Don't Knock Knoxville -- Article about my City!

[KnoxvilleDoula]

Don't Knock Knoxville

Fun Along the Banks of the Tennessee River

by Elissa Gilbert

It's easy to pass Knoxville by as you head to the nearby Smoky Mountains. But this small city on the banks of the Tennessee River has a surprising number of attractions to satisfy whatever interests your family has.

The Sports Scene

A building-size basketball sinks into the net outside the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. The hall traces women's basketball from the days when players wore long skirts and the basket was closed on bottom right up to Olympians and the All-Americans today. An early announcer exclaimed, "She handles the ball as well as she handles a lipstick!" and the early locker room was a maintenance closet, but you move quickly past that to a shiny modern locker room where coaches work up plays. You can join a huddle and listen in to a real coach giving instructions to the team at a critical point in the game. If the exhibits don't grab you, head to the lower level where kids can practice their dribbling technique and measure their jumping ability against champions. Visit www.wbhof.com for more information.

Back to Nature

The river front at Volunteer Landing (www.visitvolunteerlanding.com) offers a chance to watch boats on the Tennessee River either from a swinging bench or one of the waterside restaurants.

The walk along the river parallels railroad tracks, and you can hop onboard the historic Three Rivers Rambler train (www.threeriversrambler.com), which rumbles along the riverbanks past farmland and quarries to the point where the French Broad and Holston Rivers join to form the Tennessee River. Or explore the river on the Tennessee Riverboat paddlewheeler (www.tnriverboat.com). You can buy a combination ticket for the Hall of Fame, train and boat ride. If you prefer, you can rent a boat from the marina and explore the river on your own.

The World's Fair was held in Knoxville in 1982 and World's Fair Park (www.worldsfairpark.com) still houses attractions, including the giant Sunsphere (a tower topped with a bronzed glass sphere that reminded me of the giant basketball outside the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame!), Fort Kid playground, a geyser and an interactive fountain to splash through.

The History

Can a house be called a mansion if it only has four rooms? The Blount Mansion (www.blountmansion.org) was the height of elegance compared to its neighbors on the Tennessee frontier when it was built in 1792. Made from sawn boards, not rough-cut logs, it had so many windows the local Cherokee called it "the house of many eyes." Mansion or not, life was hard on the frontier: There's a bed in the dining room! The upstairs children's rooms feature simple toys like marbles for the boys and a spoon doll for the girls, nothing more than a wooden spoon with a face drawn on it wrapped in a few scraps of cloth. You can learn some linguistic history as well; tools in the house explain the origins of the phrases "sleep tight" and "pop goes the weasel!"

Compare the Blount Mansion with James White's Fort (www.jameswhitesfort.org) built just a few years earlier by Knoxville's founder. The rough log cabins on the site are more typical of frontier living!

Science and Animals

For hands-on science adventures, visit the East Tennessee Discovery Center (www.etdiscovery.org). Physical sciences exhibits include demonstrations of how simple machines like levers and pulleys offer enormous assistance in tasks like lifting weights. Kids can build their own simple machines in the Lego Lab. Life sciences exhibits include insects and favorite bugs like hissing cockroaches and tarantulas and bees.

For cuddlier living creatures, visit the Knoxville Zoo (www.knoxville-zoo.org). The zoo features wildlife from around the world, including the rare African wild dog, but the star attractions are the local American black bears. (If you're heading to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, there are two bears per acre, but while you'll probably be close to a bear, despite highly publicized encounters, odds are you won't see one in the wild.) There's also a children's zoo with barnyard animals to pet, and the chance to ride a camel or burro.

Scouting

If there's a Girl Scout in your family, you might visit Daisy's Place Girl Scout Museum (www.knoxalliance.com/visitors/girlscout.html). The museum has early badges, uniforms and other memorabilia. Scouts can also complete badge requirements at the museum.

Musically Inclined

Nashville may be Music City, but Knoxville has its own musical claims to fame. Country music fans should pick up the country music walking tour brochure available at the Knoxville Visitor Center. It was at a store in Market Square where an RCA talent scout heard Elvis Presley's "That's All Right, Mama" playing on loudspeakers, leading RCA to buy Elvis's contract from Sun Studios. Other performers starting or ending careers here include Roy Acuff and Hank Williams.

Where to Stay

Most of the attractions are downtown, so a downtown hotel will be most convenient for a short visit. A few of your choices are the Knoxville Marriott next to the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame; the Hilton Knoxville, a short walk from Volunteer Landing and the river; and the Holiday Inn Select Downtown, convenient to the World's Fair Park and the university campus.

There aren't any B&B's to recommend downtown. Head on toward the Smokies for a non-hotel stay. In Sevierville, Persephone's Farm Retreat (www.bbonline.com/tn/persephones) is a fun place for the family, with a donkey, miniature horses and a henhouse where kids can collect eggs. You can also stay in Townsend or Gatlinburg, both right outside Great Smoky Mountains National Park (www.nps.gov/grsm). You'll find a wide variety of accommodations including hotels, cabin rentals and bed and breakfasts. Visit www.smokymountains.org or www.gatlinburg.com for options. Gatlinburg has a busy main strip with lots of activities for children, including an aquarium, miniature golf and motion simulator rides, while Townsend offers a quieter atmosphere. Information on activities in the park is available at www.nps.gov/grsm.

Where to Eat

There are many places to eat along the river front and in the center of town, as well as near the UT campus. Check out www.knoxmenus.com to see what's on the menu before heading out. Here are a few places to try:

• The Tomato Head in Market Square (www.thetomatohead.com, 12 Market Square, 865-637-4067)
  Enjoy pizza, soups and whole or half sandwiches at a table inside or out.
• Calhoun's On the River (www.calhouns.com, 400 Neyland Dr., 865-673-3355)
  A restaurant known for its ribs. Here you can watch boats go by from a table indoors or out.
• Old College Inn (www.oldcollegeinn.com, 2204 Cumberland Ave., 865-523-4597)
  A popular spot right on the strip near the UT campus.
• Buddy's Bar-B-Q (www.buddysbarbq.com)
  Several locations. Great barbecue served with hush puppies and sweet tea is a great Southern twist on fast food.

Getting Around Town

A free trolley runs between many of the attractions in Knoxville (weekdays only, unfortunately). There are four routes covering the city and campus, as well as connections to the city bus service. Visit the Knoxville Area Transit Web site, www.katbus.com, or call 865-637-7000 for transportation information.

[emf6874]

Jan. 7, 2009 at 6:14 PM

I lived in Knoxville for about a year, walking distance from UT... I LOVED it! I miss it a lot sometimes.