Gay Street is a street in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, that traverses the heart of the city's downtown area. Since its development in the 1790s, Gay Street has served as the city's principal financial and commercial thoroughfare, and has played a primary role in the city's historical and cultural development. The street contains Knoxville's largest office buildings and oldest commercial structures. Several buildings on Gay Street have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Part of Charles McClung's original 1791 plat of Knoxville, Gay Street was a focal point for the early political activity of both the city as well as the State of Tennessee. By 1850, Gay Street was home to three-fourths of Knoxville's commercial activity, and in 1854, the street became Knoxville's first paved road. On the eve of the Civil War, Gay Street was the site of simultaneous Union and Confederate recruiting rallies. After the war, Gay Street saw extensive commercial development as railroad construction brought an industrial boom to Knoxville.
Gay Street and events that took place on Gay Street have been mentioned in the works of James Agee, Cormac McCarthy, Mark Twain, and George Washington Harris. Cultural institutions established along Gay Street include the Lawson McGhee Library (1886), the Bijou Theatre (1909), the Riviera Theatre (1920), the Tennessee Theatre (1928), and the East Tennessee History Center (2004). The Knoxville Journal, Knoxville Whig, and Knoxville Register were all once headquartered on Gay Street, and radio stations WNOX and WROL both broadcast from Gay Street at various times during the 20th century.
Route and landmarks
Gay Street runs for about a mile-and-a-half from its northern terminus at Emory Place to its southern terminus at its intersection with Sevier Avenue and Blount Avenue on the south side of the Tennessee River. The road is divided into North Gay and South Gay by the tracks of the Southern Railway, with South Gay being the older and more densely developed half.
From north to south:
500 block, North Gay, from Emory Place to West Fifth Avenue— this section of Gay Street traverses the Emory Place Historic District, and intersects Emory Place a block east of Broadway, opposite Old Gray Cemetery. First Christian Church and St. John's Lutheran Church lie adjacent to this section of Gay, although they have Fifth Avenue and Broadway addresses, respectively. 400 block, North Gay, from West Fifth to West Magnolia. From West Magnolia to East Magnolia, North Gay passes under Interstate 40. The area under the interstate is used for parking space. 300 block, North Gay, from East Magnolia to West Depot Avenue. This section of Gay Street is part of a merged stretch of U.S. Route 70, U.S. Route 11, and State Route 1, which joins Gay Street from the east via Magnolia and diverges from Gay to the west via Depot. Regas Restaurant dominates the eastern half of this block.