Image: The Sunsphere, Knoxville, TN - 52474028288

Description: Erected in 1982 for the Knoxville International Energy Exposition, this modern observation tower was designed by Community Tectonics under lead architect Hubert Bebb, and structural engineering firm Stanley D. Lindsey and Associates, Ltd. The tower features an open green-painted steel structure on the exterior with chevron bracing, slanted exterior steel members that distribute the load of the structure’s weight over a larger area, with an elevator core clad in metal panels in the center, enclosing the stairwells, elevator shafts, and utility shafts, and a sphere at the top with a gold-tinted curtain wall, which resembles the sun. There is an open deck on the second story of the structure with access to the elevator and stairs, which sits at the same level as Clinch Avenue and the main entrance to the adjacent Knoxville Convention Center, with another entrance from the plaza in the Second Creek Valley below. The tower houses an observation deck, with commercial rental space and events space inside the sphere, though it is not very heavily utilized, and has gone through several periods of being closed entirely to the public, most recently during the 2020-21 pandemic.
Title: The Sunsphere, Knoxville, TN - 52474028288
Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/59081381@N03/52474028288/
Author: w_lemay
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0
License: CC BY-SA 2.0
License Link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
Attribution Required?: Yes