The Tennessee Amphitheater, also known as the World's Fair Park Amphitheater, is an open-air amphitheater located in the

1982 World's Fair The 1982 World's Fair, officially known as the Knoxville International Energy Exposition (KIEE) and simply as Energy Expo '82 and Expo '82, was an international exposition held in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. Focused on energy and ele ...

Park in

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of 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 Division and the state' ...

History

The Tennessee Amphitheater was built for 1982 World's Fair and was designed by structural engineer

Horst Berger Horst Berger (1928-2019)Gretchen (Gay) Smart Berger
friendsjournal.org was a s ...

, part of McCarty Bullock and Holsaple, architects of Knoxville (led by architect Bruce McCarty, the Master Architect of the 1982 World's Fair), and Geiger Berger, structural engineers of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. Berger was known for his work with tensile architecture, and the architectural design of the amphitheater is notable for the tensile fabric membranes that hover over the theater. The amphitheater has played host to a wide range of concerts, including classical music, country music (e.g.,

The Aldridge Sisters The Aldridge Sisters, Sheila and Sherry Aldridge, are an American singing act that appeared on ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' from 1977 to 1982. The sisters and their family Sherry Aldridge (born December 1, 1951) and Sheila Aldridge (born July 18, ...

), blues (e.g., Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown), and rock bands (e.g.,

Weezer Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Scott Shriner (bass guitar, keyboards, backing ...

and

Widespread Panic Widespread Panic is an American rock band from Athens, Georgia. The current lineup includes guitarist/singer John Bell, bassist Dave Schools, drummer Duane Trucks, percussionist Domingo "Sunny" Ortiz, keyboardist John "JoJo" Hermann, and g ...

). Together with the

Sunsphere The Sunsphere located in World’s Fair Park in downtown Knoxville, Tennessee, is a high hexagonal steel truss structure, topped with a gold-colored glass sphere that served as the symbol of the 1982 World's Fair. Design Designed by the Knox ...

, the 1400-seat amphitheater is one of only two structures that remain from the 1982 World's Fair. The amphitheater was condemned to demolition in 2002 but was renovated between 2005 and 2007, reopening in 2007 with then-Mayor

Bill Haslam William Edward Haslam (; born August 23, 1958) is an American billionaire businessman and politician who served as the 49th governor of Tennessee from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Haslam previously served as the 67th mayor of ...

's inaugural address for his second term. The amphitheater was voted one of the top 15 architectural works of East Tennessee by the East Tennessee chapter of the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...

, and since its reopening in 2007, the amphitheater continues to be used for concerts (e.g., Logan Brill) and by arts organizations in Knoxville, including the

Knoxville Symphony Orchestra The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra is a professional orchestra in Knoxville, Tennessee. The orchestra was established in 1935 and is the oldest continuing orchestra in the southeastern United States.Roy C. BrewerSymphony Orchestras ''Tennessee Enc ...

, Knoxville Opera and the Tennessee Children’s Dance Ensemble.

References

External links

* {{coord, 35.9612, -83.9239, type:landmark_region:US-TN, display=title Amphitheaters in the United States Buildings and structures in Knoxville, Tennessee Event venues established in 1982 Restaurants in Tennessee World's fair architecture in Tennessee 1982 World's Fair

History

See also

References

External links