Knoxville's Buried Past

[RedStar25]

If you have ever spent any time in downtown Knoxville you may have noticed something strange. Its level.

Especially the commercial district along gay street.

Sometime in the late 1800s Knoxville buried a large chunks of the city to create level land. This was done to boost commerce, install a trolley system, and bridge the rail yard just north of downtown.

Many buildings downtown have upwards of 8 floors underground.

If you know where to look you can see what once was ground level and how business adapted to being buried.

Click on the pics to enlarge.

[Rural King]

^ I have noticed that, but I never knew the reason why the city was so level. Very interesting bit of information that most folks would just overlook.

I also noticed once on a visit to Knoxville a built-down hole like the one you show in your pics, but I never had any idea for the reasoning behind it; in fact I hadn't thought about again until now.