Started By
Message
Redevelopment of The Strip is finally in the home stretch
Posted on 5/17/17 at 8:54 pm
Posted on 5/17/17 at 8:54 pm
After a long 2 years the city finally expects to finish up the nearly 17 million dollar project by the end of August -- Just in time for football season. The rennovated Cumberland Ave will actually be a selling point for the University instead of a major eye sore for the first time in a long time 
WATE
WATE
This post was edited on 5/17/17 at 10:57 pm
1
Posted on 5/18/17 at 6:08 am to TRUERockyTop
Back in the day the strip used to be one of the coolest game day party venues in college football.
Those glory years are long gone and will forever be but a distant memory.
For years we parked at the Tyson house directly across from Gus's Good Time Deli.
There was a live band at the hotel right behind Gus's. They sold 32 ounce cups of beer right there in the parking lot.
The bars were all rocking before and after the game.
The past 15 years or so it's just been a dead zone up there.
Those glory years are long gone and will forever be but a distant memory.
For years we parked at the Tyson house directly across from Gus's Good Time Deli.
There was a live band at the hotel right behind Gus's. They sold 32 ounce cups of beer right there in the parking lot.
The bars were all rocking before and after the game.
The past 15 years or so it's just been a dead zone up there.
Posted on 5/18/17 at 7:45 am to SavageOrangeJug
The university has been pretty active in trying to strangle/kill the bar scene on the strip for some reason. That said, it's going to be so much nicer with these renovations, hopefully that leads to bars reopening.
Posted on 5/18/17 at 11:10 am to SavageOrangeJug
That's hard for me to even imagine as the Strip has looked like shite for most if not all of my adult life. It's always been a good time (pre construction) but just an absolute eye sore. It's going to be odd in a good way to see the finished product. Hopefully they market the hell out of it to prospective students and student athletes as we've had one of the uglier campuses in the conference for years imo. The entire Cumberland corridor all the way to downtown proper is going to look really good once they finish up with the Student Center and some of the other buildings along Cumberland. Exciting times
Posted on 5/18/17 at 11:28 am to BigOrangeVols
quote:
The university has been pretty active in trying to strangle/kill the bar scene on the strip for some reason.
A lot of it had to do with the football team.
Some of our players were as legendary for the barroom brawls on the Strip as they were their play on the field. Dale Jones, Shane Burton, Tom 'Big Nasty' Myslinsky, and Bill Duff to name a few.
There was a time the Knoxville Police Department would look the other way for the football team. That time has long since passed.
Posted on 5/18/17 at 11:47 am to SavageOrangeJug
I think it also had a lot to do with the downtown revitalization push of the last 15 years or so. Knoxville can only support so many establishments and currently, most of them are in the old city, Market Square, Gay St, etc.
A lot of money has been poured into those areas. This has brought in the businesses, and it's been very successful. Hopefully, the Strip will catch up with the new investments going in there.
A lot of money has been poured into those areas. This has brought in the businesses, and it's been very successful. Hopefully, the Strip will catch up with the new investments going in there.
Posted on 5/18/17 at 5:44 pm to Torch
quote:
I think it also had a lot to do with the downtown revitalization push of the last 15 years or so. Knoxville can only support so many establishments and currently, most of them are in the old city, Market Square, Gay St, etc.
That is the city part, and yes that has some bear. The university really did get a case of the arse against the bar scene on the Strip.
Most people don't remember what started it. Years ago when Playboy did their first "Top 10 Party Schools" list.
They did 1-10...and then they said:
"We didn't put Tennessee on the Top 10 list, because they stand alone." They then detailed the wild party scene at UT. The Strip figured prominently. UT admins were not pleased. They publicly announced they were going to work to change the party culture.
Then it started getting bad publicity 25 years ago or so when KPD would no longer look the other way when athletes got drunk and showed their arse.
UT admins would be happy if they closed every bar on the Strip.
Posted on 5/19/17 at 2:00 am to TRUERockyTop
quote:
That's hard for me to even imagine as the Strip has looked like shite for most if not all of my adult life. It's always been a good time (pre construction) but just an absolute eye sore. It's going to be odd in a good way to see the finished product. Hopefully they market the hell out of it to prospective students and student athletes as we've had one of the uglier campuses in the conference for years imo. The entire Cumberland corridor all the way to downtown proper is going to look really good once they finish up with the Student Center and some of the other buildings along Cumberland. Exciting times
Even back in the day the Strip had a somewhat Seattle Grunge style quality but it also had a coolness to it. There were record/cd stores, bars everywhere, coffee shops, tucked away pizza joints, sandwich shops, live music everywhere, and just about every bar and grill that had an adjoining parking lot turned said lot into a party complete with kegs on game days.
It was NOT the WE BUY GOLD dump it became sometime in the mid-2000s or so.
As for who shut it down/strangled it to death... while it's true that UT campus coveted some of the land (got some of it too) they were mainly focused away from the Strip near the Law School. It was KPD is what killed the Strip. They started calling in the Fire Marshall to thin out game day crowds, forbade open containers (before you could get away with walking around with a plastic cup full of beer on gameday), handing out pub. intox fines, and disallowing restaurants from opening up the parking lots on game days. All with the support of city council.
As soon as business could no longer make game day money they died. A lot of people just don't understand that you made your entire year through football and basketball season and spent months with virtually no business.
I'm glad they've renovated the Strip but it's really sad how much was lost. While there were chains for sure, the Strip also had tons of locally owned businesses that made it feel alive.
Posted on 5/19/17 at 2:10 am to Prof
Place is a disaster right now. What bars are left? Cool Beans and Hannah's? I guess you have Uptown and Studio X but both of those places serve...niche crowds.
Nothing to write home about on the food side either. I couldn't tell you what kind of restaurants they have over these days outside of all the chains. Copper Cellar and Gus's are still there I guess.
Just no reason to go over there unless you live on campus or in the Fort I guess.
Needs some real upgrades.
Nothing to write home about on the food side either. I couldn't tell you what kind of restaurants they have over these days outside of all the chains. Copper Cellar and Gus's are still there I guess.
Just no reason to go over there unless you live on campus or in the Fort I guess.
Needs some real upgrades.
Posted on 5/19/17 at 2:41 am to volfan30
quote:
Just no reason to go over there unless you live on campus or in the Fort I guess.
Needs some real upgrades.
Before Market Square was renovated it got a lot of business from those attending conventions. But yeah, it seems the only places that survived the alcohol policy, city council war, and economic downturn were Copper Cellar and Gus's.
It was never the best looking real estate but it had a charm and vibe that has been erased along with those old mom and pop's and other businesses. When that charm/trend-setting coolness went away it started to look more and more like an inner city dump where only pawn shops, liquor stores, and a sign reading "Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here," seemed appropriate.
Old City had a lot of the same charm as the Strip albeit with way cooler buildings but the emphasis on Market Sq. by the city has hurt both. Really and truly, they need to make it so that from Old City all the way to the Strip you feel like you're in a continuously cool area.
Posted on 5/19/17 at 3:41 am to Prof
quote:
Even back in the day the Strip had a somewhat Seattle Grunge style quality but it also had a coolness to it. There were record/cd stores, bars everywhere, coffee shops, tucked away pizza joints, sandwich shops, live music everywhere, and just about every bar and grill that had an adjoining parking lot turned said lot into a party complete with kegs on game days.
My God, we had fun on game day back them.
I was discussing that with a friend the other day. You literally couldn't wait for game day. Even the small games.
Posted on 5/19/17 at 7:44 am to Prof
quote:
Old City had a lot of the same charm as the Strip albeit with way cooler buildings but the emphasis on Market Sq. by the city has hurt both. Really and truly, they need to make it so that from Old City all the way to the Strip you feel like you're in a continuously cool area.
It's getting there but there's no way to connect the strip to Market Square and Old City. Your best bet is connecting Old City and Market Square, which is somewhat done already via Gay Street.
Posted on 5/19/17 at 9:25 am to Supravol22
When I was back in Knoxville a few weeks ago, we rode the trolley from Sapphire on Gay St down to the Old City. It was fun and quick and the walk back up to Gay St. was still pretty easy.
There was this dude who jumped on who obviously had the munchies and was raving about Wendy's Baconators: "I'm going through the drive through, then I'm gonna crawl through the window, ride a bike around the counter, then call a taxi to the onions! Baconator. Now that is cuisine!"
Nevertheless, it was fun, quick and free.
The Trolley already runs a line down Cumberland to within about a block of the strip. It's free and runs every 10-15 mins I think. If they put a stop right at the top of the strip that ran to Market Square, that would at least provide a link.
The problem with trying to directly connect the two areas is that the University has already swallowed up any space that could be developed between 17th and 11th. It's also like 10 blocks, which is farther than most people are willing to walk. Unless things started popping up along Clinch Ave, there isn't a way to really connect the two directly.
On a different note, does anyone have recent pictures of the redevelopment, or know of a spot where they post updates? I stopped by in April, but I'd like to keep up on the progress. I can't just drive down and see it, because California.
There was this dude who jumped on who obviously had the munchies and was raving about Wendy's Baconators: "I'm going through the drive through, then I'm gonna crawl through the window, ride a bike around the counter, then call a taxi to the onions! Baconator. Now that is cuisine!"
Nevertheless, it was fun, quick and free.
The Trolley already runs a line down Cumberland to within about a block of the strip. It's free and runs every 10-15 mins I think. If they put a stop right at the top of the strip that ran to Market Square, that would at least provide a link.
The problem with trying to directly connect the two areas is that the University has already swallowed up any space that could be developed between 17th and 11th. It's also like 10 blocks, which is farther than most people are willing to walk. Unless things started popping up along Clinch Ave, there isn't a way to really connect the two directly.
On a different note, does anyone have recent pictures of the redevelopment, or know of a spot where they post updates? I stopped by in April, but I'd like to keep up on the progress. I can't just drive down and see it, because California.
Page 1 of 1
Back to top
Follow SECRant for SEC Football News