Downtown Knoxville
Out now, this brand-new photographic book chronicles the story of downtown Knoxville through 180 vintage photos, maps, and illustrations from local archives and collections. From the postcolonial years through the Civil War and onward to Knoxville’s emergence as an industrial city, downtown is where everything happened, the setting of the city’s most memorable stories and legends. It's available for $23.99 at KnoxvilleHistoryProject.org, the Museum of East Tennessee History, Union Ave Books, and other downtown stores.
Empire Building
Located on the northeast corner of W. Church Avenue and Market Street (then known as Prince Street), and designed by Knoxville architect Albert Baumann, construction on the Empire Building began in 1901. The Knoxville Journal and Tribune reported that “the building will be of the finest modern office construction with steel and concrete floors and roof, making it absolutely fireproof,” an important distinction in the wake of the catastrophic 1897 fire on Gay Street. Replacing a residential dwelling on that corner, the new Empire building, once completed, claimed to be Knoxville’s tallest building, being nearly twice the height of the Deadrick building, its neighbor immediately to the north. The Empire Building was torn down in the 1970s. Shared by Alec Riedl.
Holston Bank Building
When completed in 1912, the Holston Bank Building was the tallest building in Knoxville. In 1928, the Holston merged with Union National Bank and a year later two additional floors. During the Great Depression, Holston Bank failed and then the Hamilton National Bank established itself in the building, as seen here on a busy Gay Street during the 1930s. By the 1940s, the building hosted the offices of the FBI and radio station WROL. At the time, they were broadcasting the early work of Tennessee Ernie Ford and Flatt and Scruggs. The building was converted in recent years into luxury condos. Shared by Alec Riedl.
Hotel Arnold
Located on the southwest corner of W. Church Avenue and Locust Street the Arnold Hotel was developed in 1928, converted from a 1923 apartment building named for the former family who owned this spot. The hotel was said to have a “palatial” feel to it with “dark marble walls (that) gleam with inlaid pearl.” Knoxville-based Sterchi Brothers were awarded the contract to furnish the hotel. The hotel was razed not long after the Tennessee Supreme Court was built adjacent to it in 1963. The Church and Henley apartments are being constructed there today. Shared by Alec Riedl.
Arnstein Building
Designed by Cleverdon and Putzel of New York, Knoxville’s first steel-frame “skyscraper” was built in 1906 by Max Arnstein, a German Jewish merchant who ran what was considered the city's finest department store, especially known for women's fashions from Europe. The seven-story Neoclassical building was adorned with Renaissance Revival detailing. The store closed in 1928, but the couple remains fondly remembered locally. Max’s wife, Lalla, became one of Knoxville's first female elected officials, serving as a member of Knox County Court from 1924 until 1930 when the couple moved to New York. Since then, the building has hosted offices of Tennessee Valley Authority and later 13-30 Corp., when it owned Esquire Magazine. It now contains residences, offices, and retail. Shared by Alec Riedl.
We are always on the lookout for old images for our Knoxville Shoebox digital collection. If you have interesting photographs, from any era, we’d love to hear from you so we can preserve the visual history of Knoxville and make them available for researchers of the future. Please contact us at (865) 337-7723 or email Paul@KnoxHistoryProject.org. Learn more at KnoxvilleHistoryProject.org