Knoxville's World's Fair Park and the Sunsphere

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.

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. 

While America seems to have fallen off hosting World's Fairs, they continue on in the rest of the world. If you have a chance to visit one of the sites or landmarks, it's a fun way to learn history and see some cool stuff. 

Have you visited a special structure or building that was built for an event and now is just there for tourism? 

5 Tips for More Efficient Packing

Sometimes we overpack. Maybe instead of sometimes, you're an Always Overpacker™. It's okay. I've been there. Every once in a while I'm still there. I almost never regret taking less than planned, but I always regret taking too much. Like, last trip, I wished I had left some things at home and packed a second dress instead. I know that now and will remember that going forward. Let's look at 5 ways to pack more efficiently:

Stop the what-ifs with these tips, instead of living a "fear-based lifestyle" according to my husband Eric. Use these tips to create a mix-and-match wardrobe with minimal pieces for any length trip. And keep following here for how I packed for my trip to Tennessee that will have highs in the 80s and lows in the 50s and 60s, for both Eric and I, in a large carry-on roller bag.

What do you struggle with most when you pack?

Nashville Wish List

We're Nashville bound soon, but also splitting our time to go to the Pigeon Forge/Sevierville/Gatlinburg area. Why Nashville? Well, I simply looked at places that were still warm in September/October and where we haven't visited and that's how we landed on Music City. We also had been wanting to do Dollywood for a long time.

Photo by Andrew Sterling on Unsplash

As someone who was born in Tennessee, I always think about going back and immersing myself in that atmosphere, the people, the food, and the history. We aren't fans of country music really. I stopped listening in the late 90s and have not really loved most of that genre since. Because of this, we have decided to not visit the Country Music Hall of Fame or the Grand Ole Opry, but there are so many other things to do instead:

Photo by Josh Rocklage on Unsplash

National Museum of African American Music

Black people created country music, despite what you may feel about the industry right now. There have been some inroads made there, but the fact that even Beyoncé didn't even get into the running to win an award in country music shows that it's not enough. Anyway, the NMAAM is a one-of-a-kind museum that showcases all of African American music, which is so varied, and its historical significance. 

Photo by Thomas Le on Unsplash

Nashville Farmer's Market

You know I love a farmers' market and the Nashville Farmer's Market is open 7 days a week and into the evening. I imagine it's a lot like Reading Terminal Market in Philly, but I aim to find out. I feel like this is the place to find the real local foods and authentic meals. I also really love talking to people at a market and learn about their farms, animals, vineyards, and processes. They're always really happy to talk to someone about their work and gives you more perspective on the food you eat and the reasons behind the prices you're paying.

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

Cheekwood Harvest Festival

I've been listening to City Cast Nashville, like I did before going to Denver, and like I do every day for Portland. Their episode on things to do in Nashville in September gave me a few ideas, but the top one was the Cheekwood Harvest Festival. Cheekwood is an estate that you can tour that has a botanical garden, a Japanese garden, art, and more. The harvest festival brings in tons of pumpkins for photo ops (and probably purchase) and they even have a scarecrow trail, with unique scarecrows made by those in the community.

Photo by Mike Gattorna on Unsplash

Riverfront walk

You can't go to a city that has a river and not walk along it. I mean, there's a park to visit, but look at these views!

Photo by Katy Anne on Unsplash

City murals
We've been doing a lot of art walks on our trips, because most major cities (and even a lot of small ones) have a large artistic community that work to beautify a city through large wall murals on the public buildings. I've talked about the guided graffiti art walk we did in Denver, but this time we're going to be taking two separate self-guided walks based on city maps. I'd say to follow me on IG for a lot of free art shots.

Photo by Brian Morin on Unsplash

Parthenon

Nashville has the only full-scale replica of the Parthenon in the world. Once known as "The Athens of the South", Nashville took this to heart when they celebrated 100 years of statehood. They erected this replica of the Greek Parthenon and turned it into an art museum. It creates an affordable way for people to gain access to fine art, history, and education. 

Photo by Chad Morehead on Unsplash

Broadway St

It's clearly a tourist trap, but you can't go to Nashville and skip visiting the most popular street for honky tonk bars. Think of it of the equivalent of New Orleans' Bourbon Street. 

Photo by Blake Guidry on Unsplash

Nashville Hot Chicken

Gotta eat the local foods and Nashville brings the southern comfort foods and brought hot chicken to the people as their foodie contribution. I've only ever had hot chicken at home, so I'm interested to see what it tastes like where it originated.

Photo by Adam Kring on Unsplash

Dollywood

It's not Disneyland, but Dolly Parton has done so much good for her community that even if I thought the theme park would be bad, I'd still want to contribute to this amazing person. Each year, Dollywood unveils a new ride and right now they have a two-days-for-one ticket deal, so even if we don't spend an entire second day there, it's okay. They're having their own harvest festival right now though, so we'll be indulging in all the jack-o-lantern selfies and the harvest food specials. Plus, there's a train!

Photo by Susan Q Yin on Unsplash

Astra Lumina

Astra Lumina is a "Celestial Pathway of Lustrous Light, Cosmic Vsions & Astral song." It looks similar in a way to the Forbidden Forest Experience that I have yet to get to. I found out that Astra Lumina was going to be in Seattle and put myself on the wait list to learn when tickets went on sale, but then I found out that they were going to be in Gatlinburg. We're already going to be 10 minutes away in Dollywood, and though we have to buy day passes to the adventure park it's being held at, it's still more convenient and cheaper than having to plan a separate trip to Seattle.

Photo by Stephen Ellis on Unsplash

Sunsphere
We'll be passing through Knoxville on our way to and from Pigeon Forge. They have a World's Fair Park that is home to the Sunsphere, a big golden sphere that was build for the 1982 World's Fair that offers 360-degree views of downtown Knoxville and the Smoky Mountains. 

We've got a few more things planned for our visit, but these are the must-do things we have on our list and many we've already bought tickets for. If you have suggestions for things we should do, see, or eat, I'd love to see them in the comments. 

Have you been to Nashville or are you hoping to visit?