Three Free in Knoxville, TN

We're currently on a "southern" U.S. road trip from NH to FL and posting about sites seen & foods sampled along the way. This post is about a stop in Knoxville, KY.

Always on the lookout for interesting attractions, we found three at this KY destination and as a bonus, they were all FREE (even better).

Yes, it looks like a giant sun, and that was the concept behind construction of the Sunsphere that's recognizable from anywhere in downtown Knoxville  TN. It's become the city’s symbol, and is featured on team logos, postcards, stamps, and DMV licenses. 

Internet source: overview of 1982 World's Fair and Sunsphere, Knoxville, TN

Built in 1981, the 266-foot high hexagonal steel-truss structure, topped with a 75-foot gold-colored glass sphere was the symbol of the 1982 World's Fair that ran 184 days here in 1982 from May-October. Formally called the Knoxville International Energy Exposition the fair's theme was Energy Turns the World. 

Internet source: 1982 World's Fair promo, Knoxville, TN

The 1982 World’s Fair was constructed on 70+ acres between downtown Knoxville and the University of Tennessee on former railway grounds. It drew more than 11 million visitors making it one of the most popular world's fairs in U.S. history. It included exhibits from 22 countries.The site is now a public park, World's Fair Park, near Knoxville's convention center and adjacent to the University of Tennessee's main campus.

The fair’s “energy” theme debuted many then) cutting edge technologies, including the first green homes, alternative fuel vehicles, Texaco’s “pay at the gas pump," 1-hour photo processing, and an early version of the cordless phone. The most famous inventions presented at the fair included touchscreen technology (precursor to smart phones), Rubik’s cube and a new Coca-Cola flavor, Cherry Coke. The TN fast food chain Petro's Chili & Chips opened at the fair and now has locations around the state. 

The Sunsphere weighs 600 tons and features six double steel truss columns that support the seven-story sphere. It has 360 glass panels layered in 24-karat gold dust, cut to seven different shapes. Each pane cost an average $1,000 at the time of construction. During the World's Fair, the tower color was blue matching the sky; it's currently forest green.

The Observation Deck is on the fourth level and offers a full 360-degrees of the original fairgrounds, downtown Knoxville, the Tennessee River, the University of Tennessee, and the Smoky Mountains. When the Sunsphere opened, an elevator trip to the Observation Deck cost $2. Today it’s FREE.

Downtown Knoxville as seen from Sunsphere observation deck

Soon after the fair ended, the Sunsphere closed to the public. A brief 1999 reopening didn’t last. After extensive renovation, the Observation Deck reopened to the public in May 2014. The Sunsphere is one of only two remaining structures from the 1982 World’s Fair. The other is a man-made pond from the Tennessee amphitheater (seen upper left).

If you’re in downtown Knoxville, do try this must-see (and don't forget) free attraction. As a plus, when we visited the observation deck, there was no time limitation.) 

The Knoxville Museum of Art (KMA) below as seen from the Sunsphere observation deck is on the site of what was the Japanese Pavilion at the 1982 World’s Fair.

The museum opened in 1961 as the Dulin Gallery of Art, but limited space, plus a lack of security and climate control prevented accreditation by the American Association of Museums. The new 53,200-square-foot facility, which opened in March 1990, was renamed the Knoxville Museum of Art and has since received accreditation. Like the Sunsphere, it's also free to visit. (Donations are gratefully accepted.)

The exterior of this four-story steel and concrete building is constructed of locally quarried pink Tennessee marble. The museum includes five galleries and two large outdoor garden areas.

The exhibits are focused mainly on Southern Appalachian culture and artists from the East Tennessee region. Major artists from outside the region who produced significant work in the Knoxville area, such as Ansel Adams and Elliot Porter are also highlighted.

A separate room houses what is the museum’s most significant and largest painting, the 28-foot mural, History of Tennessee, a 300-pound oil-on-canvas work, painted by New York artist Marion Greenwood. The work has survived controversy and vandalism in its 60-year history. In 1954, the University of Tennessee commissioned Greenwood to create a mural for the new University Center ballroom. Greenwood wanted the painting to pay tribute to the state’s musical heritage. In the day, she traveled throughout the state to gather ideas and painted at night using instructors and students as models.

History of Tennessee (Singing Mural) by Marion Greenwood

Also called the “Singing Mural” this mural is considered the most important painting in the history of East Tennessee. Painted on a continuous 30-foot length of canvas, nearly as long as a tractor trailer, it features 28 people engaged in song and dance, depicting the musical heritage of the state. The left side portrays Mississippi River jazz and blues and slave spirituals of West Tennessee. The center shows a country hoedown with dancers and musicians. The right side features the religious-based Appalachian music of East Tennessee.

Marion Greenwood

Greenwood considered it to be her best U.S. work. Unveiled in the University Center’s ballroom in June 1955, it remained on view for 15 years. (However, the former UT president found it distracting and had it a curtain in front of it before he spoke.)

The inclusion of African Americans in a mural dedicated to the history of Tennessee was controversial in the 1960s when UT students objected to its portrayal them. In May 1970 student protests, the painting was vandalized with paints and solvents. After restoration and new threats, it was kept under guard and in 1972, paneling covered it for 34 years until a short-lived public viewing in 2006. In 2010, the University Center was slated for demolition and the new student center design didn’t include a suitable area for the mural. A national conservation firm was hired to clean the mural, remove it and store it until it found a permanent home. In 2014,  the UT and the KMA reached an agreement through which the university retains ownership of the mural, but has placed it in the KMA’s care on long-term loan.

The Knoxville Trolley is one of the city’s most popular features and it's completely free for everyone to ride, residents and visitors alike. Three trolley routes — the Blue, Green, and Orange lines — serve downtown Knoxville and the UT area with maps available at locations throughout downtown. While not actual trolleys, these hybrid/propane powered buses are painted to look like trolleys and are a great likeness. 

The trolley, also called street car, began here in 1876. The earliest ones were pulled by horses and mules as the city’s first form of transportation. By 1890, electricity was used for new trolleys and by 1910 there was an estimated 42 miles of trolley lines in Knoxville carrying over 10 million passengers annually. By 1947, the trolleys gave way to gasoline powered models. In 2003, the system was converted to propane power. Remains of the old electric trolley system area are still being found below downtown streets  as they were paved over rather than removed years ago.

We rode all three trolley lines and had a great afternoon exploring Knoxville at no cost. The trolleys run daily, but not on Saturdays when there’s a UT home football game.

And, on our trolley rides, we also found another free downtown Knoxville attraction, a weekend Farmer's Market.

There was another (also free) attraction in downtown Knoxville, a Farmer's Market. We walked through it very briefly as it was a fairly warm hot day. These youngsters sure had a greatly to cool down at a pop-up fountain.

Thanks, as always, for virtually traveling along with us. We've been reading and appreciating all your comments. We're having a great time seeing more of the U.S. on this trip and hope that you're enjoying it too.

A Drive on Old Frankfort Pike, KY

We're currently on a "southern" U.S. road trip from NH to FL and posting about sites seen & foods sampled along the way. This post is about Old Frankfort Pike and the towns of Frankfort, Midway and Versailles in KY.

Old Frankfort Pike is a nearly 17-mile scenic byway that runs between Frankfort and Lexington in Woodford County, KY. This two-lane roadway has been named one of the most outstanding U.S. scenic drives. This former toll road is lined with old limestone rock walls and wood fencing with (lots of) rolling hills that pass scenic horse farms. In fact, there’s so many  Thoroughbred Farms along the route that its nickname is Thoroughbred Alley. (Most offer tours, at a cost, but require advance reservations, which we had not made.) 

The horse industry in Kentucky, which has grown to include some of the world’s greatest racers and stallions, has its roots along this road and is said to pre-date Kentucky's statehood. The breeding, racing, and sale of Thoroughbreds is a multi-billion dollar business and Kentucky excels in producing more Thoroughbred foals than any U.S. state. 

Old Frankfort Pike started between 1775-1780 as early Americans traveled between Maysville and Louisville, KY during the Revolutionary War time period, before Kentucky's statehood in 1792. It was originally called Old Lexington-Frankfort Road. We drove past four properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including a cemetery which was a burial site for Revolutionary War soldiers. (As you can see, this roadway doesn’t offer places to safely pull off and take photos. Notable horse farms are located quite a distance away and obscured by trees and foliage; we did see some large stables.)

Downtown capital city of Frankfort, KY

The Old Frankfort Pike officially ends in Frankfort, capital city of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Frankfort is thought to be named from a 1780s event. American Indians attacked a group of early European-American pioneers who were making salt at a ford in the Kentucky River. After pioneer Stephen Frank was killed, the settlers called the crossing Frank's Ford in his honor. The name was later altered to Frankfort. (It’s also where we enjoyed ice cream at Hoggy's.)

We detoured off this byway to visit two historic KY towns: Midway where a RR runs through the center of town and Versailles with a French-inspired name that’s not pronounced in the French tradition, but as Ver-say-elles not Ver-sigh. In this way, it's like Louisville, another KY city with a French-inspired name, that's pronounced Loo-a-vul not Loo-ee-ville.)

Historic Midway, as it's called, is located in the northern section of Woodford County in the Bluegrass region, a farming area notable for tobacco, corn, soybeans, cattle, and horses. It's notable for being the first town in Kentucky founded by a railroad. In January 1835, local farmer John Francisco sold his nearly 217-acre farm to the Lexington and Ohio Railroad for $6,491. The railroad used the land to establish Kentucky's first railroad town, then named Middleway for its location relative to Lexington and Frankfort, KY. 

Railroad tracks through center of downtown Midway, KY

The town thrived with the accompanying construction. Lodging was needed for railroad workers plus food, supplies, and dry goods. By 1832, the railroad carried the first passengers from Lexington with horse-drawn cars. The line to Frankfort was completed in 1834 and in January 1835 the first steam locomotive from Lexington headed for Frankfort went through Middleway (renamed Midway in 1837). Since the train traveled through private pastures, accounts of early years include stories of engineers stopping for water and wood, and to open and shut farm gates.

Midway and the railroad prospered and electricity was introduced in 1911. During the 1930s and 1940s, up to 30 trains a day ran through the middle of Midway. But passenger trains dwindled and the old depot was closed in 1963. The last passenger train traveled through in May 1971. Today, several freight trains still use the active tracks running through Railroad Street. (None passed through town even though we waited awhile.)

Downtown Midway, KY

Midway’s downtown dwindled with the railroad’s slowdown until the mid-1970s when several antique shops and galleries opened. Today, the town has antique and specialty shops, restaurants, a barber shop, and unique architecture. Town buildings were placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

Buildings in downtown Versailles, KY

Versailles is the county seat of Woodford County and home to horses, bourbon and blue grass. (It’s also where we enjoyed gelato at Spotz.) The town is less than a 25-minute drive from Lexington and Frankfort and just over 60 minutes from Louisville in the heart of the Bluegrass Region. 

Main St, Versailles, KY

Municipal building interior, Versailles, KY

The town was founded in June 1792 on 80 acres of land and yes it was named after Versailles, France by Major Marquis Calmes in honor of General Lafayette, a family friend. The city was officially incorporated in February 1837. During the American Civil War, it was occupied by both Confederate and Union forces for a short time.

Versailles has been a film site many times. Most of the small-town location scenes in the 2005 film, Elizabethtown were filmed downtown. 

The cemetery scene in the 2010 film, Secretariat about one of Kentucky's most famed race horses, was filmed at a church here. The 1967 movie, Flim-Flam Man was filmed at several locations in and around the town. 

Film crews were in Versailles again earlier this year The former bank building turned coffee shop at the Corner of Main and Court streets (photo right) will be a setting for an upcoming film, The Stand-In with Drew Barrymore.

No film crews or actors were in town during our visit, thank goodness, or walking around would have been more difficult.

Frankfort is a Capitol City

We're currently on a "southern" U.S. road trip from NH to FL and posting about sites seen & foods sampled along the way. This post is about a stop in Frankfort, KY.

If you followed posts from our cross-country road trip last summer, you know that we're very fond of visiting state Capitols. There's many good great reasons especially learning the history and architectural details of these buildings. Even better, they're free to tour and, in many cases, there's also a no-cost guided tour as well, such a deal.

Kentucky State Capitol, Frankfort, KY

Continuing with capitol visits this trip, we went to the Kentucky State Capitol in Frankfort. It's considered one of the most beautiful state capitols in the U.S. This state capitol is the fourth permanent building since statehood in 1792. It was built to replace an earlier 1830 capitol on the public square in downtown Frankfort, which became outdated for the growing state government.  

Old State Capitol in downtown Frankfort, KY

The Old State Capitol, also known as Old Statehouse, still stands on the public square in downtown Frankfort, KY. The Kentucky legislature voted for construction in 1827 and it was the home of the Kentucky General Assembly from 1830 to 1910. It was built in the Greek revival style to imitate the Temple of Minerva and the front of the building followed the style of windowless Greek temples. The building is a U.S. National Historic Landmark and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.

When it became inadequate to support the growing state's governmental needs, a long debate ensued among Louisville, Lexington and Frankfort over which city should be chosen for Kentucky's new capitol. In 1904, after the legislature appropriated funds for a new capitol, commissioners were charged with finding the most suitable location that would also provide the most assistance toward construction. Frankfort won out after pledging more manpower than the other cities. The architect's design for the capitol was overpowering for the downtown location and the present site in southern Frankfort was selected.

The Kentucky General Assembly appropriated $1 million for the capitol's construction. Ground was broken in 1905 and construction was completed in 1909 at a cost of $1,180,434. Kentucky's new capitol was dedicated in June 1910. 

Here's how to distinguish between capital and capitol: A capitol is the building housing headquarters of government. A capital is the city that is the seat of government of a state or nation. (Think of the “O” in capitol as the top of a capitol buildings' dome.)

The Kentucky Capitol houses the three branches (executive, legislative, judicial) of the state government of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 

Kentucky is a commonwealth, another word for state. (The term implies a commitment to the “commonweal” or common good of the people.) There are four U.S. states called commonwealths: Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Commonwealths are like any other state in politics and laws; there's no difference in their relationship to the nation as a whole. Since KY was formed from VA, the state’s founders kept the term.


Kentucky's State Capitol is the fourth permanent building since statehood in 1792. From 1792 to 1830, two buildings were used as the state capitol, both of which burned down completely. In 1830, another capitol was built on the old public square in down Frankfort and used until 1910 when it became inadequate to accommodate the growing state government. The 1830 former capitol is located in downtown Frankfort and is now a museum operated by the Kentucky Historical Society. (It wasn't open the day we were there.)

The exterior of the capitol is faced in Indiana limestone and Vermont granite. It was designed by architect Frank Mills Andrews in the neoclassical Beaux-Arts style, a style of architecture that was popular from 1880-1930. Influenced by classical Roman and Greek forms, it was the dominant style of U.S. architecture between the late 19th century and early 20th century. 

The main part of the Capitol has three floors. The first floor contains the offices of the governor (and staff), lieutenant governor, secretary of state, and attorney general. The rotunda features statues of famous Kentuckians and other exhibits.

The 14-foot high cast bronze statue of President Abraham Lincoln standing beside a chair is located in the center of the rotunda. In the rear and to the left is a 15-foot high full length marble statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. 

The bronzed model of the statue of Henry Clay was presented to the Kentucky State Bar Association which presented it to the Commonwealth of Kentucky under the condition that it be placed in the Rotunda of the Capitol. 

Many striking architectural features and opulent decorative finishes in Kentucky's Capitol illustrate his penchant for classical French interiors. The staircases are replicas of those of the Opéra Garnier in Paris. Decorative lunettes above each staircase highlight the entrances to the House and Senate chambers. 

The elegance of the capitol's interior was achieved using white Georgia marble, gray Tennessee marble and dark green Italian marble.The grand corridors feature 36 imposing columns of Vermont granite and delicate art glass skylights.

The second floor contains the courtroom of the state Supreme Court, as well as the chambers of the justices. The state law library is nearby on the same floor. 

The chambers of the House of Representatives and Senate face each other on opposite ends of the third floor. Several high-level legislative offices, for example, Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate, are also located there. Kentucky's legislative bodies meet in the House and Senate chambers. Both chambers continue the classical motifs of the building, incorporating scagliola (faux marble) for decorative architectural features.

In reply to a fellow blogger's comment, the computer screens shown in the above photos can only be used for voting or viewing legislative issues. (There's no game-playing or texting allowed in these rooms.)

The Supreme Court (below) is as the seat of the judicial branch of state government. The room is noted for its solid Honduras mahogany paneling and its elegant ceiling covered in Old Dutch Metal leafing, hammered to resemble old bronze. It's open to the public during sessions.

The State Reception Room was designed as a place for ceremonial events. The walls are decorated with pilasters finished in scagliola (called faux marble, a form of plaster that imitates decorative stone) and murals, hand painted to resemble tapestries from the Gobelin Tapestry Guild. (The historic French tapestry factory still produces tapestries.) The hand-carved Circassian walnut furniture, original to the room, was crafted to resemble 17th-century French Baroque pieces. 

State Reception Room, Kentucky State Capitol

The building used to be completely open during normal business hours, and local residents often used the marble hallways for exercise (Frankfort's equivalent of "mall walking"). That's no longer possible as all visitors without state credentials must go through a metal detector and are issued a badge returnable on exit. 

Directly across the street from the Kentucky Capitol is the Governor's Mansion, which is both a private home and a public building. Twenty-six Kentucky governors have lived here since 1914.The mansion has a front portico with four pairs of Ionic columns. The exterior was modeled after the Petit Trianon, Queen Marie Antoinette's villa on the grounds of the Palace of Versailles. 

In the mid-1980s, the mansion was renovated to its original Beaux-Arts style, and a front formal garden was planted based on the original 1913 drawings of the mansion grounds. The building is listed on the National Register of the Historic Places.

It's one of only a handful of U.S. executive residences in to be open to the public for tours on Tuesday and Thursday mornings; but it was closed on the Thursday we visited the state capitol.

Eats & Treats in KY

While on a (mostly) southern states road trip traveling from New Hampshire to Florida, we're sampling foods along the way. It's part of the road trip fun for us. Here's some recent experiences in various KY locations.

First, we are not whiskey or bourbon drinkers, but when in Rome (or in this case KY). 

That said, when you're visiting the Bluegrass state (as we did) you quickly learn that it’s known as the Bourbon Capital of the World. We met folks who had traveled from many there states to sample whiskeys on what's called the Kentucky Bourbon Trail®. This is a program sponsored by the Kentucky Distillers' Association (KDA) to promote the Bourbon whiskey industry. And from those we spoke to it seems very successful as many were repeat "trail" walkers.

Nothing mandates that bourbon must be produced in Kentucky, which dominates in distilling this corn-based, barrel-aged whiskey. According to the KDA, the state produces and ages approximately 95 percent of the world’s bourbon whiskey. Only whiskey produced in the State of Kentucky can be labeled Kentucky Straight Whiskey

We visited the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, KY which was near our hotel and the only one nearby that offered free tours. 

Buffalo Trace Distillery, Frankfort, KY

Buffalo Trace Distillery is the oldest continually operating distillery in the U.S. During Prohibition, the distillery was permitted to remain operational, making whiskey for "medicinal purposes.” In addition to the free tour, everyone is treated to a complimentary tasting of Kentucky bourbon, not uncommon in distillery tours.

We learned that KY is the world's bourbon capital because of three factors: water, climate, and soil. First, KY has vast deposits of blue limestone, which filters out hard iron and imparts calcium and magnesium. Second, the state's temperature goes from chilly winters to hot summers which causes the charred oak barrels, which give the spirit its amber color and distinctive taste, to alternately absorb and release the whiskey. Third, the fertile ground there is right for growing bourbon’s second main ingredient, corn.

Buffalo Trace Distillery sits on 130 acres. The facility has a capacity of almost 2.7 million gallons annually, enough to fill about 51,000 barrels. This production flows into 14 bourbons, a handful of whiskeys, and a vodka brand the company markets.

The company brochure explains that the name "Buffalo Trace" refers to an ancient buffalo crossing on the banks of the Kentucky River in Franklin County, KY. The path used by buffalo is called a trace. The distillery's namesake bourbon is called Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey.

As of 1992, the distillery is owned by the Sazerc Company. Historically, it' had several names, including the George T. Stagg Distillery and the Old Fire Copper (O.F.C.) Distillery. In May 2001, under the Stagg Distillery name, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated a National Historic Landmark in March  2013.

Jim's Seafood & Steaks, Frankfort, KY

When dining out, our menu preference is usually seafood which made Jim’s Seafood & Steaks our choice for an early dinner stop in Frankfort, KY. It's called “the best restaurant by a dam” and is the only eatery in the area that can make that claim. It was built on the site of Kentucky River Mills hemp factory, which closed in 1952 and was the last hemp factory operating in KY. 

This casual, local restaurant was uncrowded when we dined there in late afternoon at a window seat overlooking the Kentucky river with a waterfall view by the dam. 

The family-owned eatery has served seafood made from scratch using family recipes for over 30 years. The menu is varied from shrimp, oysters, crab legs, lobster, scallops, to sirloin, rib-eye steak and chicken. Grenville's had grilled Boston scrod with wild rice and coleslaw andI had New England clam strips with coleslaw and a veggie. It wasn't the best seafood dining we've experienced, but the service was friendly and unhurried. 

During a walking tour of Frankfort the next day, we found Hoggy's Ice Cream (in truth, we looked for it). This locally-owned ice cream shop is at the corner of West Main and St. Clair streets and a March 2019 addition to the downtown area.

The ice cream served while was not home-made, but hand-dipped by a group of youthful and energetic young folks. There's about 20 flavors of ice cream with names like Superman, Sea Salt Caramel, Blue Moo Cookie Dough, and ice cream sundaes, banana splits, milkshakes — all good treats. That said we restrained ourselves to ice cream sundaes. (It was in the 90s, after all.)

Whoops, I forgot to take a photo of the sundaes we enjoyed. If you go, be sure to try the peanut butter chip and the salted caramel which were my choices. The mocha chip and espresso were also good according to Grenville whose only "complaint" was that he needed more hot fudge, but don't we all?

Not the next day, but a day later, we sampled homemade gelato at Spotz in Versailles, KY. This small and brightly decorated business advertises that its “Gelato mission is to create a taste of Italy with the very best ingredients the Bluegrass has to offer.” The business was started by a husband and wife in 2013 after leaving corporate careers.

Gelato is the Italian word for ice cream and we're admittedly ice cream fans first and foremost and have tried gelato but not as often. The gelato at Spotz was handmade with local ingredients from Kentucky farmers. The flavors are produced in small batches in a commercial kitchen in a local family farm without artificial additives or flavors. The company is a certified Kentucky Proud business. Be sure to try the banana pudding flavor.

Completing this post about KY eats and treats, here's another favorite we enjoyed in KY — White Castle. Our fondness for this fast-food burger joint was the subject of a previous post. We know WC from our native NJ, but (unfortunately) there are none in New England where we now live. Leaving KY, there was just off the interstate. We had to go there for lunch and weren't disappointed.

Thanks, as always, for virtually traveling along with us. We've been reading and appreciating all your comments. Our days are spent on the road touring and eves are spent posting about our adventures. Blog reading may fall behind, but I'll catch up as time allows.