Gay Street - Knoxville History Project

Contents:

• GAY STREET
• GUI TO GAY STREET KNOXVILLE, TENNSEE
• Y’ALL MEANS ALL – THE GAY SCENE KNOXVILLE
• DID YOU KNOW THE 100 BLOCK OF GAY STREET WAS RAISED? TAKE AN UNRGROUND TOUR
• GAY STREET
• GAY STREET COMMERCIAL HISTORIC DISTRICT
• GAY KNOXVILLE TRAVEL GUI
• GAY ST, KNOXVILLE, TN ZIP CO
• REGNS BRANCH | 465 S. GAY STREET, SUE 101
• GAY KNOXVILLE TRAVEL GUI

GAY STREET

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

GUI TO GAY STREET KNOXVILLE, TENNSEE

After the war, Gay Street saw extensive mercial velopment as railroad nstctn brought an dtrial boom to Knoxville. 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. 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. 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.

Y’ALL MEANS ALL – THE GAY SCENE KNOXVILLE

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.

DID YOU KNOW THE 100 BLOCK OF GAY STREET WAS RAISED? TAKE AN UNRGROUND TOUR

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. 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).

GAY STREET

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. 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 COMMERCIAL HISTORIC DISTRICT

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.

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. In 2012 the ternatnal LGBTQ Magaze The Advote listed Knoxville as the “8th Gayt Cy Ameri” durg s untdown of plac to live or vis the USA.

GAY KNOXVILLE TRAVEL GUI

Gay Street Downtown Knoxville urty of Tod Sheley. Knoxville Gay Men’s Chos – Broadway on Gay Street Concert urty of Steve Soargoak. I n easily say that I know hundreds of gay people that live Knoxville, and even after 13 years I meet new people every day that have lived here jt as long as me and yet I had never crossed their path up until recently.

I thk this is important to highlight a way that mak our cy feel more personal and charmg to a gay person wantg to e vis . At the same time, if you want to e to Knoxville and jt go explorg downtown or head off to one of our gay bars or gay iendly tablishments then there is a very good chance you will meet some amazg people. I’m sure everyone has read and book or watched a movie where the plot volv a small town closeted gay kid movg away to go to the big universy, which wds up beg the life changg moment where they fally feel accepted for beg different and learn to love who they are, si and out.

GAY ST, KNOXVILLE, TN ZIP CO

I thk around 50% of the gay people I know livg this cy eher moved here to go to school at the Universy of Tennsee or they moved here for a job at UT or Oak Ridge Natnal Laboratory. Activism: Havg an activist spir is a thg to be valued the gay muny & Knoxville has had a urageo history wh activism of var sorts throughout the last century. As the cy has grown and changed and bee more acceptg of gay and transgenr people our choic for plac to fd entertament and meet iends has opened up to clu most all of downtown Knoxville.

REGNS BRANCH | 465 S. GAY STREET, SUE 101

Gay or straight, we all like to explore a cy and jt have a great time. Gay Nightlife: One si effect of Knoxville havg a welg environment towards LGBTQ people is that we have a smaller number of Queer Bars than we ed to a few s ago. The nightlife for a gay person visg Knoxville is still very open to a whole lot of variety, wh many downtown clubs and bars hostg very mixed crowds of people and gays to be found large numbers everywhere you look.

If you attend one of the “QDP” as they are lled then you n expect to see some of the largt variety of queer people to be found at any given moment the cy, wh many atten beg people that otherwise would shy away om a straight bar or even a tradnal gay bar. View down Gay Street durg the Knox Pri Para 2018 urty of Taryn Ferro.

GAY KNOXVILLE TRAVEL GUI

Occurrg every June, Knox Prift is a ee event held downtown that featur a massive para on Gay Street followed by a day of performanc and entertament at one of our nearby parks.

Some of the bt lol outreach programs for gay youths stgglg wh their sexualy or genr inty are fact church the Knoxville area. I n’t talk about our cy and the support we receive the gay muny whout mentng the people that keep safe every sgle day.

Gay people sometim have a harr time workg at fdg where we f the world, but once we do we want to celebrate wh our muny and share wh the world.