World's Fair Park, Knoxville

World's Fair Park, Knoxville (must see)

World's Fair Park is a public space in downtown Knoxville, located on the former grounds of the 1982 World's Fair. Prior to the event, the site was used as a railroad yard and was converted into a park specially for the fair.

After it was closed, in October 1982, the site was cleaned up, pavilions demolished, and throughout the rest of the 1980s and into the early 1990s, the place remained vacant.

The two last standing structures from the exposition, the Sunsphere and the Tennessee Amphitheater are now the park's key attractions. In 2018, the Knoxville City Council approved their $2.5-million renovation, updating the Sunsphere's elevators, replacing HVAC units, repairing windows, and repainting the exterior of both structures.

Apart from these two landmarks, the park features a 5-acre (2.0 ha) performance lawn, currently used for cultural and community events, and a small lake with a fountain.

Surrounding the area are the Knoxville Museum of Art, the Knoxville Convention Center, and the L&N STEM Academy (located at the former Louisville and Nashville station). To the west of the park is the building known as the Candy Factory, which once housed the South, Littlefield & Steere Company and its factory. During the fair, the Candy Factory building was used by the administration.

Want to visit this sight? Check out these Self-Guided Walking Tours in Knoxville. Alternatively, you can download the mobile app "GPSmyCity: Walks in 1K+ Cities" from Apple App Store or Google Play Store. The app turns your mobile device to a personal tour guide and it works offline, so no data plan is needed when traveling abroad.

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World's Fair Park on Map

Sight Name: World's Fair Park
Sight Location: Knoxville, USA (See walking tours in Knoxville)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:

Walking Tours in Knoxville, Tennessee

Create Your Own Walk in Knoxville

Create Your Own Walk in Knoxville

Creating your own self-guided walk in Knoxville is easy and fun. Choose the city attractions that you want to see and a walk route map will be created just for you. You can even set your hotel as the start point of the walk.
University of Tennessee Walking Tour

University of Tennessee Walking Tour

Founded in 1794 as William Blount College, The University of Tennessee (UT) in Knoxville is one of the oldest public universities in the United States. Nowadays, the UT flagship institution features a mix of historic and modern sites which draw many a visitor to the city.

The campus covers nearly 600 acres in downtown’s west end, including over 200 buildings and a faculty of more than 1,700...  view more

Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 3.0 Km or 1.9 Miles
Knoxville’s Historical Buildings

Knoxville’s Historical Buildings

Knoxville is often referred to as "The Marble City" for the abundant supply of high-quality marble used in many of its buildings. Noting the wealth of well-preserved historic homes in the city, prominent American architect John Russell Pope even coined his own moniker for it – the "City of Houses".

Indeed, Knoxville's eventful and sometimes turbulent past, dating from...  view more

Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.2 Km or 1.4 Miles
Downtown Knoxville Walking Tour

Downtown Knoxville Walking Tour

A small town with big-city amenities and a vibrant music scene (a mix of country, bluegrass, and rock), Knoxville, or K-Town as it's popularly shortened by locals, is also often referred to as “the Gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains,” for its proximity to the national park area, whose marble quarries, in the past, gave it another moniker, The Marble City.

Knoxville was founded in...  view more

Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.3 Km or 1.4 Miles