Tennessee Theatre
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Burwell Building Tennessee Theater
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The historic Tennessee Theatre on Gay Street
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| Location | Knoxville, Tennessee, USA |
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| Coordinates | 35°57′44″N 83°55′10″W / 35.96222°N 83.91944°WCoordinates: 35°57′44″N 83°55′10″W / 35.96222°N 83.91944°W |
| Built | October 1, 1928 |
| Architect | Graven & Mayger |
| NRHP Reference # | 82003979 |
| Added to NRHP | April 1, 1982 |
The Tennessee Theatre is a 1920s-era movie palace, located in downtown Knoxville, Tennessee, at 604 South Gay Street.
Clay Brown Atkin (1864-1931) founded many buildings and was claimed to be the biggest mantel manufacturer in the world. Atkin set his attention on a tall building, originally known as the Knoxville Banking & Trust Building, a 10-story steel frame building at Gay Clinch. The tall building was completed in 1908 and for four years it was Knoxville's tallest and first "skyscraper". The Knoxville Banking & Trust Building because a prestigious address for Knoxville professional and in 1917 Atkin bought the "skyscraper" and honorarily named it after his wife, Mary Burwell (1871-1949). Measuring in at 166 feet (51 m) in height, it was Knoxville's tallest building until 1912. In the 1790s, the lot now occupied by the Burwell Building was home to a two-story log structure where the classes of Blount College— the forerunner of the University of Tennessee— were first held.
The theater first opened on October 1, 1928, and with nearly 2,000 seats in the auditorium, was billed as "Knoxville's Grand Entertainment Palace". The theater was designed by Chicago architects Graven & Mayger in the Spanish-Moorish style, although the design incorporates elements from all parts of the world: Czechoslovakian crystals in the French-style chandeliers, Italian terrazzo flooring in the Grand Lobby, and Oriental influences in the carpet and drapery patterns.It was built by George A. Fuller, also form Chicago, which also built the famous Flatiron Building in New York City. Tennessee Enterprises hired the George A. Fuller Company because of his prominent works in New York City, his work on the Tennessee proved Fuller to be a great fit for the job. By this point, the theatre was turning out to be an almost all-Chicago project and Fuller broke ground on November 1, 1927 and then on Christmas Day the News-Sentinel reported that the theatre was pouring concrete. The theatre was one of the first public buildings in Knoxville to have air conditioning. It also featured a beautiful Wurlitzer Organ.
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