This month, the Knoxville History Project is revisiting its popular photographic book, Downtown Knoxville, published by Arcadia Publishing as part of its popular “Images of America” series.
The 126-page photographic book chronicles the story of downtown Knoxville, the site of the city’s most memorable stories and legends, through a fascinating collection of 180 vintage photos, maps, and illustrations. The photographs here can all be found in the remarkable Thompson Photograph Collection at the McClung Historical Collection. Jim Thompson (1880-1976) began his long career photographing the aftermath of the catastrophic Gay Street Fire of 1897, and later developed a lifelong interest in documenting the mountain peaks, streams, and other natural features of the Great Smoky Mountains. Indeed, without Thompson’s arresting panoramic prints, park commissioners, who, in 1924, were in charge of recommending locales for a new national park in the east, may never have even visited the Smokies.
Downtown Knoxville is available at knoxvillehistoryproject.org and local bookshops and gift stores, including the Museum of East Tennessee History and Union Ave Books.
Park Commissioners
Keystone Studios cameramen were at the Farragut Hotel in August 1924 to shoot Park Commission members here visiting the Great Smoky Mountains to determine its potential to become a national park. Col. David Chapman, leader of the Great Smoky Mountains Conservation Association (at right in central cluster), led efforts to make sure it was a success. This December will mark the 100th anniversary of the official birth of the robust movement, which ultimately involved more than 6,600 separate property acquisitions to create the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The park opened unofficially in 1930, and is now the most visited national park in the nation. (Thompson Photograph Collection, Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection.)
Rebori Building at Gay and Vine
The Rebori Building, at Gay Street at Vine Avenue, was occupied by Moser’s Furniture as shown here in December 1940. When completed in 1886, the building served as Knoxville’s first public library. It was purchased in 1915 by Italian street vendor Fiorenzo Rebori, an immigrant from Genoa, who sold roasted peanuts from dawn until midnight in the low-slung building alongside it until his death at age 82 in 1946. The edge of the building on the right was part of the 200 block that was demolished in the 1970s to make way for Summit Hill Drive. (Thompson Photograph Collection, McClung Historical Collection.)
Walnut Street
This circa 1935 photograph of Walnut Street looks south toward Union Avenue. In the middle of the busy block is a Chinese-owned business, the George Loo Hand Laundry, as well as a shoe shop, a billiard parlor, and an early location of Greenlee’s Bicycle Store. Today, this section of Walnut is occupied by a parking building and a surface parking lot. However, the Daylight Building, on the corner of Walnut and Union Avenue (at the top of the picture) is today a vibrant retail and restaurant space with high in-demand condominiums above. The taller building across the street from the Daylight is the Pembroke apartment building, formerly the New Sprankle building where TVA once had its main offices. (Thompson Photograph Collection, McClung Historical Collection.)
Candy Factory
Founded by Henry Littlefield and Arthur Steere around 1890, Littlefield & Steere offered a wide range of sweets for a national market. In 1915 the company built a large, freestanding factory at the western end of the Clinch Avenue viaduct where they employed 200 candy makers. It closed during the Depression and served as a warehouse until the 1982 World’s Fair, when its candy-making heritage was revived. A chocolate-making operation survived in the building until the early 21st century. It’s now a luxury residential building. (Thompson Photograph Collection, McClung Historical Collection.)
About KHP
The mission of the Knoxville History Project (KHP) is to research, preserve, and promote the history and culture of Knoxville, Tennessee. Donations to support the work of the Knoxville History Project, an educational nonprofit, are always welcome and appreciated. KHP’s publications also include Historic Bearden: The 200-year story of Knoxville’s Fourth Creek Valley, and numerous story collections including the “Knoxville Lives” series. Copies are available at KnoxvilleHistoryProject.org and local bookstores, including Union Ave Books.