The Sunsphere (Knoxville, Tennessee)

USA / Tennessee / Knoxville / Knoxville, Tennessee
 tower, interesting place, 1982_construction
www.worldsfairpark.org/worlds-fair-sunsphere.html

The Sunsphere is a 266-foot high hexagonal steel truss structure, topped with a 74-foot bronze glass-plated sphere. It is the most distinctive structure on the Knoxville, Tennessee skyline.

Designed by the Knoxville architectural firm Community Tectonics, the Sunsphere was created as the theme structure for the 1982 World's Fair. It was noted for its unique design in several engineering publications. Today, most of the World's Fair site is a public park and a convention center, but the Sunsphere itself shows no sign of going away.

25 years after the Fair, the Level 4 (Fair Observation Level) was reopened July 5th, 2007 to give visitors a view of Knoxville. Level 5 (Private Dining Room & Kitchen) will now become a new cafe with sandwich and drinks service and an early evening drinks service. Level 6 (Main Restaurant Level) will be an open space leased out for functions. Both Levels 5 and 6 are being managed by Southern Graces Catering and Events. Level 7 (Upper Restaurant level) & Level 8 (Mountain View Observation Level) will become the offices for the Knoxville magazine Metro Pulse. The observation deck can hold 86 people.

The Sunsphere got its fame in a 1996 episode of The Simpsons where it has been turned into a wig shop warehouse.

simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Sunsphere
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunsphere
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   35°57'42"N   83°55'23"W

Comments

  • I was once in a cult concerning the sun shpere. I assure you, there has never been a better cult than that one.
  • I heard about that cult from a Reilly Shwab. Also, I think the text for this is now outdated. I don't think the Pulse is moving in.
This article was last modified 6 months ago