East Knoxville is the section of
Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Tennessee, Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Di ...
, USA, that lies east of the city's
downtown area. It is concentrated along Magnolia Avenue (
US-70
U.S. Route 70 or U.S. Highway 70 (US 70) is an east–west United States highway that runs for from eastern North Carolina to east-central Arizona. It is a major east–west highway of the Southeastern, Southern and Southwestern United States. E ...
/
US-11
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), Martin Luther King, Jr., Boulevard, Dandridge Avenue, and adjacent streets, and includes the neighborhoods of
Holston Hills Holston may refer to:
*Holston, Virginia
*Holston River
*Holston Formation
*Treaty of Holston
*Holston Conference, an annual conference within Methodism
*Holston Army Ammunition Plant in Kingsport, Tennessee
*The Holston, an NRHP-listed high-rise ...
,
Parkridge,
Chilhowee Park
Chilhowee Park is a public park, fairgrounds and exhibition venue in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, located off Magnolia Avenue in East Knoxville. Developed in the late 19th century, the park is home to the Tennessee Valley Fair and hosts se ...
, Morningside, Five Points, and Burlington. East Knoxville is home to
Zoo Knoxville
Zoo Knoxville, formerly known as the ''Knoxville Zoo'' or ''Knoxville Zoological Gardens'', is a zoo located just east of downtown Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, near exit 392 off Interstate 40. The zoo is home to about 1,200 animals and w ...
, the Knoxville Botanical Garden and Arboretum, and
Chilhowee Park
Chilhowee Park is a public park, fairgrounds and exhibition venue in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, located off Magnolia Avenue in East Knoxville. Developed in the late 19th century, the park is home to the Tennessee Valley Fair and hosts se ...
.
"East Knoxville" traditionally refers to the part of Knoxville east of First Creek (this creek is roughly paralleled by the eastern portion of the Downtown Loop, namely Neyland Drive and James White Parkway).
[John Wooldridge, George Mellen, William Rule (ed.), ''Standard History of Knoxville, Tennessee'' (Chicago: Lewis Publishing Company, 1900; reprinted by Kessinger Books, 2010), pp. 137-138.] A portion of this area was incorporated as the City of East Knoxville in 1855, though it was annexed by Knoxville in 1868.
The advent of
streetcar
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
s and the development of what is now Chilhowee Park led to the establishment of residential areas in East Knoxville in the late 19th century. Two such residential areas, Park City (Parkridge and surrounding neighborhoods) and Mountain View (Morningside), were incorporated as separate cities in 1907, and annexed by Knoxville in 1917.
Urban renewal projects in Downtown Knoxville in the 1950s and 1960s displaced numerous African American residents, many of whom relocated to East Knoxville. Most East Knoxville neighborhoods remain mixed neighborhoods. The Beck Cultural Exchange Center, one of the primary repositories of black history and culture in East Tennessee, is located on Dandridge Avenue in East Knoxville.
Throughout the late 20th century and early 21st century, the Magnolia Avenue area has been considered a
red-light district
A red-light district or pleasure district is a part of an urban area where a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, and adult theaters, are found. In most cases, red-light districts are particu ...
by residents and the
Knoxville Police Department
The Knoxville Police Department is the law enforcement agency of the City of Knoxville, Tennessee, United States.
History
Knoxville was settled in the late 18th century, but law enforcement and criminal justice were handled by Knox County in ...
.
Recent initiatives to revitalize East Knoxville have focused on improving Magnolia Avenue and Martin Luther King, Jr., Boulevard, preserving historical buildings, eliminating blight, filling or demolishing vacant buildings, and improving sidewalks.
Magnolia Avenue Corridor Plan
2009, pp. 1-8. Retrieved: 29 June 2011.
See also
*Mascot
A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...
*Old City Old City often refers to old town, the historic or original core of a city or town.
Old City may refer to several places:
Historical cities or regions of cities
''(by country)''
*Old City (Baku), Azerbaijan
* Old City (Dhaka), Bangladesh, also ca ...
References
External links
Magnolia Avenue Corridor Plan
— Knoxville-Knox County Metropolitan Planning Commission report
{{coord, 35.98117, -83.90139, region:US_type:landmark, display=title
Neighborhoods in Knoxville, Tennessee