Scruffy Explores Gay Street

A Kid’s Guide to exploring Knoxville History

 

Don’t have your copy yet?

Download Scruffy Explores Gay Street 

Scruffy’s Selfie-Scavenger Hunt Landmark Descriptions

We hope you were able to find all of these locations and get some awesome selfies! Now let’s find out why these places are so important to Knoxville! In case you weren’t able to find one, I put these in address order starting at the Emporium Building at West Jackson Ave. and Gay Street, going all the way down to the Gay Street Bridge going across the river.

Emporium

100 S. Gay Street

This building was originally built in 1902 and was the large stylish retail space of Sterchi Brothers Furniture Store. It is now home to an arts center, with galleries, studio, and the headquarters of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra.

Knoxville History Project

123 S. Gay Street

The Knoxville History Project moved to our new office at 123 S. Gay Street in 2023. Had we been there before the year 1919, we would be at the street level.  Due to the construction of the Gay Street Viaduct (bridge over the railroad tracks), the city had to raise the street up.  All the first floors were covered up and the businesses began to use their second floors as their main entrances, while the first floors became the basements.

Visit Knoxville

301 S. Gay Street

Visit Knoxville is a nonprofit company that works together with the community, business leaders and local and state government to further develop Knoxville as a premier destination for visitors, meetings/conventions, sporting events and film production. They are the city’s official visitors center. This building has been different businesses over the years, including a drug store and once even a Burger King!

Downtown Grill and Brewery (The Woodruff Building)

424 S. Gay Street

This building was housed Woodruff’s Department Store, one of the city’s longest running businesses.  It was built on Knoxville’s “old baseball grounds.” If you go inside to eat lunch at the Downtown Grill & Brewery that is now there, be on the lookout for the ghost of the White Mule!  Legend has it that before the building was constructed, a gypsy circus preformed on the baseball grounds.  During one of the performances, its prized, and very rare white mule died leaving a curse on the land.  In 1897, the original Woodruff’s was completely destroyed when it burned down in the “Million Dollar Fire” that almost razed the entire city block on the east side of Gay Street.  Then in 1904, an accidental dynamite explosion tore apart the front of the building.  Coincidence or curse?  You decide.

Hyatt Place Hotel (The Farragut Hotel)

530 S. Gay Street

During the Roaring 1920’s, one of the fanciest places to stay downtown was the Farragut Hotel. Many  famous people stayed here, including Babe Ruth and the 1934 New York Yankees. Along with famous guests, several important events happened here as well.  The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra formed in the old ballroom led by Bertha Walburn Clark. Other meetings held here led to the formation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and it was here that the American college Southeastern Conference was established in 1932.  It was also one of the earliest hotels in Knoxville to desegregate, and by the late 1960’s James Brown (an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer, and bandleader in the 1950’s, 60’s, and 70’s) launched his local radio station in the basement of the hotel, operating from 1968 – 1979.

East Tennessee History Center

601 S. Gay Street

This building is the home of the East Tennessee History Museum (if you have time, check it out), the East Tennessee Historical Society, and the McClung Historical Collection (a large reference library of local history and genealogy). The main entrance of the building located on Gay Street was built in more recent years, however the the rear of the building located a block over on Market Street is significantly historic. Built with local Tennessee marble in 1874 as the Custom House, it also served as the Knoxville’s main post office. On the third floor, the large reading room once served as a federal courtroom where infamous outlaw Kid Curry was tried in, before his infamous jailbreak in 1903.

Tennessee Theater 

604 S. Gay Street

The Tennessee Theater open in 1928 as a grand entertainment palace showing silent movies and big theater shows. One show even had a live horse up on stage!  In the 1950’s and ’60’s the theater hosted the world premieres of several notable movies, bringing famous movie stars to Knoxville. In 1977, the theater stopped showing movies and only opened for special performances. The limited size of the stage prevented large Broadway shows coming to the Tennessee, but a major renovation in the early 2000s expanded the stage back out over State Street. Plus, a large elevator was placed on the side of the stage so that props and sets could be lifted up to stage level. After a major renovation, the theater that we know and love today reopened in 2005.  The interior and exterior of the theater has even been used as filming locations for a couple of recent movies, including October Sky (1999) and The Last Movie Star (2017).

Bijou Theater 

803 S. Gay Street

The Bijou Theater is housed in the one of the oldest buildings in Knoxville.  Originally built in 1816, it has gone under many names but we know it today as the Lamar House.  Over the years the hotel changed ownership and was remodeled several times., but it still stayed one of the most popular hotels in Knoxville.  In 1908 the owners decided to turn the ball room into a theater named the John Wells Bijou Theatre. By 1935, even though there were still occasional performances, the theater was mostly used to show movies. In 1971 the Lamar House was given to a church, and they sold the theater part of the building to a businessman who did not take good care of it. Due to this, the city decided to tear it down. Forward-thinking leaders formed a new nonprofit organization, Knox Heritage, to successfully preserve the historic theatre in the mid-1970s. The theater has undergone several renovations over the years, but is now recognized as a cultural gem.

The Old Knox County Courthouse

300 Main Street (Corner of S. Gay and Main)

Knoxville has had four Knox County courthouses built in or around this location over the years.  This one was finished in 1886. In the days before television and video games, people would gather on the courthouse lawn to witness high-profile trials through the courthouses open windows. The remains of Revolutionary War hero and first governor of the state of Tennessee, John Sevier, are buried in front of the courthouse, along with his wife Bonnie Kate. Today, the courthouse is used for several public purposes, but most of the local courts are operated in the City County Building behind it.

The Andrew Johnson Building

912 S. Gay Street

When it was completed in 1929, the Andrew Johnson Hotel was the tallest building, not just in Knoxville, but in all of East Tennessee.  The brand-new Great Smoky Mountains National Park was about to open and the largest, most luxurious hotel in Knoxville was ready to receive the park’s first visitors. Many famous old-time musicians and actors, royalty from other countries, and politicians stayed here. One name that you might recognize is Ameilia Earhart!  The pioneering aviator (and first women to fly across the Atlantic Ocean on her own) stayed at the hotel in 1936 when she went on a solo driving trip in the Smokies. Sadly, just about a year later, her airplane disappeared in the South Pacific, never to be found.

Blount Mansion

200 Hill Avenue (Corner of S. Gay and Hill Ave.)

While it may not seem like a mansion today, when it was built in 1792 (before Tennessee was even a state), it was one of the first “frame houses” in the region. It also had glass windows, which was very rare in this part of the country at that time, and the native Americans that lived in the area called it “the House with Many Eyes”.  It was the home of Governor William Blount and his family.  Blount came here when he was the governor of the Southwest Territory before the state of Tennessee was created in 1796 in Knoxville. The house has a long history (a story for another time and guide! Learn more here.

Gay Street Bridge

End of S. Gay Street

The south end of Gay Street connects to the South side of Knoxville with The Gay Street Bridge.  This steel bridge was built in 1898 for pedestrians and horses, however, once the automobile came along, it was determined to be strong enough for them too.  A novel written by a famous Knoxville author in 1979 describes the bridge in several different scenes. However, the most famous story regarding the Gay Street Bridge occurred in June of 1903.  when Wild-West outlaw Kid Curry escape from the courthouse jail, stole the sheriff’s horse and rode across the bridge never to be seen again!

Congratulations!

You found all the buildings!

Remember if you would like for any of your selfies to possibly appear in KHP Media, you can email them (with your parents’ permission) to nicolestahl@knoxhistoryproject.org


People of Gay Street

 

Here’s a few facts on all the Knoxville characters found in the puzzle:

Peter Staub – Peter immigrated from Switzerland when he was 27 years old and settled in Knoxville in 1856.  In 1872 he opened the city’s first opera house, Staub’s Theater, which once stood across Gay Street from The Bijou Theater.  He also served two separate terms as the mayor and helped to develop the city’s public school district.

 

Joseph Mabry II – Joseph was born in West Knoxville, near what is now consider Concord.  In his day, Mabry was one of Knoxville’s most influential citizens. He was a businessman that dealt in land and the railroad.  In 1853, Mabry and his brother-in-law donated a piece of land downtown for a Farmer’s Market.  In the contract with the city, it was stated that the land could only be used for that purpose, and if it was that it would need to be returned to the Mabry Family. Can you guess where that piece of land is?  Market Square! Yup, that same piece of land is stilled used today as a marketplace, with shops, events, and even and actual Farmer’s Market on Wednesdays and Saturdays through the spring and summer.

Joseph’s relation to Gay Street is a sad story.  About a year after Joseph’s son, Will, was killed in a fight at a saloon, he and his other son were involved in a wild-west style shoot out in the middle of Gay Street.  Joseph blamed a man name Thomas O’Conner for setting up the situation that ultimately led to Will’s death.  After some threats and confrontations, O’Conner stepped outside the Mechanics National Bank, where he worked, and saw Joseph walking down Gay Street, he grabbed his rifle and shot Joesph right then and there. Several buildings away, Joseph Mabry III heard the commotion and went to investigate. When he saw what had happened to his father, he drew his pistol and shot Thomas.  However, as Thomas was falling to the ground, he managed to take a shot back and hit Joseph III.  Sadley all three men died that day.


Thomas O’Conner – Thomas was born in Virginia and came to Knoxville in the 1830s as a harness maker. His business improved just around the time the Civil War began and he enlisted in the Confederate Army. After the war he moved to Atlanta and made a fortune as a shrewd businessman. He moved back to Tennessee and became part owner of Tennessee Coal and Iron.  He travelled back and forth between Knoxville and Nashville conducting business.  One of his business transactions brought him into contact with Joseph Mabry II and you know how that story ends!

 

Lawson McGhee – If you live in Knoxville, chances are you have heard of the Lawson McGhee Library that sits downtown on West Church Avenue. Did you know that it is currently the oldest library in the state of Tennessee? In 1883 a man named Charles McClung McGhee found out that his daughter had suddenly passed away.  Two years later he donated $50,000 (that is around $161,000 today!) to start a library in memory of her.  So, the Lawson McGhee Library was established in the Rebori Building at 125 Gay Street (diagonally across the street from KHP).

*Scruffy Fun Fact – The library was dedicated on October 28, 1886, which was the very same day that the Statue of Liberty was being dedicate in New York City!*

After Knoxville established a city-wide public library system, the books from the Lawson McGhee library were turned over, under the condition that the Lawson McGhee name lived on.

 

The Sterchi Brothers – In 1888 brothers, John Calvin and William Henry took$800 and founded the Sterchi Brothers Furniture Company. The company thrived and began to expand out of Knoxville and out to other East Tennessee towns. Their store was originally near the Woodruff Building, but it was destroyed in the 1897 fire that took out almost a whole block of Gay Street.  They built a new warehouse, which is now the Emporium Building that is on your Selfie Scavenger Hunt! Don’t be confused by the Sterchi Lofts which are a few buildings down from the Emporium.  It is named so, due to it being the headquarters for the over 48 stores and five manufacturing plants that were now five manufacturing plants that were spread across the southeastern United States.

 

Harold Shersky – Harold’s Deli used to sit at 131 S. Gay Street.  For 57 years, Harold ran this rare Kosher (type of food that people of the Jewish faith are allowed to eat). When WNOX radio station was across the street, the deli was often visited by country music stars.

 

Robert “Bob” Booker – Bob was born in Knoxville in 1935.  He grew up on the east side of the city which was then called “The Bottom”, the poorest, black community in East Knoxville back in the 1930s.  It was around where the Baseball Stadium now is.  Booker grew up during the time of segregation and began to notice it at a young age when he was made to go through different entrances at theaters. At the age of 17 he joined the army and spent 3 years in France and England. When asked about his time overseas he said, “For the first time in my life I was free. I could eat in any restaurant, stay in any hotel, go see any movie or any play, anywhere I wanted to go! For three years, free!”

Back home as an Army veteran, he attended Knoxville College, and his tall, commanding presence made him a natural for student-body president—and as the local leader of a national movement. He saw Martin Luther King make his only public address in Knoxville, on the big lawn at KC in May 1960, and knew it was a significant moment. It was just as Knoxville’s downtown sit-ins were commencing, with Bob at the lead. He traveled and worked in Africa. He was a public-school teacher in Chattanooga for a while, teaching French, which he had picked up in Europe. Later he was up north for a bit working in promotions, but he kept returning home to Knoxville. In 1966 he was elected as Knoxville’s first black Tennessee State Representative. In the 1970’s he served as administrative assistant to Mayor Kyle Testerman, and on the Tennessee Civil Service Commission. Later he served on Knoxville City Council. For 11 years, he was the executive director for the Beck Cultural Exchange Center. We are also proud to say that he was an inaugural Board Member for the Knoxville History Project.

 

Cal Johnson – Caldonia “Cal” Johnson was born in Knoxville one October 14, 1844. His parents were the slaves of Colonel Pless McClung whose house was where the Hyatt Place Hotel stands today.  After a rough start to life, he got a job as a cook and bartender.  By 1879 he had saved up enough money to lease a building at the corner of Gay and Wall Street and he opened his first of three saloons (or bars).  He became a very successful businessman, owning not only his saloons, but racehorses, a racetrack, and multiple real estate investments. This was a very big deal considering his parents had been slaves. One of Johnson’s most famous saloons and businesses, the Lone Tree was named for the only tree on Gay Street at the time, which happened to be right near the entrance.

 

David Henly – Most cities are formed within a state.  Knoxville is unique in that the state of Tennessee was formed in the city.  in 1796, 55 early frontier leaders (most of them were veterans of the Revolutionary War), met on Gay Street in what they called a “Constitutional Convention”.  It was there that these leaders basically came up with the states laws and wrote Tennessee’s first constitution. The site of this Constitutional Convention was the office of a federal agent named David Henley, located at the southwest corner of what is now Gay Street and Church Avenue.  Today it is a parking lot.

 

Charles McClung – After James White came to the Southwest Territory and set aside the land for a town that he named Knoxville (for his boos Henry Knox), he hired Charels McClung to divide and draw up a map of lots that he could sell. Set right up against the river, McClung drew up a rectangular grid, which our current downtown still roughly looks like.  A year later he planned a road leading west from downtown which now leads all the way out to the next county, and we know as Kingston Pike.  McClung also served as Knox County’s first court clerk and was one of the 55 men who helped draft Tennessee’s original constitution.

 

Dolly Parton – You may have heard about Dolly Parton, maybe even have been to Dollywood, but did you know that Dolly got her start singing right here on Gay Street?  Dolly was born in January of 1946.  She and her 11 siblings were raised by their parents on a very small farm and while they were clothed, washed and fed, there were no comforts or luxuries.  From a very young age Dolly dreamed that she would become a famous singer, and she wrote her first song when she was just five years old!  Lucky for her, her uncle recognized her talents and would bring her to Knoxville to sing on the radio.  By age 10 she was a regular on not only the radio, but television as well.  After she graduated from high school, Dolly moved to Nashville and the rest, as they say, is history.

 

Frances Hodgson Burnett – Frances was born in Manchester, England, but after her father died the family began to struggle, so her mother moved the family to New Market, TN.  Frances began writing at the age of 19 as a way to help out the family financially.  After her mother died, Frances moved to Knoxville where she met and married Swan Burnett. Frances’ most memorable books include:  The Secret Garden and A Little Princess.