Explore Historic Gay Street Knoxville TN | Thgs to Do

Contents:

• GAY STREET
• GUI TO GAY STREET KNOXVILLE, TENNSEE
• THE SPICE AND TEA EXCHANGE OF KNOXVILLE OPENS TODAY ON GAY STREET
• MAJOR NEW DEVELOPMENT POSSIBLE FOR GAY STREET
• GAY STREET: KNOXVILLE, TENNSEE
• THIS $26M PROJECT WOULD FILL GAY STREET'S 'GREAT DIVI' WH SHOPPG, HOG AND DG
• A QUIRKY GAY STREET FIXTURE FOR WTERN GEAR, VTAGE VIB IS LEAVG DOWNTOWN KNOXVILLE
• 128 S GAY ST,KNOXVILLE, TN 37902
• COULD REVELOPG GAY STREET'S 200 BLOCK CREATE A NEW DOWNTOWN KNOXVILLE DISTRICT?
• 531 GAY ST, KNOXVILLE, TN 37902
• 116 S GAY ST #505,KNOXVILLE, TN 37902
• 531 S GAY ST #1202,KNOXVILLE, TN 37902
• THE SOUTH GAY STREET CONDOMIUMS

GAY STREET

Sce the 1790s, Gay Street has played a primary role Knoxville’s historil and cultural velopment.

GUI TO GAY STREET KNOXVILLE, TENNSEE

Gay Street is home to art galleri, historic theaters, the East Tennsee History Center and more – wh many buildgs listed on the Natnal Register of Historic Plac. Gay Street was the se of the 1796 Constutnal Conventn that rulted the foundg of the state of Tennsee, and was a fol pot for the early polil activy of both the cy and the state of Tennsee.

On the eve of the Civil War, Gay Street was the se of simultaneo Unn and Conferate recg ralli.

Durg the Civil War, Gay Street saw some early vlence, a fatal shootg of a Unnist monstrator, days after the firg on Ft. William Sanrs died as the rult of wounds the Lamar Hoe on Gay. After the war, Gay Street saw extensive mercial velopment as railroad nstctn brought an dtrial boom to Knoxville.

THE SPICE AND TEA EXCHANGE OF KNOXVILLE OPENS TODAY ON GAY STREET

By 1850, Gay Street was home to three-fourths of Knoxville's mercial activy.

In 1854, Gay Street beme Knoxville's first paved road. Almost all public visors to Knoxville ma an appearance on Gay Street.

MAJOR NEW DEVELOPMENT POSSIBLE FOR GAY STREET

Durg the Civil War, Andrew Johnson was shot at when he gave a pro-Unn speech on Gay Street. Others who were seen on Gay Street at one time or another were prohibnist Carrie Natn, Socialist ndidate Eugene V. One of Knoxville’s olst buildgs, the Lamar Hoe, now the ont portn of the Bijou Theatre, was operatg as a hotel facg Gay Street by 1817, when hosted a receptn for Gen.

GAY STREET: KNOXVILLE, TENNSEE

Begng 1908, Gay Street beme the lotn of Knoxville’s first skyscrapers, steel-ame buildgs of 10 stor or more, begng wh the Burwell Buildg, followed by the taller Holston Buildg, and some years later the Andrew Johnson Hotel, which was for almost half a century the tallt buildg East Tennsee. From 1960 to 1963, Gay Street was the se of dozens of civil-rights monstratns, first s-s at all-whe lunch unters, then monstratns outsi the still-segregated movie theaters.

THIS $26M PROJECT WOULD FILL GAY STREET'S 'GREAT DIVI' WH SHOPPG, HOG AND DG

Gay Street has also been the home of multiple partment stor, cludg Miller’s, which mataed a prence s origal bex-arts brick buildg on Gay for 70 years. It was home to the headquarters of furnure giant Sterchi Brothers, whose logo has bee a signature of the Gay Street skyle, and today is one of downtown’s largt and most popular rintial buildgs.

Gay Street has always been home to Knoxville’s ft theatr.

In 1872, Swiss immigrant Peter Stb pleted his grand Stb’s Opera Hoe, facg Gay Street. It was the first of several theaters that kept Gay Street l up at night.

A QUIRKY GAY STREET FIXTURE FOR WTERN GEAR, VTAGE VIB IS LEAVG DOWNTOWN KNOXVILLE

Those who have performed shows Gay Street theaters between 1880 and 1940 clu Sarah Bernhardt, Lillie Langtry, Will Rogers, Gee M. By the 1920s, Gay Street supported several movie theaters at once, the largt of which were the Riviera (1920) and the more extravagantly rated Tennsee (1928). Today, as day turns to night, theatre lights still lure you down Gay Street for a variety of performanc and cematic entertament at some of the regn’s most popular venu.

128 S GAY ST,KNOXVILLE, TN 37902

Knoxville Arts District - 100 Block Gay Street. Gay Street also wnsed the early days of live-dience rad, as untry stars like Roy Acuff, Chet Atks, the Everly Brothers, and Dolly Parton got their starts on rad statns WNOX and WROL. Live mic n still be found on Gay Street today at the WDVX studs loted si the Knoxville Visors Center.

Si note: Televisn was troduced to the regn wh a broadst 1953 om WROL studs the Mechanics Bank buildg on Gay. Gay Street and events that took place on have been mentned the works of novelists Jam Agee and Cormac McCarthy, humorists Mark Twa and Gee Washgton Harris, and poet and sayist Nikki Gvanni. Gay Street was a settg for paras by the 1850s, and was the scene of many dramatic events, cludg several gunfights, most notably the Mabry-O’Conner gunfight of 1882, which all three batants were killed.

Gay Street was the settg of one of the South’s first Deratn Day (later Memorial Day) paras, and by the 1870s, of more joyo St. Bee of s prervatn and ntributns to Knoxville's enomic base and vibrant arts scene, the Amerin Planng Associatn signated Gay Street as one of 10 Great Streets unr the anizatn's Great Plac Ameri program.

COULD REVELOPG GAY STREET'S 200 BLOCK CREATE A NEW DOWNTOWN KNOXVILLE DISTRICT?

Several downtown streets have been renamed over the years, but Gay Street retas s origal name, perhaps bee, om the very begng, the street has been known as the place where Knoxvillians e for fun and entertament. Spice and Tea Exchange of Knoxville, 522 South Gay Street, Knoxville, November 2022. Today, Ante Morejon, who I troduced to you a uple of months back, opens The Spice and Tea Exchange of Knoxville at 522 South Gay Street.

Owner Ante Morejon, Spice and Tea Exchange of Knoxville, 522 South Gay Street, Knoxville, November 2022. 350 South Gay Street, Knoxville, September 2021. In a very signifint potential velopment for Gay Street, one of the empty spac dottg the rridor may soon be filled.

531 GAY ST, KNOXVILLE, TN 37902

A rezong requt was recently filed for 350 South Gay Street, which is currently a leral hole formg a parkg lot between the Century Buildg (Chivo Taqueria) and Gallery Lofts (Mast General Store). It would be the first major ground-up nstctn on Gay more than a generatn.

350 South Gay Street Aerial View – From Planng Commissn Applitn. Entrance will be via Gay Street, adjacent to Mast General and the ex will be out the rear of the stcture to State Street.

The larger portn of the Gay Street facg floor would be dited to mercial space adjacent to the Century buildg. Sce s velopment the 1790s, Gay Street has been the center stage of downtown Knoxville's progrsn om a mercial wholalg pal followg the Indtrial Revolutn to today's vibrant entertament and rintial rridor.

116 S GAY ST #505,KNOXVILLE, TN 37902

Through the hard work of untls dividuals, anizatns, and lol ernments, and more than $50 ln spent on revelopment projects sce 2000, Gay Street has experienced a plete transformatn om s ghost town atmosphere of the 1970s. Ten blocks between Wt Jackson Avenue and the southern end of the Gay Street Bridge. First Friday is a monthly art event begng the 100 block of South Gay Street and stretchg to Market Square, offerg visors live performanc, lol food, and late night gallery shows, celebratg the vibrancy of downtown Knoxville.

The most well-known firm headquartered along the street was the Sterchi Brothers Furnure Company, which occupied a number of buildgs on the street but eventually settled at 116 South Gay St. Woodff and Company, and Miller's Department Store solidified Gay Street as the cy's bs center the early 20th century.

Wh velopment of suburban malls durg the 1970s, bs dwdled to the pot that many pani were forced to eher relote or close, leavg a surpl of vant buildgs along Gay Street. Their hard work paid off when the Southern Termal and Warehoe Historic District and the Gay Street Commercial Historic District were add to the Natnal Register of Historic Plac 1985 and 1986, rpectively. The Cy of Knoxville rpond by adoptg the Downtown Knoxville Plan 1987 and the Downtown Streetspe Plan 1988, both of which rulted improvements to Gay Street cludg wir siwalks, bicycle racks, landspg, and historic lamp posts.

531 S GAY ST #1202,KNOXVILLE, TN 37902

In 2001, unr Mayor Victor Ashe, the cy began offerg revelopment centiv, cludg tax abatements, low-tert loans, and rced perm fe, which spurred the renovatn of virtually every historic buildg along Gay Street to rintial, mercial, or retail spac.

Rtoratns of the Bijou Theatre and Tennsee Theatre, which have hosted performanc by Bob Dylan, Diana Ross, and Johnny Cash, are two of the many projects that have helped Gay Street weather the 2008 enomic recsn. An flux of new shoppg, dg, and entertament optns, upled wh the nearly 600 permanent rints, once more make Gay Street Knoxville's bit street.

THE SOUTH GAY STREET CONDOMIUMS

Ktch Park featur piic tabl and a relaxg water feature and is a favore of rints who e throughout the work day for a much need rpe om the htle of South Gay Street. Southern Termal and Warehoe Historic District enpass the 100 block of South Gay Street; late 19th century buildgs; add to Natnal Register of Historic Plac (1985). Gay Street Commercial Historic District, four blocks — Wt Summ Hill to Wt Church; more than 35 historic buildgs on South Gay; add to Natnal Register of Historic Plac (1986).

Gay Street Bridge, ntilevered bridge set on stone piers is last of s kd standg the U. Phoenix Buildg, 418 South Gay; Renaissance Revival buildg om 1899; named Phoenix after rebuilt three tim due to fire; $8 ln renovatn (2005) for offic and apartments.