During our time in Tennessee, we took 3 days to visit the Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg area. On our way, we stopped in Knoxville to have lunch and visit the Sunsphere. You're probably wondering "WTH is the Sunsphere?" Well, I'm going to tell you, just like I told the concierge at our vacation rental (it's a timeshare).
In 1982, Knoxville was the site of the World's Fair (why don't we have these anymore?!) and like all World's Fairs, they needed a gimmick, like Paris had the Eiffel Tower for theirs and Seattle had the Space Needle for theirs. The theme of this fair was Energy and what better way to represent energy than to create an homage to the Earth's greatest source of energy than the sun?
So, Knoxville built a 75-foot golden sphere, atop a 266-foot tall column where people could go up to the observation deck, inside the sphere, and see the whole city in 360 degrees. The entire outside of the sphere is golden glass, where 24k gold dust was used to create an opulent and unique landmark. It cost $2 per person to visit in 1982 and today it's barely much more at just $5 per person.
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| as you can see, the gold glass doesn't make for great pictures |
Outside you can see the river, the whole park, and downtown Knoxville. The entire structure is enclosed and you take an elevator to the "top". Back during the World's Fair, this deck was a restaurant that served things like the sunburger and the sunburst drink, but not anymore. It's not big enough for any concessions, because the space not used for public viewing is commercial space and offices. At one point it was considered the headquarters of a basketball team, because it looks like a basketball!
Fun fact: You can actually see a huge basketball on the top of a building from Sunsphere, and it is home to the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.
Even so, there is a selfie station that doubles as tourist information, there are also Knoxville brochures there, a small gift shop, and an even smaller gift shop at the entrance that is basically the register and info booth, a wall with the story of the Sunsphere, a glass case with items from the World's Fair and construction of the Sunsphere, and a wall with fun art of the World's Fair with the Sunsphere in it. For some reason, there's also a miniature Mrs. Pacman arcade game, but at least two people played it while we were there, so I guess it's popular.
The employees of the Sunsphere are super nice and have a lot of helpful knowing the area. If you have time, you can pick up a walking map and check out some of the public art in the area. We planned to do it on our way back, but it was pouring, so we only stopped for breakfast and to visit a salt room (more on that later). Maybe we'll make another trip out there to explore Knoxville a little more besides seeing the university campus on our drive to get food on the riverfront.
It's not the tallest structure we've ever been in to see the city from above, but it's pretty unique and it defines the Knoxville skyline. Part visitor center, part gift shop, part time capsule, part museum, part tourist attraction, the Sunsphere and World's Fair Park is something different and interesting to break up a road trip or just see a bit of Tennessee's past in the present.
The park has a playground, a war memorial, fountains, an amphitheater, a festival lawn, a stream, walking trails, and a splash pad for the kids. You need to buy timed tickets, since only around 80 people are allowed on the viewing platform at a time (and it seemed crowded at one point with around 15 people up there). We were visiting on a weekday in the off-season, so we purchased tickets when we got there with no problem, but if you're going on a weekend or during the summer, plan ahead.
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Ever wonder what the heck they do with the other buildings and structures they built for the World's Fair when the fair is over? Sometimes they are torn down and sometimes they stay up at tourist attractions, but other times they get repurposed. Sometimes, like here, they take old buildings and breathe new life into them, and then they become even ore useful after the fair is over. So, not only does the World's Fair bring is a ton of visitors and money to the area, but it also creates opportunities afterwards.
Have you visited a special structure or building that was built for an event and now is just there for tourism?
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