Market Square Commercial Historic District | |
 Market Square, viewed from the north end | |
   | |
| Location | Market Sq. Mall, Knoxville, Tennessee |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 35°57′54″N 83°55′10″W / 35.96500°N 83.91944°W |
| Area | approximately 13 acres (5.3 ha)[2] |
| Built | circa 1870–1925 |
| Architect | multiple |
| Architectural style | Classical Revival, Italianate, Vernacular Commercial |
| NRHP reference No. | 84001138[1] |
| Added to NRHP | December 20, 1984 |
Market Square is a historic district and pedestrian mall located in downtown Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. Established in 1854 as a market place for regional farmers, the square has developed over the decades into a multipurpose venue that accommodates events ranging from concerts to political rallies, and has long provided a popular gathering place for artists, street musicians, war veterans, and activists. Along with the Market House, Market Square was home to Knoxville's City Hall from 1868 to 1924. Market Square was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.[2]
Land for the market place was given to the city by William G. Swan and Joseph A. Mabry.[3] Farmers from the surrounding area would bring their wagons to the Market House, where they sold their produce and wares.[4] During the Civil War, the Union Army used the Market House as a barracks and magazine.[5]: 23–25 Knoxville's post-Civil War population boom brought about continued development in Market Square, most notably the construction of Peter Kern's confections store (now The Oliver Hotel) in 1876 and Max Arnstein's seven-story department store in 1906. After the Market House damaged by fire in 1960, the remainder of the building was demolished, and Market Square was converted into a pedestrian mall.[2]
A local newspaper once dubbed Market Square, "the most democratic place on earth," where "the rich and the poor, the white and the black, jostle each other in perfect equality."[6] The Square has been mentioned in the works of James Agee, Cormac McCarthy, David Madden, Ken Mink and Richard Yancey,[5]: 113–122 and has hosted performers ranging from Duke Ellington to Steve Winwood.[5]: 52–60 Politicians and activists who have delivered speeches at the Square include Frances Willard, Booker T. Washington, William Jennings Bryan, Edward Ward Carmack, and Ronald Reagan.[5]: 97–102, 174
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ a b c Ann Bennett, National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form for Market Square Commercial Historic District, 10 July 1984.
- ^ The Fragile 15 List of Knox County's Most Endangered Properties Archived 2008-10-22 at the Wayback Machine, Knox Heritage, Inc., 2006 (accessed March 2, 2009)
- ^ Market Square History Archived 2009-01-05 at the Wayback Machine, City of Knoxville website, accessed March 2, 2009
- ^ a b c d Jack Neely, Market Square: A History of the Most Democratic Place on Earth (Knoxville, Tenn.: Market Square District Association, 2009).
- ^ Neely, Market Square, p. 96. Neely cites a 1900 issue of the Knoxville Journal as the source of the quote.