Gay Street - Knoxville History Project

Contents:

• GAY STREET
• GAY STREET
• DID YOU KNOW THE 100 BLOCK OF GAY STREET WAS RAISED? TAKE AN UNRGROUND TOUR
• Y’ALL MEANS ALL – THE GAY SCENE KNOXVILLE
• KNOXVILLE’S FIRST PAVED ROAD: GAY STREET
• GUI TO GAY STREET KNOXVILLE, TENNSEE
• GAY STREET AND THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
• GAY STREET: KNOXVILLE, TENNSEE

GAY STREET

Gay Street, cir 1890s. Regnized by the Amerin Planng Associatn as one of the natn’s “Great Streets, ” Gay Street was regard before the Civil War as Knoxville’s ma mercial street.

GAY STREET

Durg the 1920s Gay Street served as a meetg pot for a new group of Knoxvillians head to both disver a new wilrns and blaze trails for a new Natnal Park, the Great Smoky Mountas. David Chapman, also owned a pharmacy bs on Gay Street, famo for s Whe Ln statue. Almost everythg that has ever happened downtown Knoxville has a lk some way to Gay Street.

GAY STREET VINTAGE POSTCARD GALLERY. For a look to the 100 Block of South Gay Street by the railroad on the north end of Gay Street, jo for a Knoxville Weekend vio featurg KHP’s Jack Neely and Knoxville Urban Guy, Alan Sims, for an affectnate look back at an old classic – Harold’s Deli.

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

In 1919, the cy raised this sectn of Gay Street to take out what was known as the “Death Dip, ” sentially a steep valley down towards and back up across the railroad tracks. Raisg the 100 Block of Gay Street 1919.

ROSS MOL’S GAY STREET VIADUCT GALLERY. 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.

Y’ALL MEANS ALL – THE GAY SCENE KNOXVILLE

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

KNOXVILLE’S FIRST PAVED ROAD: GAY STREET

In 1854, Gay Street beme Knoxville's first paved road.

GUI TO GAY STREET KNOXVILLE, TENNSEE

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.

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 AND THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT

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).

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: KNOXVILLE, TENNSEE

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.