%	1.5%
Two or more races	–	–	1.6%	2.5%	3.1%

2020 census

Knoxville, Tennessee – Racial and ethnic composition
Template:Nobold

Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 2000<ref name=2000CensusP004>Template:Cite web</ref>	Pop 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref>	Template:Partial<ref name=2020CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref>	% 2000	% 2010	Template:Partial
White alone (NH)	137,336	132,641	130,036	78.98%	74.15%	68.17%
Black or African American alone (NH)	28,015	30,257	30,123	16.11%	16.92%	15.79%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	504	496	547	0.29%	0.28%	0.29%
Asian alone (NH)	2,516	2,875	4,323	1.45%	1.61%	2.27%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	45	198	105	0.03%	0.11%	0.06%
Other race alone (NH)	276	315	830	0.16%	0.18%	0.44%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)	2,447	3,886	9,616	1.41%	2.17%	5.04%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	2,751	8,206	15,160	1.58%	4.59%	7.95%
Total	173,890	178,874	190,740	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 190,740 people, 83,492 households, and 40,405 families residing in the city.

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, the population of Knoxville was 178,874, a 2.9% increase from 2000.<ref name=quickfacts>U.S. Census Bureau, QuickFacts sheet for Knoxville (city), Tennessee Template:Webarchive. Retrieved: December 20, 2011.</ref> The median age was 32.7,<ref>Jack Neely, "Knoxville By the (Census) Numbers", Metro Pulse, June 29, 2011. Accessed at the Internet Archive, October 1, 2015.</ref> with 19.1% of the population under the age of 18, and 12.6% over the age of 65.<ref name=quickfacts/> The population was 48% male and 52% female. The population density was 1,815 persons per square mile.<ref name=quickfacts/>

The racial and ethnic composition of the city was 76.1% white, 17.1% black, 0.4% Native American, 1.6% Asian, and 0.2% Pacific Islander.<ref name=quickfacts/> Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.6% of the population.<ref name=quickfacts/> People reporting more than one race formed 2.5% of the population.<ref name=quickfacts/>

Data collected by the Census from 2005 to 2009 reported 83,151 households in Knoxville, with an average of 2.07 persons per household.<ref name=quickfacts/> The home ownership rate was 51%, and 74.7% of residents had been living in the same house for more than one year.<ref name=quickfacts/> The median household income was $32,609, and the per capita income was $21,528.<ref name=quickfacts/> High school graduates were 83.8% of persons 25 and older, and 28.3% had earned a bachelor's degree or higher.<ref name=quickfacts/> The city's poverty rate was 25%, compared with 16.1% in Tennessee and 15.1% nationwide.<ref name=quickfacts/><ref>U.S. Census Bureau, "Poverty—Highlights Template:Webarchive, September 13, 2011. Retrieved: December 21, 2011.</ref>

According to the opinion of the Economic Research Institute in a 2006 study, Knoxville was identified as the most affordable U.S. city for new college graduates, based on the ratio of typical salary to cost of living.<ref>Economic Research Institute, Inc., ERI Economic Research Institute Releases Survey on Best and Worst Cities for College Grads—Based on salary/cost of living, Knoxville, TN rated best Template:Webarchive, press release, July 6, 2006</ref>

Crime

FBI Uniform Crime Reports for Knoxville for 2017:<ref name="FBI_UCR">Template:Cite web</ref>

	City of Knoxville only	Knoxville MSA	Rate per 100,000 Inhabitants
Violent Crime	1,676	3,852	440.1
Murder & Nonnegligent Manslaughter	33	60	6.9
Rape	145	311	35.5
Robbery	371	528	60.3
Aggravated Assault	1,127	2,953	337.4
Property Crime	10,211	22,730	2,596.9
Burglary	1,665	4,387	501.2
Larceny/Theft	7,510	15,953	1,822.6
Motor Vehicle Theft	1,036	2,390	273.1

Economy

Template:Update In 2011, 15.9% of the Knoxville MSA work force was employed by government entities, while 14.1% were employed in the professional service sector, 14% worked in education or health care, 12.7% were employed in the retail sector, 10.5% worked in leisure and hospitality, and 8.9% worked in the manufacturing sector.<ref name="mpcfacts">Knoxville-Knox County Metropolitan Planning Commission, Facts & Figures 2011 Template:Webarchive. Retrieved: January 14, 2012.</ref> The region had an unemployment rate of 7.9% in 2011.<ref name="mpcfacts"/> In the 2010 ACCRA Cost of Living Index was rated 89.6 (the national average was 100).<ref name="mpcfacts"/> In 2007, there were over 19,000 registered businesses in Knoxville.<ref name="quickfacts"/> The city's businesses are served by the 2,100-member Knoxville Area Chamber Partnership.<ref name="mpcfacts"/> The Knoxville Chamber is one of six partners in the Knoxville-Oak Ridge Innovation Valley, which promotes economic development in Knox and surrounding counties.<ref>Innovation Valley Inc.—About Us Template:Webarchive. Retrieved: January 13, 2012.</ref>

Major corporations

The TVA, the nation's largest public power provider,<ref>Frequently Asked Questions About TVA Template:Webarchive, TVA website. Retrieved: January 14, 2012.</ref> reported $10.5Template:Spacesbillion in revenue in 2021<ref>TVA, Financial Statements Template:Webarchive</ref> and employs over 12,000 region-wide.<ref>"Perfect Storm Swamped TVA Retirement Plan Template:Webarchive", Chattanooga Times Free Press, February 20, 2010. Retrieved: January 14, 2012.</ref> The largest company based in Knoxville is privately held Pilot Flying J, the nation's largest truck stop chain and sixth-largest private company, which reported over $29.23Template:Spacesbillion in revenue in 2012.<ref>America's Largest Private Companies—#6 Pilot Flying J Template:Webarchive, Forbes.com, 2013. Retrieved: October 10, 2013.</ref> Knoxville is home to the nation's fourth-largest wholesale grocer, the H. T. Hackney Company, which reported $3.8Template:Spacesbillion (~$Template:Format price in Template:Inflation/year) in revenue in 2012,<ref>America's Largest Private Companies—#103 HT Hackney Template:Webarchive, Forbes.com, 2012. Retrieved: October 10, 2013.</ref> and one of the nation's largest digital-centric advertising firms, Tombras Group, which reported $80Template:Spacesmillion in revenue in 2011.<ref>Knoxville-Area Advertising Firms and Marketing Firms Template:Webarchive, Knoxville Book of Lists (Knoxville News Sentinel), 2012. Retrieved: January 14, 2012.</ref><ref>Laura Bower Tombras Creates New Nationwide Impaired Driving Campaign for U.S. Department of Transportation: Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over Template:Webarchive. August 30, 2011.</ref>

Other notable privately held companies based in the city include Bush Brothers, Sea Ray (and its parent company Brunswick Boat Group), Thermocopy, Petro's Chili & Chips, EdFinancial, Kurgo, 21st Mortgage and AC Entertainment. Also based in Knoxville are movie theater chain Regal Cinemas,<ref name=bolpublic>Knoxville-Area Public Companies Ranked According to Revenue Template:Webarchive, Knoxville Book of Lists (Knoxville News Sentinel), 2012. Retrieved: January 14, 2012.</ref><ref>"Eight Tennessee Companies on Fortune 500 List Template:Webarchive, Knoxville News Sentinel, April 21, 2009.</ref> and health care-staffing firm TeamHealth.<ref name=bolpublic/>

Real estate

The Knoxville area is home to 596 office buildings which contain over 21Template:Spacesmillion square feet of office space.<ref name="mpcfacts"/> The city's largest office building in terms of office space is the City-County Building, which has over 537,000 square feet of office space. The First Tennessee Plaza and the Riverview Tower were the largest privately owned office buildings, with 469,672 square feet and 367,000 square feet, respectively.<ref>Knox County Office Buildings Ranked According to Gross Square Footage Template:Webarchive, Knoxville Book of Lists (Knoxville News Sentinel), 2012. Retrieved: January 13, 2012.</ref> Knoxville's largest industrial park is the Template:Convert Forks of the River Industrial Park in southeastern Knoxville.<ref>Knox County Industrial Parks Ranked According to Size Template:Webarchive, Knoxville Book of Lists (Knoxville News Sentinel), 2012. Retrieved: January 11, 2012.</ref> Other major industrial and business parks include the Template:Convert EastBridge Industrial Park and Midway Business Park in eastern Knox County and the Template:Convert WestBridge Industrial Park in western Knox County.

Finance

The largest bank operating in Knoxville in terms of local deposits is Memphis-based First Horizon Bank, with $2.6Template:Spacesbillion (~$Template:Format price in Template:Inflation/year) in local deposits, representing about 16% of Knoxville's banking market.<ref name=bookoflistsbanks/> It is followed by Charlotte-based Truist Financial ($2.5Template:Spacesbillion), Birmingham-based Regions Bank ($1.9Template:Spacesbillion), and locally headquartered Home Federal Bank of Tennessee ($1.6Template:Spacesbillion).<ref name=bookoflistsbanks>Knoxville Area Banks Ranked According to Local Deposits Template:Webarchive, Knoxville Book of Lists (Knoxville News Sentinel), 2012. Retrieved: January 11, 2012.</ref> Other banks with significant operations in the city include Bank of America, First Bank (based in Lexington, Tennessee), and locally owned Clayton Bank and Trust. Major brokerage firms with offices in Knoxville include Edward Jones, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, Wells Fargo, and Merrill Lynch.<ref>Knoxville-Area Investment Brokerage Firms Template:Webarchive, Knoxville Book of Lists (Knoxville News Sentinel), 2012. Retrieved: January 11, 2012.</ref> As of 2011, Knox County's largest mortgage lender (by dollar volume) was Wells Fargo with over $300Template:Spacesmillion (13% of the local market), followed by Mortgage Investors Group, SunTrust, Regions, and Home Federal.<ref>Knox County Mortgage Lenders Ranked According to Dollar Volume Template:Webarchive, Knoxville Book of Lists (Knoxville News Sentinel), 2012. Retrieved: January 11, 2012.</ref> Knoxville's largest accounting firm as of 2012 is Pershing Yoakley & Associates, with 49 local CPAs, followed by Coulter & Justus (44), and Pugh CPA's(43).<ref>Knoxville-Area CPA Firms Ranked According to Number of Licensed CPAs Template:Webarchive, Knoxville Book of Lists (Knoxville News Sentinel), 2013. Retrieved: July 26, 2013.</ref>

Manufacturing

Over 700 manufacturing establishments are scattered throughout the Knoxville area.<ref name=mpcfacts/> Sea Ray Boats is the city's largest manufacturer, employing 760 at its southeast Knoxville complex in 2009.<ref name=kcmanufacturers>Knoxville-Oak Ridge Innovation Valley, [www.knoxvillechamber.com/pdf/demographics/MajorManufacturers.doc Top 50 Major Manufacturers in the Knoxville Area—2009]. Retrieved: January 14, 2012.</ref> The city is home to several automobile parts operations, including ARC Automotive (air bag actuators) and a Key Safety Systems plant (seat belts and other restraints).<ref name=kcmanufacturers/> Other major manufacturing operations include a Melaleaca plant (personal care products), a Coca-Cola bottling plant, and a Gerdau Ameristeel plant that produces steel rebar. Aircraft manufacturer Cirrus also has its main customer delivery center based in Knoxville, which deals with aircraft maintenance & repair, flight training, and design personalization. Major manufacturing operations in the Knoxville MSA are conducted at the Y-12 plant in Oak Ridge, the DENSO plant and the Clayton Homes manufacturing center (both in Maryville), and the ALCOA plants in Alcoa.<ref>Knoxville-Area Major Manufacturers Template:Webarchive, Knoxville Book of Lists (Knoxville News Sentinel), 2012. Retrieved: January 14, 2012.</ref>

Retail

The Knoxville area is home to 182 shopping centers and factory outlets, and over 2,400 retail establishments.<ref name=mpcfacts/> One regional mall (West Town Mall) is located within the city, and two others (Foothills Mall in Maryville and Oak Ridge City Center in Oak Ridge) are located within the Knoxville MSA. Knoxville retailers reported $6.47Template:Spacesbillion in sales in 2007, with just over $35,000 of retail sales per capita.<ref name=quickfacts/>

Knoxville's primary retail corridor is located along Kingston Pike in West Knoxville. This area is home to West Town Mall, the 358-acre Turkey Creek complex (half is in Knoxville and half is Farragut), and over 30 shopping centers.<ref>Knoxville-Knox County Metropolitan Planning Commission, West City Sector Plan—Land Use and Development Template:Webarchive, August 9, 2007. Retrieved: December 1, 2010.</ref> Downtown Knoxville contains a number of specialty shops, clubs, and dining areas, mostly concentrated in the Old City, Market Square, and along Gay Street. Other significant retail areas are located along Cumberland Avenue on the U.T. campus (mostly restaurants), Broadway in the vicinity of Fountain City, and Chapman Highway in South Knoxville.

Technology and research

The University of Tennessee is classified by the Carnegie Commission as a university with "very high research activity", conducting more than $300Template:Spacesmillion in externally funded research annually.<ref name=battelle>About UT-Battelle Template:Webarchive. Retrieved: January 14, 2012.</ref> U.T.-connected research centers with multimillion-dollar National Science Foundation grants include the Appalachian Collaborative Center for Learning, Assessment and Instruction in Mathematics, the National Institute for Computational Sciences, the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis, and the Center for Ultra-wide-area Resilient Electric Energy Transmission Networks (CURENT).<ref>Knoxville-Area National Science Foundation Grants Template:Webarchive, Knoxville Book of Lists (Knoxville News Sentinel), 2012. Retrieved: January 14, 2012.</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> U.T. and the nearby Oak Ridge National Laboratory jointly conduct numerous research projects and co-manage the National Transportation Research Center.<ref name=battelle/>

The Tennessee Technology Corridor stretches across Template:Cvt between West Knoxville and Oak Ridge. The Corridor is home to 13 research and development firms employing nearly 2,000.<ref>Tennessee Technology Corridor Development Authority, Comprehensive Development Plan—2008 Update Template:Webarchive. Retrieved: January 14, 2012.</ref>

Arts and culture

File:Knoxville's Bijou Theatre following Melvins concert.jpg

Concertgoers exiting the Bijou Theatre following a Melvins concert, circa June 2022

Knoxville is home to a rich arts community and has many festivals throughout the year. Its contributions to old-time, bluegrass and country music are numerous, from Flatt and Scruggs and Homer and Jethro to The Everly Brothers.

The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra (KSO), established in 1935, is the oldest continuing orchestra in the southeast.<ref>Roy C. Brewer, Symphony Orchestras Template:Webarchive, Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, December 25, 2009; last updated February 28, 2011; accessed: June 25, 2013.</ref> 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 several non-traditional venues. The Knoxville Opera performs a season of opera every year, accompanied by a chorus.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Knoxville was the location of Sergei Rachmaninoff's final concert in 1943, performed at Alumni Memorial Auditorium at the University of Tennessee.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Knoxville's underground music scene is rooted with the promotion by AC Entertainment around 1979.<ref name="summer79">Template:Cite web</ref> AC Entertainment, a local entertainment group, sought to expand the city's scene.<ref name="scene">Template:Cite news</ref> In the 1990s, noted alternative rock critic Ann Powers referred to the city as "Austin without the hype".<ref>Jack Neely, "Knoxville's Ever-Changing Public Image", Metro Pulse, March 28, 2012. Accessed at the Internet Archive, October 5, 2015.</ref><ref>Maria Carter, "Get Away to Knoxville Template:Webarchive", Atlanta, June 28, 2013.</ref> Knoxville is home to a vibrant punk rock scene, having emerged from venues in the Old City district, specifically the Mill & Mine and Pilot Light venues.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Such punk and hardcore bands include UXB, the STDs, and Koro.<ref name="blush">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="vicdeli">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Neelymusic">Template:Cite web</ref> Knoxville hosts the Big Ears music festival since 2009. The festival, dubbed the "most ambitious avant-garde festival in America in more than a decade" in a 2014 Rolling Stone article, hosts musicians ranging from punk rock to chamber pop.<ref name="bigears2014">Weingarten, Christopher. "Big Ears 2014 Celebrates Steve Reich Via Punk, Drone, Jazz, Radiohead." Rolling Stone. March 31, 2014: C1</ref>

The city also hosts numerous art festivals, including the 17-day Dogwood Arts Festival in April, which features art shows, crafts fairs, food and live music. Also in April is the Rossini Festival, which celebrates opera and Italian culture. June's Kuumba (meaning creativity in Swahili) Festival commemorates the region's African American heritage and showcases visual arts, folk arts, dance, games, music, storytelling, theater, and food.

Architecture

File:Knoxville TN skyline.jpg

Skyline of Downtown Knoxville, 2007

File:Tennessee Amphitheater in Knoxville, 2015.jpg

Tennessee Amphitheater in Knoxville, 2015

Knoxville's two tallest buildings are the 27-story First Tennessee Plaza and the 24-story Riverview Tower, both on Gay Street.<ref>Jack Neely, "The Skies, The Limits", Metro Pulse, October 25, 2001. Accessed at the Internet Archive, October 1, 2015.</ref> Other prominent high-rises include the Tower at Morgan Hill,<ref>Josh Flory, "Dean Trumps Comedian Stephen Colbert for Tower's Name Template:Webarchive", Knoxville News Sentinel, November 10, 2009. Retrieved: January 7, 2012.</ref> the Andrew Johnson Building,<ref>"Mayor Wants to Sell Downtown Building, Relocate Knox School Offices Template:Webarchive", WATE.com, June 5, 2007. Retrieved: January 7, 2012.</ref> the Knoxville Hilton, the General Building, The Holston, the TVA Towers,<ref>Andrew Eder, "TVA Tower Gets Occupants Template:Webarchive", Knoxville News Sentinel, October 2, 2007. Retrieved: January 7, 2012.</ref> and Sterchi Lofts. The most iconic structure is arguably the Sunsphere, a Template:Convert steel truss tower built for the 1982 World's Fair;<ref>Sunsphere.info Template:Webarchive. Retrieved: January 7, 2007</ref> it and the Tennessee Amphitheater are the only two structures that remain from that World's Fair.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The downtown area contains a mixture of architectural styles from various periods, ranging from the hewn-log James White House (1786) to the modern Knoxville Museum of Art (1990). Styles represented include Greek Revival (Old City Hall), Victorian (Hotel St. Oliver and Sullivan's Saloon), Gothic (Church Street Methodist Church and Ayres Hall), Neoclassical (First Baptist Church), and Art Deco (Knoxville Post Office). Gay Street, Market Square, and Jackson Avenue contain numerous examples of late-19th and early-20th century commercial architecture.

Residential architecture tends to reflect the city's development over two centuries. William Blount Mansion (1791), in the oldest part of the city, is designed in a vernacular Georgian style. "Streetcar suburbs" such as Fourth and Gill, Parkridge, and Fort Sanders, developed in the late 19th century with the advent of trolleys, tend to contain large concentrations of Victorian and bungalow/Craftsman-style houses popular during this period. Early automobile suburbs, such as Lindbergh Forest and Sequoyah Hills, contain late-1920s and 1930s styles such as Tudor Revival, English Cottage, and Mission Revival. Neighborhoods developed after World War II typically consist of Ranch-style houses.

Knoxville is home to the nation's largest concentration of homes designed by noted Victorian residential architect George Franklin Barber, who lived in the city.<ref>Knox Heritage, George Barber Homes Trolley Tour Booklet Template:Webarchive, 2007. Retrieved: January 7, 2012.</ref> Other notable local architects include members of the Baumann family, Charles I. Barber (son of George), R. F. Graf, and more recently, Bruce McCarty. Nationally renowned architects with works still standing in the city include Alfred B. Mullett (Greystone), John Russell Pope (H.L. Dulin House), and Edward Larrabee Barnes (Knoxville Museum of Art).

Events

The Knoxville Christmas in the City event runs for eight weeks of events at locations throughout the city including the Singing Christmas Tree and ice skating on the Holidays on Ice skating rink.<ref>Moon Blue Ridge & Smoky Mountains—Page 279 1612380662 Deborah Huso—2011 Christmas in the City (865/215-4248, www.cityofknoxville.org, Nov.–Dec.) covers eight weeks of festivities at various locations throughout the city. The activities includeTemplate:Spaces... Santa, as well as ice skating on Knoxville's Holidays on Ice skating rink.</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

• Asian Festival<ref name="knoxasian">Template:Cite web</ref>
• Big Ears Festival<ref name="bigears2014"/>
• Boo At The Zoo<ref name="boozoo">Template:Cite web</ref>
• Brewfest<ref name="brewfest">Template:Cite web</ref>
• Concerts on the Square<ref name="onsquare">Template:Cite web</ref>
• Dogwood Arts Festival<ref name="dogwoodarts">Template:Cite web</ref>
• Fantasy of Trees<ref name="fotetch">Template:Cite web</ref>
• Festival on the Fourth<ref name="festivalon4th">Template:Cite web</ref>
• First Friday ArtWalk<ref name="artwalk">Template:Cite web</ref>
• Greek Fest<ref name="greekfest">Template:Cite web</ref>
• HoLa Festival<ref name="HOLA">Template:Cite web</ref>
• International Biscuit Festival<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Knox Food Fest<ref name="knoxfoodfest">Template:Cite web</ref>
• Knoxville Hardcore Fest<ref name="khcfb">Template:Cite web</ref>
• Knoxville Horror Film Festival<ref name="horrorfest">Template:Cite web</ref>
• Knoxville Marathon<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Knoxville Powerboat Classic<ref name="TRVpoweboat">Template:Cite web</ref>
• Market Square Farmers' Market<ref name="nourishmarkets">Template:Cite web</ref>
• NSRA Street Rod Nationals South<ref name="nsra">Template:Cite web</ref>
• Rhythm & Blooms Festival<ref name="rnbfest">Template:Cite web</ref>
• Rossini Festival<ref name="rossini2022">Template:Cite news</ref>
• Tennessee Valley Fair<ref name="winnett">Template:Cite news</ref>
• Vestival<ref name="vestival">Template:Cite web</ref>
• Volapalooza<ref name="volapalooza">Template:Cite web</ref>

Sites of interest

File:Krutchpark.JPG

Krutch Park in Downtown Knoxville

• Beck Cultural Exchange Center
• Bijou Theatre
• Bleak House
• William Blount Mansion
• Fountain City Art Center
• Candoro Marble Works
• Civic Coliseum
• Fort Dickerson
• Haley Heritage Square
• Ijams Nature Center
• James White's Fort
• Knoxville Botanical Gardens and Arboretum
• Knoxville Convention Center
• Knoxville Greenways
• Knoxville Museum of Art
• Knoxville Police Museum
• Zoo Knoxville
• Mabry-Hazen House
• Marble Springs
• Market Square
• Frank H. McClung Museum
• Museum of East Tennessee History
• National Register of Historic Places, Knox County, Tennessee
• Old City
• Ramsey House
• Sunsphere
• Tennessee Amphitheater
• Tennessee River Boat
• Tennessee Theatre
• Three Rivers Rambler Train Ride
• Volunteer Landing
• Women's Basketball Hall of Fame
• World's Fair Park
• Knoxville's Urban WildernessTemplate:Div col end

Libraries

File:Lawson McGhee Library 01.jpg

Lawson McGhee Library

The Knox County Public Library system consists of the Lawson McGhee Library, located downtown, and 17 branch libraries, overseeing a collection of over 1.3Template:Spacesmillion volumes.<ref name=mpcfacts/>

Sports

The University of Tennessee's athletics programs, nicknamed the "Volunteers", or "the Vols", are immensely popular. Neyland Stadium, where the Vols' football team plays, is one of the largest stadiums in the world seating 101,915,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Thompson–Boling Arena, home of the men's and women's basketball teams, is one of the nation's largest indoor basketball arenas. The telephone area code for Knox County and eight adjacent counties is 865 (VOL). Knoxville is also the home of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, almost entirely thanks to the success of Pat Summitt and the University of Tennessee women's basketball team.

Professional sports teams located in Knoxville include:

Team	Sport	League	Venue (Capacity)
Knoxville Ice Bears	Hockey	SPHL	Knoxville Civic Coliseum (6,500)
Knoxville Smokies	Baseball	Southern League (Double-A)	Covenant Health Park (6,355)
One Knoxville SC	Soccer	USL League One

Government

Knoxville is governed by a mayor and nine-member City Council. It uses the strong-mayor form of the mayor-council system.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The council consists of six members from single-member districts and three members elected at-large for the entire city. The council chooses from among its members the vice mayor (currently Tommy Smith), the Beer Board chairperson (currently Lauren Rider), and a representative to the Knoxville Transportation Authority (currently Debbie Helsley).<ref>Jennifer Meckles, "Madeline Rogero Sworn in as Mayor of Knoxville Template:Webarchive", WBIR.com, December 17, 2011. Retrieved: December 20, 2011.</ref> The City Council meets every other Tuesday at 7:00Template:Spacesp.m. in the Main Assembly Room of the City County Building.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The current mayor is Indya Kincannon, who was sworn in as the city's second female mayor on December 21, 2019, replacing the first female mayor of the city, Madeline Rogero, who was elected in 2011. Interim mayor Daniel Brown, the first African American to hold the office, was appointed in January 2011 following the resignation of Bill Haslam, who was elected Governor of Tennessee. Other recent mayors include Haslam's predecessor, Victor Ashe (1987−2003), Kyle Testerman (1972−1975, 1984−1987), and Randy Tyree (1976−1983).

File:Knoxville Police.jpg

Knoxville Police Department headquarters

The Knoxville Fire Department (KFD) provides ClassTemplate:Spaces2 ISO service inside the city limits. The fire department operates 19 stations with 308 uniformed personnel.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> KFD provides firefighting, first responder EMS response, vehicle extrication and HazMat response within the city limits.

The Knoxville Police Department serves the citizens of Knoxville with 378 officers and a total of 530 employees.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

911 ambulance service inside Knoxville is provided by AMR Ambulance under contract with Knox County.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Knoxville is home to the Tennessee Supreme Court's courthouse for East Tennessee.

City Council

Knoxville is governed by a mayor and a nine-member City Council, six of which represent from single-member districts and three members are elected at-large. Council members are elected through a nonpartisan, district-wide primary in which top two vote-getters advance to a city-wide runoff election in November. Council members are elected to serve a four-year term that is eligible for reelection once.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

List of City Council Members

District	Member	Took Office
1	Tommy Smith	2020
2	Andrew Roberto	2017
3	Seema Singh	2017
4	Lauren Rider	2017
5	Charles Thomas	2019
6	Gwen McKenzie	2017
At-large A	Lynne Fugate	2019
At-large B	Debbie Helsley	2023
At-large C	Amelia Parker	2019

List of mayors

Template:See also Not to be confused with the Mayor of Knox County

Mayors of Knoxville, Tennessee

Thomas Emmerson, 1816-1817<ref name=mayors>Template:Cite web</ref> James Park, 1818–1821 William C. Mynatt, 1822–1823, 1827, 1835–1836 James Park, 1824–1826 Joseph Churchill Strong, 1828–1831 Donald McIntosh, 1832–1833 Solomon D. Jacobs, 1834–1835 Frederick Steidinger Heiskell, 1835 James King, 1837 William Baine Alexander Ramsey, 1838–1839 Samuel Bell, 1840–1841, 1844–1845 Gideon Morgan Hazen, 1842 Matthew Moore Gaines, 1843 Joseph Lewis King, 1846 Samuel B. Boyd, 1847–1851 George McNutt White, 1852–1853 James C. Luttrell, 1854, 1859–1867 William Graham Swan, 1855–1856 James Harvey Cowan, 1856, 1858 Thomas J. Powell, 1857 Samuel Davies Carrick White, 1857 Albert Morgan Piper, 1858 Charles James McClung, 1858 Joseph Jaques, 1858, 1878 James M. White, 1858 Marcus DeLafayette Bearden, 1868–1869 John Somers Van Gilder, 1870–1872 William Rule, 1873, 1898–1899 Peter Staub, 1874–1875, 1881–1882 Daniel A. Carpenter, 1876–1877 Samuel Bell Luttrell, 1879 Hardy Bryan Branner, 1880 Reuben S. Payne, 1882 William Clark Fulcher, 1883–1884 James Churchwell Luttrell, III, 1885–1887 Martin Condon, 1888–1889 Peter Kern, 1890–1891 M. E. Thompson, 1892–1895 Samuel Gordon Heiskell, 1896–1897, 1900–1901, 1906–1907, 1910–1915 Joseph Tedford McTeer, 1902–1903 John Paul Murphy, 1904 William H. Gass, 1904–1905 John McMillan Brooks, 1908–1909 Sam E. Hill, 1912 John Edgar McMillan, 1916–1919 Ernest Wesley Neal, 1920–1923 Benjamin A. Morton, 1924–1927 James Alexander Fowler, 1928–1929 James A. Trent, 1930–1931 John T. O'Connor, 1932–1935 James W. Elmore, 1936–1937 Walter W. Mynatt, 1938–1939 Frederick Leland "Fred" Allen, 1940–1941 Fred R. Stair, 1942–1943 Erastus Eugene Patton, 1944–1945 Cas Walker, 1946 and 1959 Edward L. Chavannes, 1946–1947 James W. Elmore, Jr., 1948–1951 George Roby Dempster, 1952–1955 Jack W. Dance, 1956–1959 John J. Duncan, 1959–1964 Robert L. Crossley, 1964 Leonard Reid Rogers, 1965–1971 Kyle Testerman, 1972–1975, 1984–1987 Randy Tyree, 1976–1983 Victor Ashe, 1988–2003 Bill Haslam, 2003–2011 Daniel Brown, 2011, first African-American mayor Madeline Rogero, 2011–2019 Indya Kincannon, 2019–

Education

File:UT-McClungPlaza.jpg

The University of Tennessee at Knoxville is the state's flagship public university. (Pictured: McClung Plaza)

Knoxville is home to the main campus of the University of Tennessee (UTK), which has operated in the city since the 1790s. As of 2011, UTK had an enrollment of over 27,000 and endowments of over $300Template:Spacesmillion.<ref name=bolcolleges>East Tennessee Colleges and Universities Template:Webarchive, Knoxville Book of Lists (Knoxville News Sentinel), 2012. Retrieved: January 15, 2012.</ref> The school employs over 1,300 instructional faculty, and offers more than 300 degree programs.<ref>UTK—About the University Template:Webarchive. Retrieved: January 15, 2012.</ref>

Pellissippi State Community College is a two-year school governed by the Tennessee Board of Regents that offers transfer programs, two-year degrees, and certificate programs. Its main campus is located off Pellissippi Parkway in western Knox County. As of 2011, the school had a system-wide enrollment of over 11,000 students.<ref>About Pellissippi State Template:Webarchive. Retrieved: January 15, 2012.</ref>

Johnson University (formerly Johnson Bible College) is a Bible college affiliated with the Christian churches and churches of Christ. As of 2012, the school had an enrollment of 845. Johnson traditionally specializes in training preachers and ministers, but also offers degrees in counseling, teaching, music, and nonprofit management.<ref>About Johnson Template:Webarchive. Retrieved: January 15, 2012.</ref>

South College (formerly Knoxville Business College) is a for-profit school located in West Knoxville that offers undergraduate and graduate programs in business, health care, criminal justice, and legal fields. The school had an enrollment of 717 as of 2010.<ref>Tennessee Higher Education Commission, Student Enrollment, Completion and Placement Report, FY 2009–10—South College Template:Webarchive. Retrieved: January 15, 2012.</ref>

Knoxville College was a historically black college that began operating in Knoxville in the 1870s. The school offered a Bachelor of Science in Liberal Studies and an Associate of Arts degree. Knoxville College had an enrollment of about 100 students as of 2010 and closed permanently in 2015.<ref>Linda McCoy, New Knoxville College President Has Plan to Add Stability and Seek Reaccreditation Template:Webarchive, Knoxville News Sentinel, December 10, 2010. Retrieved: January 15, 2012.</ref>

Institutions with branch campuses in Knoxville include Carson-Newman University, King University, Lincoln Memorial University (namely, the Duncan School of Law), National College of Business & Technology, Roane State Community College, Strayer University, Tennessee Wesleyan University, and Tusculum University. Virginia College offers career programs in Knoxville.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Huntington University of Health Sciences, which offers distance courses in nutrition and health, has its offices in Knoxville.

Primary and secondary education

Public schools in Knoxville are part of the Knox County Schools system, which oversees 89 schools (50 elementary, 14 middle, 14 high, and 11 adult centers) serving over 56,000 students. This system includes five magnet schools and a STEM academy.<ref name=mpcfacts/> Knox County high schools had a graduation rate of 86.6%, as of 2011.<ref>Knox County Schools, Strategic Plan Results—Graduation Rate Template:Webarchive. Retrieved: January 20, 2012.</ref> The average classroom ratio is 14 students per teacher.<ref name=mpcfacts/>

Knox County is home to over 50 private and parochial schools,<ref name=mpcfacts/> the largest of which include the Christian Academy of Knoxville, the Webb School of Knoxville, Knoxville Catholic High School, Concord Christian School, Grace Christian Academy, Cedar Springs Weekday School, and Sacred Heart Cathedral School.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Media

Template:See also The Knoxville News Sentinel is the local daily newspaper in Knoxville, with a daily circulation of 14,247 as of 2025.<ref name=mpcfacts/>

The Knoxville Focus is a community news publication.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The city is home to several weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly publications.Template:Citation needed

As of 2011, the Knoxville television market was the 61st largest in the U.S. with 527,790 homes, according to Nielsen Market Research.<ref name="Nielsen_Data">Norma Polovitz Nickerson and Jake Jorgenson, Designated Market Areas: Using Zip Codes As a Marketing Tool Template:Webarchive. University of Montana Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research, April 2011. Retrieved: January 26, 2012.</ref> The largest local television station is NBC affiliate WBIR-TV, with 28,305 viewing households, followed by ABC affiliate WATE-TV (23,559), CBS affiliate WVLT-TV (20,052), Fox affiliate WTNZ (10,319), and CW affiliate WBXX-TV (5,415).<ref>Knoxville-Area Television Stations Ranked According to Market Share Template:Webarchive, Knoxville Book of Lists (Knoxville News Sentinel), 2012. Retrieved: January 26, 2012.</ref> Other local stations include WKNX-TV (Ind.), WVLR (CTN) and WPXK (Ion). East Tennessee PBS operates Knoxville's Public Broadcasting Service station at WKOP 17.

Discovery, Inc. operates the former Scripps Networks Interactive cable television networks from Knoxville, including HGTV, Magnolia Network, Food Network and Cooking Channel.<ref name="Scripps_Networks">Template:Cite web</ref> Jewelry Television, a home shopping channel, is also based in the city, and several companies that provide production services to the ex-SNI networks also maintain Knoxville operations.

According to Arbitron's 2011 Radio Market Rankings, Knoxville had the nation's 72nd-largest radio market, with 684,700 households.<ref>Arbitron Radio Market Rankings: Fall 2011 Template:Webarchive. Retrieved: January 26, 2012.</ref> In 2010, country music station WIVK (107.7 FM) had the market's highest AQH share at 16.3, followed by adult contemporary station WJXB (97.5 FM) at 10.1, and news/talk station WCYQ (100.3 FM) at 8.3.<ref>Knoxville-Area Radio Stations Template:Webarchive, Knoxville Book of Lists (Knoxville News Sentinel), 2012. Retrieved: January 26, 2012.</ref> Other stations include Rock music stations WIMZ (103.5 FM) and WNFZ (94.3), Rhythmic Top 40 station WKHT (104.5 FM), contemporary hit station WWST (102.1 FM), and National Public Radio station WUOT (91.9 FM). The University of Tennessee radio station operates under WUTK (90.3 FM).

Filming location

A number of films and television programs were filmed in the city, such as the 1999 film October Sky,<ref name="october_sky">Template:Cite news</ref> the 2000 film Road Trip at the University of Tennessee campus,<ref name="tripfilm">Template:Cite web</ref> Box of Moonlight, starring John Turturro and Sam Rockwell,<ref name="turczyn">Template:Cite web</ref> scenes from the 2004 film The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things,<ref>Bruce Handy, "The Boy Who Cried Author Template:Webarchive", Vanity Fair, May 2006.</ref><ref>Filmography Template:Webarchive, Visit Knoxville Film/Knox website. Retrieved: July 31, 2016.</ref> Woman In Hiding, a 1949 film noir starring actress Ida Lupino,<ref>Neely, From the Shadow Side, p. 96.</ref> and the 2017 film, The Last Movie Star, which was one of the last films to star Burt Reynolds.<ref name="campbellfilm">Template:Cite news</ref>

Infrastructure

Health

Knox County's hospital system contains over 2,600 licensed beds in seven general use hospitals and one children's hospital.<ref name=mpcfacts/> The city's largest hospital as of 2011 was the University of Tennessee Medical Center, which had 581 beds, followed by Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center (541), Parkwest Medical Center (462), and Physicians Regional (370).<ref>East Tennessee Hospitals Template:Webarchive, Knoxville Book of Lists (Knoxville News Sentinel), 2012. Retrieved: January 24, 2012.</ref> The city's largest ambulatory surgery center was the Parkwest Surgery Center, which employed 58 physicians and 35 nurses, followed by the Fort Sanders West Outpatient Surgery Center and the St. Mary's Ambulatory Surgery Center South.<ref>Knoxville-Area Ambulatory Surgical Treatment Centers Template:Webarchive, Knoxville Book of Lists (Knoxville News Sentinel), 2012. Retrieved: January 24, 2012.</ref>

2021 County Health Rankings places Knox county at 13th out the 95 counties. Life expectancy was 76.3 years. Health behaviors noted: 19% smokers versus state average of 21%, 29% of the population is obese vs 33% for the state, excessive drinking is 19% vs 17%, drug overdoses 52 per 100,000 with the state at 28 overdoses per 100,000.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In the 2010s, Knoxville's air quality continued to greatly improve over that of past decades according to the American Lung Association's State of the Air 2017.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Utilities

The Knoxville Utilities Board (KUB) provides electricity, water, and wastewater management to Knoxville residents and businesses. KUB's service area covers 688 square miles and includes over 5,200 miles of power lines providing electricity to over 196,000 customers.<ref name=kubelectricity>KUB—Electricity Template:Webarchive, KUB website. Retrieved: January 24, 2012.</ref> The average electric bill was just over $96 per month.<ref name=bolutil>Knoxville-Area Utilities Template:Webarchive, Knoxville Book of Lists (Knoxville News Sentinel), 2012. Retrieved: January 24, 2012.</ref> KUB purchases its electricity from the Tennessee Valley Authority.<ref name=kubelectricity/>

Transportation

Highways

File:Knoxville-hall-of-fame-drive-tn1.jpg

The James White Parkway connects I-40 with Downtown Knoxville.

The two principal interstate highways serving Knoxville are Interstate 40, which connects the city to Asheville (directly) and Bristol (via I-81) to the east and Nashville to the west, and Interstate 75, which connects the city to Chattanooga to the south and Lexington to the north. The two interstates merge about Template:Convert west of Downtown Knoxville near Dixie Lee Junction and diverge as they approach the Downtown area, with I-40 continuing on through the Downtown area and I-75 turning north. Interstate 640 provides a bypass for I-40 travelers, and Interstate 275 provides a faster connection to I-75 for Downtown travelers headed north. A spur route of I-40, Interstate 140 (Pellissippi Parkway), connects West Knoxville with McGhee Tyson Airport and Maryville.<ref name=tdotmap>Template:Cite map</ref>

Prior to its reconstruction for the 1982 World's Fair tourism traffic, the interchange of I-75 (now I-275) and I-40 was known as "Malfunction Junction", because its consistent state of traffic jammed throughout daily.<ref name="lakinjct">Template:Cite news</ref>

Knoxville's busiest road is a stretch of U.S. Route 129 known as Alcoa Highway, which connects the Downtown area with McGhee Tyson Airport and Maryville.<ref>Knoxville Book of Lists—Knox Co.'s Busiest Roads Template:Webarchive, Knoxvillebiz.com (Knoxville News Sentinel), 2012. Retrieved: January 11, 2012.</ref> A merged stretch of US-70 and US-11 enters the city from the east along Magnolia Avenue, winds its way through the Downtown area, crosses the U.T. campus along Cumberland Avenue ("The Strip"), and proceeds through West Knoxville along Kingston Pike. US-11 splits into US-11E and 11W in Downtown, with the former connecting Knoxville to Jefferson City and Morristown, and the latter with Rutledge and Bean Station. US-441, which connects Knoxville to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, passes along Broadway in North Knoxville, Henley Street in the Downtown area, and Chapman Highway in South Knoxville. US-25W, which enters from the east concurrent with US-70, connects Knoxville with Clinton.<ref name=tdotmap/>

File:Knoxville-R.jpg

Bridges over the Tennessee River

State Route 158 (SR 158) loops around the Downtown area from Kingston Pike just west of UT's campus, southward and eastward along Neyland Drive and the riverfront, and northward along the James White Parkway before terminating at I-40. SR 62 (Western Avenue, Oak Ridge Highway), connects Downtown Knoxville with Oak Ridge to the west. SR 168, known as Governor John Sevier Highway, runs along the eastern and southern periphery of the city. SR 162 (Pellissippi Parkway) connects West Knoxville with Oak Ridge. SR 331 (Tazewell Pike) connects the Fountain City area to rural northeast Knox County. SR 332 (Northshore Drive) connects West Knoxville and Concord. SR 33 (Maryville Pike, Maynardville Pike) traverses much of South Knoxville southward, and connects to the suburbs of Halls Crossroads and Maynardville northward.<ref name=tdotmap/>

Four vehicle bridges connect Downtown Knoxville with South Knoxville, namely the South Knoxville Bridge (James White Parkway), the Gay Street Bridge (Gay Street), the Henley Street Bridge, or Henley Bridge (Henley Street), and the J. E. "Buck" Karnes Bridge (Alcoa Highway). Two railroad bridges, located between the Henley Street Bridge and Buck Karnes Bridge, serve the CSX and Northfolk Southern railroads. Smaller bridges radiating out from the downtown area include the Western Avenue Viaduct and Clinch Avenue Viaduct, the Robert Booker Bridge (Summit Hill Drive), the Hill Avenue Viaduct, and the Gay Street Viaduct.<ref name=tdotmap/>

Mass transit

Public transportation is provided by Knoxville Area Transit (KAT), which operates over 80 buses, road trolleys, and paratransit vehicles, and transports more than 3.6Template:Spacesmillion passengers per year. Regular routes connect the Downtown area, U.T., and most residential areas with major shopping centers throughout the city. KAT operates using city, state, and federal funds, and passenger fares, and is managed by Veolia Transport.<ref>Knoxville Area Transit website Template:Webarchive. Retrieved: December 31, 2011.</ref>

Airports

Knoxville and the surrounding area is served by McGhee Tyson Airport (IATA:TYS), a Template:Convert airport equipped with two runways, one a Template:Convert runway, and the other a Template:Convert runway. The airport is located 10 miles south of Knoxville in Alcoa, but is owned by the non-profit Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority (MKAA).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=FAA>Template:FAA-airport effective April 20, 2023.</ref> McGhee Tyson offers eight major airlines serving 19 non-stop destinations, and averages 120 arrivals and departures per day. The airport includes the Template:Convert Air Cargo Complex, which serves FedEx, UPS, and Airborne Express. The McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base, located adjacent to the civilian airport, is home to the Tennessee National Guard's 134th Air Refueling Wing.<ref>About McGhee Tyson Airport Template:Webarchive. Retrieved: December 31, 2011.</ref>

The MKAA also owns the Downtown Island Airport, a Template:Convert general aviation facility located on Dickinson's Island in southeast Knoxville. This airport is equipped with a Template:Convert runway, and averages about 225 operations per day. Over 100 aircraft, mostly single-engine planes, are based at the airport.<ref>FAA Master Report Record for DKX Template:Webarchive, July 2, 2009. Retrieved: December 31, 2011.</ref>

Railroads

File:Map of Street Railway Lines of the Knoxville Railway and Light Company c 1907.png

Map of Street Railway Lines of the Knoxville Railway and Light Company c 1907

File:KXHRLOCAL1.jpg

Knoxville and Holston River Railroad MP15AC #2002 leads a train through Tyson Park near downtown Knoxville.

Rail freight in Knoxville is handled by two Class I railroads, CSX and Norfolk Southern, and one shortline, the Knoxville and Holston River Railroad. Railroads account for about 12% of the Knoxville area's outbound freight and 16% of the area's inbound freight.<ref name=krtpo>Knoxville Regional Transportation Planning Organization, 2005–2030 Knoxville Regional Long Range Transportation Plan Update Template:Webarchive, 2007, pp. 51–53. Retrieved: December 31, 2011.</ref> The city has two major rail terminals: the Burkhart Enterprises terminal at the Forks of the River Industrial Park just east of the city, and the TransFlo facility adjacent to the U.T. campus.<ref name=krtpo/> Knoxville's two old passenger stations, the Southern Terminal and the L&N Station, now serve non-railroad functions.

Norfolk Southern, which controls about Template:Convert of tracks in the Knoxville area,<ref name=krtpo/> averages 35 freight trains through the city per day,<ref>Rebecca Ferrar, "Teaming With Possibilities: Norfolk Southern Partners with UT to Go Global Template:Webarchive", Knoxnews.com, January 15, 2006. Retrieved: December 31, 2011.</ref> and operates a major classification yard, the John Sevier Yard, just east of the city. The company uses a small rail yard near the I-40/I-275 interchange in Downtown Knoxville for a staging area.<ref name=krtpo/> The Norfolk Southern system includes spur lines to the coal fields around Middlesboro, Kentucky, and the ALCOA plants in Blount County.<ref name=krtpo/>

CSX controls about Template:Convert of tracks in the Knoxville area, much of which is located along an important north–south line between Cincinnati and Louisville to the north and Chattanooga and Atlanta to the south.<ref name=krtpo/> Minor switching operations for CSX occur at the TransFlo facility near the U.T. campus.<ref name=krtpo/> The CSX system includes spur lines to TVA's Bull Run Fossil Plant and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Anderson County, and the ALCOA plants in Blount County.<ref name=krtpo/>

The Knoxville and Holston River Railroad (KXHR) is a subsidiary of Gulf and Ohio Railways, a shortline holding company headquartered at the James Park House in Downtown Knoxville. The KXHR operates a Template:Convert line between the Burkhart terminal at Forks of the River and the Coster Yard in North Knoxville, where the freight is transferred to CSX and Norfolk Southern lines or transloaded onto trucks.<ref name=krtpo/> The KXHR also manages the Knoxville Locomotive Works at the Coster Yard, and operates the Three Rivers Rambler, a tourist train that runs along the riverfront.<ref>Knoxville & Holston River Railroad Template:Webarchive. Retrieved: December 31, 2011.</ref>

Historic passenger service

Until the mid-20th century three railroads and their stations operated regular trains, serving points north, east, south and west: the Louisville and Nashville Railroad's L&N Station (last train operating there, 1968), the Smoky Mountain Railroad's station and the Southern Railway's Southern Terminal (last train operating there, 1970).

River transport

Knoxville is an international port connected via navigable channels to the nation's inland waterways and the Gulf of Mexico. The city's waterfront lies just under 700 river miles from the Mississippi River (via the Tennessee and Ohio rivers),<ref>USGS topographical maps. The entirety of the Tennessee River (652 miles), plus 46 miles along the Ohio River to where it empties into the Mississippi.</ref> and just under 900 river miles from Mobile, Alabama, on the Gulf of Mexico (via the Tennessee River and Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway).<ref>Richard Simms, "Huckleberry Finn is Alive and Well Template:Webarchive", Chattanooga Times-Free Press, November 27, 2008. The trip is 437 miles along the Tennessee River from Knoxville to the entrance of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway (near Pickwick Landing Dam in Hardin County), 234 miles along the waterway to Demopolis, Alabama, and another 214 miles along Tombigbee and Mobile rivers to Mobile.</ref> TVA maintains a minimum Template:Convert channel on the entirety of the Tennessee River. The minimum size of locks on Tennessee River and Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway dams is Template:Convert by Template:Convert.<ref>Tennessee-Tombigbee Water—Tenn-Tom Quickfacts Template:Webarchive. Retrieved: January 1, 2012.</ref>

Most commercial shipping on the Tennessee River is provided by barges, which deliver on average half a million tons of cargo to Knoxville per year, mostly asphalt, road salt, and steel and coke.<ref name=rollin>Rebecca Ferrar, "Rollin' On the River Template:Webarchive", Knoxville News Sentinel, August 22, 2004. Retrieved: January 1, 2012.</ref> Burkhart Enterprises operates the city's most active public barge terminal at its Forks of the River facility, handling approximately 350,000 tons of barge cargo per year.<ref name=rollin/> Knoxville Barge and Chattanooga-based Serodino, Inc., provide barge shipping services to and from the city.

Recreational craft that frequent the river include small johnboats, fishing boats and yachts. Boat slips and a marina are located at Volunteer Landing in the Downtown area. The VOL Navy, a flotilla of several dozen boats, swarms the river during weeks when the U.T. football team plays at Neyland Stadium. Cruise lines operating in the city include the Volunteer Princess, a luxury yacht, and the Star of Knoxville, a paddlewheel riverboat.

In popular culture

Knoxville has appeared in music, literature and television. Film director Quentin Tarantino was born in Knoxville, and the city and East Tennessee are frequently mentioned in his films, such as in the 1994 film Pulp Fiction, in which Bruce Willis' character (and the watch given to him by Christopher Walken's character) is from Knoxville.<ref name="tarantinoknox">Template:Cite news</ref>

In literature, author Cormac McCarthy is from Knoxville, and several of his books feature the city, such as Suttree, a 1979 semi-autobiographical novel. James Agee also lived in the city, and his 1957 posthumous autobiographical novel A Death in the Family provides a portrait of life in Knoxville, while also wrestling with the death of Agee's father in a car accident, and the impact this had on his family.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Mark Twain wrote about a gunfight in downtown Knoxville involving Joseph Mabry Jr., owner of the city's antebellum Mabry-Hazen House in Life on the Mississippi from 1883. Several other books take place in fictionalized versions of the city, such as the 1915 Anne W. Armstrong novel, The Seas of God,<ref>M. Thomas Inge, Charles Reagan Wilson, et al., The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture: Literature (University of North Carolina Press, 2008), p. 174.</ref> and David Madden's 1974 novel, Bijou, is set in a fictional city known as "Cherokee", based on Knoxville.<ref name="mighty">"The Mighty Metro Pulse Collection of Awesome Knoxville Lists", Metro Pulse, June 23, 2010. Accessed at the Internet Archive, October 1, 2015.</ref>

The first part of James Herman Robinson's 1950 autobiography, The Road Without Turning, takes place in Knoxville,Template:Importance inline and "The Man in the Overstuffed Chair", a 1985 short story by playwright Tennessee Williams, gives a brief description of the death of Williams' father, Cornelius, at a Knoxville hospital, and his subsequent burial at Old Gray Cemetery.<ref>Tennessee Williams, "The Man In the Overstuffed Chair." Collected Stories (New York: New Directions Books, 1985), p. xvi.</ref>

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Peter Taylor's last novel in 1994, In the Tennessee Country, refers to a "Knoxville cemetery" where the main character's grandfather (a fictitious politician) is buried. This may refer to Old Gray Cemetery, where Taylor's own grandfather, Governor Robert Love Taylor, was originally buried in 1912.<ref>Jack Neely, Knoxville's Secret History (Scruffy Books, 1995), pp. 56–7.</ref>

Swiss travel writer Annemarie Schwarzenbach visited Knoxville in the 1930s, and wrote an essay about the city, "Auf der Schattenseite von Knoxville", which was published in the December 1937 edition of the Swiss magazine, National Zeitung.<ref>Jack Neely, From the Shadow Side: And Other Stories of Knoxville, Tennessee (Tellico Books, 2003), p. 24.</ref>

A number of songs and music compositions are about or feature Knoxville as well. "The Knoxville Girl", first recorded in 1924, is traditional Appalachian ballad. Classical composer Samuel Barber's "Knoxville: Summer of 1915" from 1947 is a voice & orchestra piece based on 1938 short prose by James Agee. Dire Straits guitarist Mark Knopfler recorded a song entitled "Daddy's Gone to Knoxville" on his 2002 solo album, The Ragpicker's Dream,Template:Citation needed "The Ballad of Thunder Road" by Robert Mitchum references Knoxville's Bearden community, and other musicians such as Steve Earle, Ronnie Milsap, and Hank Williams, Jr. have mentioned the city in lyrics. Hank Williams, Hank Jr.'s father, spent his last day alive in Knoxville as well. Country singer Kenny Chesney is from Knoxville.

A number of early country music songs were recorded in Knoxville as the "St. James Sessions" in 1930, such as "Satan is Busy In Knoxville" by Leola Manning.<ref>Lynn Point Records, The St. James Sessions Template:Webarchive. Retrieved: February 5, 2010.</ref><ref name="a129">Template:Cite web</ref>

Sister cities

Knoxville has seven sister cities as designated by Sister Cities International:<ref name="sisters">Template:Cite web</ref>

• Template:Flagdeco Yesan, Republic of Korea
• Template:Flagdeco Chełm, Lublin Voivodeship, Poland
• Template:Flagdeco Chengdu, Sichuan, People's Republic of China
• Template:Flagdeco Kaohsiung, Republic of China
• Template:Flagdeco Larissa, Greece
• Template:Flagdeco Muroran, Hokkaido, Japan
• Template:Flagdeco Neuquen, Argentina

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Knox County, Tennessee
• List of people from Knoxville, Tennessee

Further reading

• Barber, John W., and Howe, Henry. All the Western States and TerritoriesTemplate:Spaces... (Cincinnati, Ohio: Howe's Subscription Book Concern, 1867). pp.Template:Spaces631–632.
• Carey, Ruth. "Change Comes to Knoxville", in These Are Our Voices: The Story of Oak Ridge 1942–1970, edited by James Overholt, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, 1987.
• Deaderick, Lucile, ed. Heart of the Valley—A History of Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville: East Tennessee Historical Society, 1976.
• Jennifer Long; "Government Job Creation Programs-Lessons from the 1930s and 1940s" Journal of Economic Issues . Volume: 33. Issue: 4. 1999. pp 903+, a case study of Knoxville.
• Isenhour, Judith Clayton. Knoxville, A Pictorial History. (Donning Company, 1978, 1980).
• Template:Cite encyclopedia
• McDonald, Michael, and Bruce Wheeler. Knoxville, Tennessee: Continuity and Change in an Appalachian City University of Tennessee Press, 1983. the standard academic history
• McKenzie, Robert Tracy. Lincolnites and Rebels: A Divided Town in the American Civil War (2009) on Knoxville excerpt and text search
• The Future of Knoxville's Past: Historic and Architectural Resources in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Knoxville Historic Zoning Commission, October 2006).
• Rothrock, Mary U., editor. The French Broad-Holston Country: A History of Knox County, Tennessee. (Knox County Historical Committee; East Tennessee Historical Society, 1946).
• Temple, Oliver P. East Tennessee and the Civil War (1899) 588pp online edition
• Wheeler, Bruce. "Knoxville, Tennessee: A Mountain City in the New South" (University of Tennessee Press, 2005).

External links

• Official website
• Knoxville Tourism and Sports Corporation