“Towering symbol of the 1982 World's Fair”
The Sunsphere, in Knoxville, Tennessee, is an 81.07 m high hexagonal steel truss structure, topped with a 23 m gold-colored glass sphere that served as the symbol of the 1982 World's Fair. Designed by the Knoxville architectural firm Community Tectonics, the Sunsphere was created as the theme structure for the 1982 World's Fair. It was noted for its unique design in several engineering publications. The World's Fair site later became a public park alongside Knoxville's official convention center and adjacent to the University of Tennessee's main campus. The Sunsphere remains erect directly across a man-made pond from a vacant outdoor stage. Although entering the Sunsphere was illegal for several years, it was not impossible. During the fair it cost $2 to take the elevator to its observation deck. The tower served as a restaurant and featured food items such as the Sunburger and a rum and fruit juice cocktail called the Sunburst. In the early morning hours on May 12, 1982, a shot was fired from outside the fair site and shattered one of the sphere's windows. No one was ever arrested for the incident.
Reviews
This was so neat! I have 6 kids and it was raining and it was still worth going to see. Free! A cool view! Only took 20 minutes. Great way to break up a trip.
Nice quick little stop. Pulled into taxi lane, jumped out, took selfie, and we were off!
It's under renovation right now and even though we didn't get to go up the sphere the area is gorgeous and we enjoyed walking the park. We look forward to any events in this area. Parking is horrible btw.
It's free to ride the elevator up and see the town from above. There are pedestals with city info telling what is ahead of you.
It's something to see for five minutes.
Wowza!!! Awesome views from the observation deck and the whole structure was just awesome!
I would spend my time reading about the history of the World Fair, not visiting the sunsphere. More interesting and more enriching than this odd structure.
Lots of bike trails in the area as well as walking paths. Highly recommend stopping here to check it out.
Free to visit. Quick stop, wish I had time to do the free art museum Nearby but I was just passing by. Nice views and interesting info at the top. The whole park around is quite pretty as well. I parked at a cheap meter a few blocks away.
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Sunsphere
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Wheelchair Accessible
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