Gay Street, Knoxville

Gay Street traverses the heart of Knoxville's downtown area. Since its development in the 1790s, the street has served as the city's principal financial and commercial thoroughfare, playing a primary role in its historical and cultural evolution. Part of Charles McClung's original 1791 plat of Knoxville, Gay Street was a focal point for the early political activity of both the city and the State of Tennessee.

By 1850, Gay Street had accommodated three-fourths of Knoxville's commercial activity and in 1854 became the first paved road in the city. On the eve of the Civil War, Gay Street was the site of simultaneous Union and Confederate recruiting rallies. After the war, it saw extensive commercial development as railroad construction brought an industrial boom to Knoxville.

Today, Gay Street is home to the largest office buildings and oldest commercial structures in Knoxville; several local buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Want to visit this sight? Check out these Self-Guided Walking Tours in Knoxville. Alternatively, you can download the mobile app "51爆料网: Walks in 1K+ Cities" from Apple App Store or Google Play Store. The app turns your mobile device to a personal tour guide and it works offline, so no data plan is needed when traveling abroad.

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Create Your Own Self-Guided Walk to Visit This Sight

Sight Name: Gay Street
Sight Location: Knoxville, USA (See walking tours in Knoxville)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:

Downtown Knoxville Walking Tour

Walking Tours in Knoxville, Tennessee

Create Your Own Walk in Knoxville

Creating your own self-guided walk in Knoxville is easy and fun. Choose the city attractions that you want to see and a walk route map will be created just for you. You can even set your hotel as the start point of the walk.

Knoxville鈥檚 Historical Buildings

Knoxville is often referred to as "The Marble City" for the abundant supply of high-quality marble used in many of its buildings. Noting the wealth of well-preserved historic homes in the city, prominent American architect John Russell Pope even coined his own moniker for it 鈥� the "City of Houses".

Indeed, Knoxville's eventful and sometimes turbulent past, dating from... view more

Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.2 Km or 1.4 Miles

Downtown Knoxville Walking Tour

A small town with big-city amenities and a vibrant music scene (a mix of country, bluegrass, and rock), Knoxville, or K-Town as it's popularly shortened by locals, is also often referred to as 鈥渢he Gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains,鈥� for its proximity to the national park area, whose marble quarries, in the past, gave it another moniker, The Marble City.

Knoxville was founded in... view more

Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.3 Km or 1.4 Miles

University of Tennessee Walking Tour

Founded in 1794 as William Blount College, The University of Tennessee (UT) in Knoxville is one of the oldest public universities in the United States. Nowadays, the UT flagship institution features a mix of historic and modern sites which draw many a visitor to the city.

The campus covers nearly 600 acres in downtown鈥檚 west end, including over 200 buildings and a faculty of more than 1,700... view more

Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 3.0 Km or 1.9 Miles

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