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Downtown in the Early '90s

Large-scale infrastructure work on Gay Street some 20 years ago didn't cause much loss of business—because there weren't many shops or restaurants left on Knoxville's former main thoroughfare.

courtesy of Mike Carberry of the Metropolitan Planning Commission

Large-scale infrastructure work on Gay Street some 20 years ago didn't cause much loss of business—because there weren't many shops or restaurants left on Knoxville's former main thoroughfare.

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  • In the early '90s, Knoxville's Market Square often held more trees than visitors, with a nearly unused public pavilion.
  • This Old City view is probably from the early '90s after it was redeveloped into the Old City entertainment district by such urban pioneers as Kristopher Kendrick.
  • This view of Central in the Old City dates back most probably to the late '70s—long before it was even called 'the Old City.'
  • For many years, the downtown Arby's (now closed) was the most lively business on Gay Street, which now supports the once-impossible dream of a movie theater.
  • Large-scale infrastructure work on Gay Street some 20 years ago didn't cause much loss of business—because there weren't many shops or restaurants left on Knoxville's former main thoroughfare.

How Knoxville used to look 20 years ago before its urban revitalization.

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