Market Square: The Heart of Knoxville's Downtown Rejuvenation
Market Square has become the heart of downtown Knoxville - again. For 150 years the Square has hummed with the city’s most vibrant activities. In 2003, Kathy Shorr of The Boston Globe wrote: “Over its rich history, it has held, among other things, a farmers' market, cafes and restaurants, stove factories, boutiques, boarding houses, fancy apartments, saloons, nightclubs, movie theaters, a police station, and a steam-engine fire hall.” It was in Market Square that the Union’s General Burnside dumped his army’s ammunition during the Civil War, and it was in an office on the Square that Adolph Ochs, creator of the New York Times, began his journalistic career in the 1870s. Throughout all this and so much more, Market Square never lost position as Knoxville’s touchstone.
Creative Commons photo by Pattie
Today, this pedestrian-only block is still framed with historic buildings that are populated with businesses at the street level and, in many cases, revitalized loft homes on the upper floors. Jack Neely, Knoxville’s beloved city historian, calls today’s Square “a beautiful place, beautiful in the variety of its brick architecture: two, three, and four stories tall, mostly post-Civil War Victorian with some cleaner 20th-century styles in the mix….(I)t's home to four restaurants, several comfortable residences, a good tailor, two architectural firms, two art galleries, a small luxury hotel, and a dress shop.” Along with these establishments are a few gift shops, a modern furniture store, and a couple neighborhood bars. Most believe that the next few years will bring even more businesses to the Square, and for good reason.
In the mid-2000s, city leaders sought to focus attention, once again, on Market Square development; it had, for some time, languished in disrepair. Previous leadership hadn’t taken much interest in revitalization leaving the Square and surrounding streets to those business owners willing to make little profit or live with losses. For those who stayed, it was a labor of love. Then, in 2003, a new mayor and several restless city administrators linked with city planners, developers, the Chamber and other development agencies, businesses, and park designers to engineer a new downtown Knoxville. The plan took hold and in fewer than five years the city has taken on new life. According to Jack Neely, some call it “Renaissance Knoxville” while others call it “Convention-Center-Related Development.” Whatever it’s called, central in focus is Market Square.
In the midst of the flurry of downtown development and redevelopment, the Square sits calmly at the center, like the eye of a storm. That’s not to say that there’s nothing happening; the opposite is true. Market Square offers so much that it has become the place to start the evening, the place to meet first before walking the block to Gay Street to have a drink at Sapphire or to visit the Tennessee Theater, or before walking to Volunteer Landing for a stroll along the Tennessee River. Because of the Square’s many events, its friendly design, its shops, restaurants, and business offices that have become so familiar to Knoxvillians, Market Square has become the go-to place.
A snapshot of events on the Square include: The Market Square Farmers’ Market, open every Wednesday and Saturday from May through November. A Holiday Farmers’ Market, featuring holiday-related items, is open December 8, 15, 22, and 29. Beginning on November 23, an ice skating rink will be set up on the Square for Knoxville’s Holidays on Ice. This popular event drew 16,000 visitors last year. For the past ten years Thursday nights have brought Sundown in the City to the Square. From April to June, headliner concerts are offered on the Square’s permanent outdoor stage; each show draws 8,000-10,000 people. For more information about these events and more, visit the Market Square District Association’s website.
