West Knoxville

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West Knoxville is a section of Knoxville, Tennessee, US. It is west of the city's downtown area. It stretches from Sequoyah Hills on the east to the city's border with Farragut on the west. West Knoxville is concentrated around Kingston Pike (US-70/US-11), and along with Sequoyah Hills includes the neighborhoods of Lyons View, Forest Hills, Bearden, West Hills, Westmoreland Heights, Cedar Bluff, and Ebenezer. [1] [2]

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"West Knoxville" originally referred to the area immediately west of Second Creek, i.e., what is now Fort Sanders and the University of Tennessee (UT) campus, which were incorporated as the City of West Knoxville in 1888. [3] This city was annexed by Knoxville in 1897, and Fort Sanders and UT are now part of downtown Knoxville. [4] Continued improvements along Kingston Pike, namely the paving of the road to the county line in 1892 [3] and the laying of trolley tracks to Lyon's View Pike in 1913, encouraged westward expansion. [5] Sequoyah Hills and Lyon's View Pike were annexed in 1917, and Bearden and West Hills were annexed in 1962.

West Knoxville's first economic boom came in the 1920s and 1930s, when Kingston Pike was part of a merged section of two popular cross-country tourist routes, the Dixie Highway and the Lee Highway. [6] In recent decades, the construction of dozens of shopping plazas in West Knoxville, beginning with Western Plaza in 1957, and the completion of West Town Mall in 1972, caused Knoxville's primary retail corridor to shift from downtown Knoxville to Kingston Pike, where it remains. [7] West Knoxville's most recent major shopping complex, the 358-acre (145 ha) Turkey Creek, opened in 2002. [8]

Throughout the 20th century, West Knoxville was settled by affluent Knoxvillians and newcomers to the Knoxville area, many of whom held more liberal political views than residents in other parts of the city. [8] The annexation of large parts of West Knoxville in 1962 brought into the city large numbers of voters who helped elect one of Knoxville's most progressive city councils in decades in 1964. [8] West Knoxville is also known for aggressive neighborhood advocacy groups, such as the Kingston Pike Sequoyah Hills Association and the West Hills Community Association.[ citation needed ]

Notable people Betsy Henderson school board chair

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dixie Lee Junction, Tennessee</span> Unincorporated community in Tennessee, United States

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sequoyah Hills</span> Neighborhood of Knoxville, Tennessee, United States

Sequoyah Hills is a neighborhood in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, named for the Cherokee scholar Sequoyah. It is located off Kingston Pike, between the city's downtown and West Knoxville. Initially developed in the 1920s, Sequoyah Hills was one of Knoxville's first suburbs and today is home to some of the city's most affluent residents. The neighborhood contains numerous notable examples of mid-20th century residential architecture, with houses designed by architects such as Charles I. Barber, Benjamin McMurry, and Francis Keally.

The Mabry Hood House, also known as the Mabry Hood Mansion, and the Upland South Plantation, was a former cotton plantation and historic antebellum style plantation home once located on the south side of Kingston Pike at the intersection of Mabry Hood Road in Knox County, Tennessee. The vacant home sat in the path of Pellissippi Parkway and was demolished in 1983 after falling into disrepair.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knollwood (Bearden Hill)</span> Historic house in Tennessee, United States

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statesview</span> Historic house in Tennessee, United States

Statesview, or States View, is a historic house located on South Peters Road off Kingston Pike in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. Built in 1805 by Knoxville architect Thomas Hope and rebuilt in 1823 following a fire, Statesview was originally the home of surveyor Charles McClung. Following McClung's death, newspaper publisher Frederick Heiskell purchased the house and estate, which he renamed "Fruit Hill." The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its architecture and political significance.

This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Knox County, Tennessee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingston Pike</span> Highway in Tennessee, U.S.

Kingston Pike is a highway in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, that connects Downtown Knoxville with West Knoxville, Farragut, and other communities in the western part of the county. The road follows a merged stretch of U.S. Route 11 (US 11) and US 70. From its initial construction in the 1790s until the development of the Interstate Highway System in the 1960s, Kingston Pike was the main traffic artery in western Knox County, and an important section of several cross-country highways. The road is now a major commercial corridor, containing hundreds of stores, restaurants, and other retail establishments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tennessee State Route 71</span> State highway in Tennessee, United States

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tennessee State Route 158</span> Highway in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States

State Route 158 (SR 158) is a major east–west state highway in the city of Knoxville in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It runs 4.63 miles (7.45 km) from Kingston Pike (US 11/US 70) along the Tennessee River to Interstate 40. The western portion of the highway is a surface street known as Neyland Drive and the eastern part is a controlled-access highway called James White Parkway. The entire highway serves as a bypass of downtown Knoxville and as a direct connector to the University of Tennessee (UT) campus and athletic facilities. Serving as the primary means of access to facilities such as Neyland Stadium and Thompson–Boling Arena, the route experiences congestion on game days, with a contraflow lane reversal implemented to mitigate this. It also serves as a spur into downtown and provides access to a number of local landmarks and historic sites, including the Blount Mansion and James White's Fort.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.S. Route 11 in Tennessee</span> Highway in Tennessee

U.S. Route 11 (US 11) in the U.S. state of Tennessee travels from the Georgia state line in Chattanooga to Knoxville, where it then splits into US 11E and US 11W. These two highways then travel to the Virginia state line near Kingsport and Bristol. During its length, it shares concurrencies with State Route 2 (SR 2) and SR 38.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Knoxville</span>

South Knoxville is the section of Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, that lies south of the Tennessee River. It is concentrated along Chapman Highway, Alcoa Highway, Maryville Pike, Sevierville Pike, and adjacent roads, and includes the neighborhoods of Lindbergh Forest, Island Home Park, Old Sevier, South Haven, Vestal, Lake Forest, South Woodlawn and Colonial Village. South Knoxville is connected to Downtown Knoxville via four vehicle bridges: the James C. Ford Memorial Bridge, the Gay Street Bridge, the Henley Bridge, by some incorrectly called the Henley Street Bridge, and the J. E. "Buck" Karnes Bridge. Parts of South Knoxville were annexed by Knoxville in 1917.

North Knoxville is the section of Knoxville, Tennessee, USA, that lies north of the city's downtown area. It is concentrated around Broadway (US-441), Clinton Highway (US-25W), Tazewell Pike (TN-331), Washington Pike, and adjacent roads, and includes the neighborhoods of Fountain City, Inskip-Norwood, Oakwood-Lincoln Park, Old North Knoxville, Fourth and Gill, North Hills, and Whittle Springs. North Knoxville is bisected by Sharp's Ridge, a 7-mile (11 km) elongate ridge that rises prominently above the surrounding terrain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bearden, Knoxville</span> Neighborhood of Knoxville in Tennessee, United States

Bearden, also known as Bearden Village, is a neighborhood in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, located along Kingston Pike in West Knoxville. Developed primarily as an agrarian community in the 19th century, this neighborhood now lies at the heart of one of Knoxville's major commercial corridors. Named for former Knoxville mayor and Tennessee state legislator, Marcus De Lafayette Bearden (1830–1885), the community was annexed by Knoxville in 1962.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Sanders, Knoxville</span> United States historic place

Fort Sanders is a neighborhood in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA, located west of the downtown area and immediately north of the main campus of the University of Tennessee. Developed in the late 19th century as a residential area for Knoxville's growing upper and middle classes, the neighborhood now provides housing primarily for the university's student population. The neighborhood still contains a notable number of its original Victorian-era houses and other buildings, several hundred of which were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 as the Fort Sanders Historic District.

West Hills is a neighborhood in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, located just off Kingston Pike in West Knoxville. Initially developed in the 1950s, West Hills was Knoxville's first major post-World War II subdivision, and the first subdivision to consist primarily of modern ranch-style houses. While West Knoxville experienced a boom in commercial development in the 1970s and 1980s, West Hills has managed to retain its residential character, due in large part to its aggressive neighborhood advocacy group, the West Hills Community Association.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BarberMcMurry</span> American architecture firm

BarberMcMurry, formerly Barber & McMurry, is an architecture firm based in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. Founded in 1915 by Charles Irving Barber (1887–1962) and Benjamin Franklin McMurry, Sr. (1885–1969), the firm designed dozens of notable houses, churches, schools, and public facilities in Knoxville and the surrounding region in the early 20th century, several of which have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In recent decades, the firm has expanded its focus to include larger-scale projects, such as hospitals, stadiums and retail complexes.

Charles Ives Barber was an American architect, active primarily in Knoxville, Tennessee, and vicinity, during the first half of the 20th century. He was cofounder of the firm, Barber & McMurry, through which he designed or codesigned buildings such as the Church Street Methodist Episcopal Church, South, the General Building, and the Knoxville YMCA, as well as several campus buildings for the University of Tennessee and numerous elaborate houses in West Knoxville. Several buildings designed by Barber have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Knoxville, Tennessee</span>

The History of Knoxville, Tennessee, began with the establishment of James White's Fort on the Trans-Appalachian frontier in 1786. The fort was chosen as the capital of the Southwest Territory in 1790, and the city, named for Secretary of War Henry Knox, was platted the following year. Knoxville became the first capital of the State of Tennessee in 1796, and grew steadily during the early 19th century as a way station for westward-bound migrants and as a commercial center for nearby mountain communities. The arrival of the railroad in the 1850s led to a boom in the city's population and commercial activity.

References

  1. History of Kingston Pike/Sequoyah Hills, 2008. Retrieved: 29 June 2011.
  2. City of Knoxville - Parks (the location of Talahi and Sequoyah parks in Sequoyah Hills are listed in "West"). Retrieved: 29 June 2011.
  3. 1 2 John Wooldridge, George Mellen, William Rule (ed.), Standard History of Knoxville, Tennessee (General Books, 2009), pp. 92-94, 171-173.
  4. City of Knoxville - Parks (James Agee Park in Fort Sanders listed in "Downtown"). Retrieved: 29 June 2011.
  5. Ann Bennett, National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form for Kingston Pike Historic District, January 1996.
  6. Jack Neely, "Down the Dixie Lee Highway," From the Shadow Side: And Other Stories of Knoxville, Tennessee (Tellico Books, 2003), pp. 125-139.
  7. Knoxville-Knox County Metropolitan Planning Commission, West City Sector Plan - Land Use and Development, 9 August 2007. Retrieved: 1 December 2010.
  8. 1 2 3 Bruce Wheeler, Knoxville, Tennessee: A Mountain City in the New South (Knoxville, Tenn.: University of Tennessee Press, 2005), pp. 135, 139, 142, 153, 201.

35°55′54″N84°00′12″W / 35.93170°N 84.00322°W / 35.93170; -84.00322