David welcomed my wife and I to the Museum, gave us a mini tour and showed us a newspaper piece…read morefrom The Oregonian after seeing that I was coming from Portland, Oregon. It was nice to see his father in one of the old photos where he was a butcher for Y12 during the Manhattan Project. It was nice to see people from those days were still visiting and the generations after them as well. Definitely an interesting place to see for anyone passing by!

The visitor center is located in the Childen's Museum of Oak Ridge. To be honest, I was expecting…read moremore out of the visitor's center since a lot of the time there's a small associated museum or exhibits, but it was quite bare with only a small looping video. I liked the concept of the park in that you get to explore the community, but since the bus tour wasn't running with no plan or date when it would come back, it was hard to make a cohesive plan. I would say plan on visiting the K-25 history center + overlook and the American Museum of Science and Energy for sure, and then just wandering around the community looking at the placards. If you're into the stamps, there's a three part stamp (the rest of the parts are in Hanford, Washington and Los Alamos, New Mexico).

The Sunsphere is an amazing architectural wonder and remnant from the 1982 World's Fair in…read moreKnoxville. My visit to the Sunsphere made my day. The 342' steel structure was designed by Don Shell and completed in 1982. The glass on the 75' sphere is coated with gold dust. During the World's Fair, a small restaurant operated at the top and visitors could visit the observation deck for $2. We were passing through Knoxville and my daughter wanted to visit. Today, visitors can pay to go up to the observation deck of the giant structure. ($10 for adults). You can buy tickets on line or at the Sunsphere. When we arrived, the Sphere was closed until 1:30, so we did not go up in it. But we enjoyed walking around and taking photos. There is parking a block south and the walk through the park is lovely. There is a drop off circle near the Sunshpere as well. Let's are not allowed in the structure.

Knoxville wanted to do something truly special for the 1982 World's Fair. The result was the…read moreSunsphere. The theme for the fair was "Energy turns the world" and Knoxville showcased solar energy by creating a replica of the Sun. I was fortunate enough to visit the Sunsphere during their "free local days" and all you need to show is your license to prove you're local to Knoxville. More free local days will be announced throughout the coming year, so stay tuned. Definitely recommend elevating your view of our little city by visiting the Sunsphere. Know Before You Go: ~ $10 tickets per adult and also annual passes can be bought in person. $40 for an individual annual pass or $120 for a family pass. Both passes are good for a calendar year. ~24 kt. gold panels are actually glass layered with gold dust. ~The Sunsphere observation deck was re-opened on February 22, 2022. The floor offers a 360-degree view of the Great Smoky Mountains, World's Fair Park, the Tennessee River, and the UT Campus. ~There is a small gift shop offering everything from Sunsphere Christmas ornaments, tee shirts, Sunsphere coffee tumblers, stickers, postcards, and more.

A very busy part of the Market Square area, this pedestrian bridge runs from Locust Street and…read moreacross Henley Street alongside the convention center. It brings together the Market Square retail and restaurant area with the World's Fair park and the Sunsphere. The bridge is wide enough for a golf-cart and definitely wide enough for four people to walk abreast. At Locust Street, the bridge is at street level. At the other side near the Sunsphere, there is a set of stairs and an elevator. There's also a nice view of the World's Fair park. If you're not interested in crossing Henley Street at street level, which I completely understand as it is a very busy road, this bridge will help. [Review 12898 overall, 214 of 2020.]

This is a neat bridge that takes you from one part of Knoxville to another part of Knoxville it's…read morenot a very long bridge but it has some cool sites all on the way and it's nice how it's covered and it takes you right over to the stratosphere sons here in the Knoxville world fair so that's cool to see but this is a nice little bridge that wasn't expecting to come upon while we were there so it's definitely cool walk across instead of walking across the street's

We visited the historic Graphite Reactor here as part of our conference. It's a huge piece of…read morehistory, how we understood nuclear reactions and the development of isotopes. No photos were allowed outside so what I have is from inside.

Got a partial tour of the vast Oak Ridge National Lab. Got to see the site of the first nuclear…read morereaction during the Manhattan Project. Afterwards got to see some of the enormous Spallation Neutron Source. Tons of really technical stuff most of which was way over my head. The history of Oak Ridge is fascinating and it was great to be able to see some of the lab in person. There is much, much more to the lab including the Y-12 National Security Complex and the US Department of Energy. Maybe on another visit. Right now my brain is full.

Bet you didn't know that Tennessee was once a major producer of freshwater pearls. And much of that…read morerich history lies right here in the city of Clinton right off the Clinch river. Take a second to look up the deets about southern Appalachian rivers and tributaries that brought Joseph Gossett, pearling, and eventually: the Norris Dam. Cool stuff. If you are visiting Clinton, come to this historical marker (and do something else besides antiquing). Have a picnic, take a stroll, hang out a bit. Appreciate. If you are looking for another reason to check out this place just ask the local Hoskins store. Because this spot is also the Hoskins-Lane Market Place Park. Owned by the Hoskins and given to the City. Yep, your little kiddos are playing hide and seek and going to the summer festival atop another layer of cool history. Well to learn more about all that, you'll have to get a milkshake at the still buzzing 85+ year old Hoskins drug store just down on Main street.

This is a small museum about K-25, a mile-long plant that enriched uranium using the gaseous…read morediffusion process. It was so large that people rode bicycles to get around! It also overlooks the plant site itself if you want to appreciate the scale of everything. Admission is $10, and expect to spend one to one and a half hours here. I'm not sure how much appeal it has to younger kids as there's limited hands on interactive displays, and some of the topics they delve into are heavy, such as the role of African Americans and how they were still segregated at Oak Ridge. There's a small gift shop and bathroom facilities. ADA accessible. Do note that if you pay for a ticket here you get a discount when you buy admission tickets at the American Museum of Science and Energy the same day.

This is another small museum in Oak Ridge. This museum focuses on K25 or the massive enrichment…read morefacility for uranium enrichment. It's packed with artifacts and you get a security card to interplay with many displays. It's a very cool museum. There is even a 'Little boy' nuclear bomb on display. Nice!

Not that long ago, the United States Congress finally past the 19th Amendment, "The right of…read morecitizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex." A very simple sentence that conveyed a lot of rights to half of the citizens of our country. Once Congress approves a Constitutional Amendment, it must be ratified by a percentage of States. At that time, it needed to be at least 36 to reach the requirement. Thirty-five other states ratified the Amendment before Tennessee did. It took them a year and much debate before a tie vote in the state house of representatives was broken by a single vote. Looking back now, you really have to wonder about Tennessee's elected representatives! This monument is dedicated to the suffragists who made it possible and has a prominent spot in Knoxville's Market Square. [Review 12892 overall, 208 of 2020.]

Neat little statue that holds a lot of history behind it. I'm not sure why this statute is here in…read moreAsheville maybe it took place here? But it is a nice representation of women's rights and I am all for that and equality. It is nice to show my daughters how far women have come over the years

Part of the 20th century trend of making gas stations look like other things (see my 15000th…read morereview, the Shell Gas Station in Winston-Salem https://www.yelp.com/biz/shell-gas-station-winston-salem?hrid=JbBAsOl2ivCEs6IM2U48Tg), this one is made to look like an airplane. It's completely out of place as there is no airport anywhere in the vicinity and there aren't any airplane related businesses nearby. But that anachronism doesn't make it any less awesome! It was built in 1930 as a service station owned by Henry and Elmer Nickle. It was a full service station with fuel under the left wing and oil changes under the right wing. Back in the day, Highway 25 was a busy roadway but as time passed and I-75 was built, the motorists didn't come as often. In the 1960s it was a liquor store and then a produce store and then a bait shop before it was finally abandoned in 2000. Slated for demolition, the community rallied around the airplane and raised money from bake sales and tourism grants. It has since been recovered and restored to its original 1931 standards. It was barber shop for some time and now... I don't know what but it was being touched up when I stopped by. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004. It is easiest to access if you are heading south into Knoxville. Watch the traffic and pull into the neighboring used car lot, take your pictures, and be on your way. Perhaps it will be back as a business you can patronize. I could have used a haircut! [Review 18217 overall - 306 in Tennessee - 1739 of 2022.]

From the owner: I strive to give the best service to my customers read more

They handled monuments for 3 relatives. Very professional. Beautiful workmanship. Readily available…read morefor help and questions. ​

These are some really good people to deal with. It's never good when you have to buy a memorial for…read moresomeone you've lost but they help take the sting out of the process. Tina has been wonderful to deal with, her compassion and warm sense of humor have made this experience much less painful than it could have been. Definitely go see them when you need a memorial.

This tour is amazing and a must do visiting Tennessee. Our guide, George Wyatt, was absolutely…read moredelightful and entertaining. He was an actual inmate at the prison and tells so many interesting stories. You just need to get use to his accent, which is the best thing about him! After the tour make sure to eat at The Warden's table in the gift shop. The brisket French Dip was delicious. Maricela, who works in the gift shop, was so helpful and sweet. I would go back again and again!!!

Been driving through this part of Tennessee for the last 10 years or so and have been wanting to…read morevisit here that whole time. Finally made it. I've have visited 3 other shuttered prisons over the years and they all are pretty neat. This one was physically the smallest but was very impressive. We did like most folks and did the self guided tour. Took us about 2 hours and I think we visited everything that was open. They claimed that former staff or guides would be around to answer questions- sadly I never seen anyone. Now reasoning for my rating was based on not seeing staff for questions as well as the price. I know it's a neat historic place but $25 a person was a bit high. They did offer a small discount for military but again a self guided tour for $25 was a bit much. So I do recommend this historic place. But be aware of the cost and that your questions might not be answered.