L&N Station (Knoxville)
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Louisville and Nashville Passenger Station
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The L&N Station, viewed from Western Avenue
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| Location | 700 Western Avenue Knoxville, Tennessee |
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| Coordinates | 35°57′51″N 83°55′28″W / 35.96417°N 83.92444°WCoordinates: 35°57′51″N 83°55′28″W / 35.96417°N 83.92444°W |
| Area | 1.286 acres (5,200 m2) |
| Built | 1904–1905 |
| Architect | Richard Monfort |
| Architectural style | Victorian, Chateauesque |
| NRHP Reference # | 82003982 |
| Added to NRHP | March 25, 1982 |
The L&N Station is a former rail passenger station in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, located in the downtown area at the northern end of the World's Fair Park. Built in 1905 by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, the station was renovated for use in the 1982 World's Fair, and is currently home to the Knox County STEM Academy. In 1982, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places for its architecture and role in Knoxville's transportation history.
The L&N completed a rail line running from Cincinnati to Atlanta in the early 1900s, and built a string of passenger stations and depots to service trains along this line. The company's Knoxville station was the city's largest, and considered by some the "finest" along the L&N's entire Cincinnati–Atlanta line. It served as a passenger station until the L&N ceased passenger train service to Knoxville in 1968, and continued to house L&N offices until 1975. The L&N Station is mentioned in several scenes in author James Agee's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, A Death in the Family. The L&N Station is now home to the L&N STEM Academy, a magnet high school which focuses on science, technology, engineering, and math.
The L&N Station occupies the southwest corner of the intersection of Western Avenue, Broadway, Henley Street, and Summit Hill Drive, opposite Old City Hall. It straddles the east bank of Second Creek, and was designed to incorporate the bank's downward slope. The building is L-shaped, with wings projecting west and south of the northeast corner tower (the wings face Western Avenue and Henley Street). Due to the ground's slope, the building's main floor is at ground level on the north and east sides, but rises a full story above the ground on the south and west sides. Tracks and train sheds originally extended from the rail yard up to the rear of the building.
The building's most recognizable feature is its northeast corner tower, which rises three stories, and is topped by a pitched, clay-tiled roof with decorated dormers. A smaller tower rises at the end of the west wing, giving the building its chateau-like appearance. A wrap-around veranda allows access to the main floor on the south side of the building. The north side of the west wing originally included frosted glass doors and glazed transoms, which have been restored. Due to the construction of the Western Avenue Viaduct, the building's ground level lies about 10 feet (3.0 m) below Western Avenue, with a ramp providing vehicular access.
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