Stories

Researched narratives from Knoxville’s past
Magnificent Distractions: Christmas, 1916, Saw a Promenade of American Show Biz
December 22, 2016
If you were to step back 100 years, a lot of things would be familiar. Christmas trees, both the big public one near Market Street and the one at home, glowed with electric...
Two Rebels: Remembering Avon Rollins and Otis Stephens
December 15, 2016
As several friends have remembered since his death in 2016, Avon Rollins was a key figure in local civil-rights history. The Knoxville native was one of the University of Tennessee’s...
The Attorney-Toreador of Gay Street
December 8, 2016
There’s a story people of a certain age tell this time of year, of the prominent lawyer who, wearing mainly a nightshirt, rode down Gay Street on a bull, as thousands cheered....
Jazz Piano Genius James Booker’s Mysterious Knoxville Concert
December 1, 2016
Earlier this year a couple of readers alerted me to an electronic curiosity making the rounds. James Booker, who died in 1983 at the age of 43, was a genius of jazz piano,...
A Knoxville Thanksgiving
November 22, 2016
There was a time when the family holiday was less predictable. Although Thanksgiving harks back to an event in 1621, it wasn’t commonly celebrated nationally until the middle...
Does Knoxville’s Elusive City Flag Need a Makeover?
November 22, 2016
A recent weekly history page, sponsored by the Knoxville History Project, stirred up some interest in Knoxville’s ancient city flag. Long neglected, forgotten, practically...
Blount Mansion, and the Dawn of Preservation
November 17, 2016
This fall is the 90th anniversary of a watershed moment in historic preservation in Knoxville. In 1925, developers were planning the largest hotel ever built in East Tennessee,...
A Short History of Sharp’s Ridge Memorial Park
November 10, 2016
Established as a war memorial about 70 years ago, the ridgetop park is drawing new interest. Sharp’s Ridge, Knoxville’s highest summit, straddles the northern part of town....
Two Endangered Musical Landmarks—and a Third That May Yet Have Hope
November 8, 2016
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the the old WNOX auditorium’s awkward fix. The state-of-the-art 1955 broadcasting and recording landmark at Whittle Springs never found...


Page 12 of 29



  • PARTNERS

  • Knoxville Mercury

  • Knox Heritage

  • East Tennessee Historical Society

  • Visit Knoxville

  • Knox County Public Library

  • Tennessee Archive of Moving Image and Sound