PRESERVING WORLD‘S FAIR PARKS: THE CASE OF KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE‘S 1982 ENERGY EXPOSITION by JENNIFER KAY BAILEY (Under the Direction of Mark Edward Reinberger) ABSTRACT There have only been six world‘s fairs in the United States since the end of World War II. Each of the cities that hosted a fair between 1945 and 1984 used it for civic improvements in their urban cores, the funding for which came partially from the United States federal government. The legacies of these fairs exist in either urban parks or civic center complexes and are becoming historically, culturally, and aesthetically significant. This thesis discusses the Knoxville World‘s Fair Park and Festival Center as a case study for the preservation of post-World War II world‘s fairs in the United States. It explores the planning and implementation of the 1982 Energy Expo in a national context with other United States world‘s fairs as urban renewal initiatives in the post-World War II era. Considering that the sites of these world‘s fairs as rare and worthy of preservation in their current states as public improvement projects in urban settings, the preservation community must consider their significance as cultural landscapes and categorize them as park-plaza landscape types for historic designation as sites or districts in the National Register of Historic Places. Finally, this thesis recommends the Knoxville Public Building Authority use the Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES) as a guideline for future management of the World‘s Fair Park and Festival Center located in Downtown Knoxville, Tennessee. INDEX WORDS: Knoxville International Energy Exposition, Energy Expo ‘82, Knoxville World‘s Fair Park and Festival Center, world‘s fair, urban renewal, urban parks, cultural landscapes, Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES), Knoxville, Tennessee PRESERVING WORLD‘S FAIR PARKS: THE CASE OF KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE‘S 1982 ENERGY EXPOSITION by JENNIFER KAY BAILEY BA, Louisiana Tech University, 2007 MA, Oklahoma State University, 2011 A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF HISTORIC PRESERVATION ATHENS, GEORGIA 2013 © 2013 Jennifer K. Bailey All Rights Reserved PRESERVING WORLD‘S FAIR PARKS: THE CASE OF KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE‘S 1982 ENERGY EXPOSITION by JENNIFER KAY BAILEY Major Professor: Mark E. Reinberger Committee: Wayde Brown Stephen Ramos Amber Eskew Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia May 2013 DEDICATION I dedicate this thesis to Knoxville, Tennessee. I dedicate this thesis to world‘s fairs, past, present, and future, and their tangible and intangible legacies. I dedicate this thesis to Amanda J. DeCort, preservation planner for the City of Tulsa, and Derek H. Lee, Interim Director of the Tulsa Foundation for Architecture, and Dr. William S. Bryans, Associate Professor of History at Oklahoma State University. These three individuals helped me to discover historic preservation. They have become not only colleagues, but also dear friends, who I am honored to have in my life. Finally, I dedicate this thesis to my parents, John and Susan Bailey, and my brothers, Andrew and Jack Bailey, for always believing in me and my abilities and for always encouraging me to trust my instincts and follow my dreams. I love you. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My committee members, Mark Reinberger, Wayde Brown, Stephen Ramos, and Amber Eskew provided guidance, advice, and patience throughout the research and writing of this thesis. I would also like to acknowledge Donna Gabriel and Melissa Tufts for their encouragement and facilitation throughout the writing process. Ian P. Shanklin of the National Park Service Midwest Regional Office in Omaha, Nebraska scheduled my weekend in Knoxville during my work with the Eastern Legacy Special Resource Study as a NCPE intern, without which I never would have found the inspiration to use the Knoxville World‘s Fair Park as a case study for a topic on world‘s fairs and their residual site uses. The research for this thesis would not have been possible without the help from the staff at the University of Tennessee‘s Special Collections Library and the staff at the McClung Collection at the East Tennessee Historical Society in Knoxville, Tennessee. They helped me to navigate the material available on the Knoxville International Energy Exposition and helped me with missing information. Finally, the staffs at the Knoxville- Knox County Metropolitan Planning Commission and at the Knoxville Public Building Authority allowed me to use their resources, library, and original site plans for my research purposes. Kaye Graybeal, Mike Carberry, Lisa Williams, and Chris Gallop will forever be in my debt because of their generosity, kindness, and accommodation. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................v LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. ix LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................x CHAPTER 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................1 2 Review of the Existing Scholarship Available on World‘s Fairs ......................8 3 United States World‘s Fairs after World War II and the Role of Urban Renewal............................................................................................................23 The Bureau of International Expositions ...................................................23 Civic Improvements, Urban Renewal, and World‘s Fairs .........................30 Seattle‘s Century 21 Exposition: ―The model for American world‘s fairs, as long as they lasted.‖ ...............................................................................35 Hemisfair ‘68: San Antonio‘s Successful Combination of Public Works and Private Investment ...............................................................................47 Expo ‘74: Spokane‘s Answer to Environmental Stewardship ..................58 The Influence of Expo ‘74 on Energy Expo ‗82 ........................................67 4 The Knoxville International Energy Exposition ..............................................72 Energy as a Theme for Knoxville‘s World‘s Fair ......................................74 Fair Siting and Layout: Second Creek Valley ..........................................76 Planned Residual Uses: United States Pavilion as an Energy Research Center .........................................................................................................86 vi Preservation Efforts: Candy Factory, L&N Station and Depot, and Foundry ......................................................................................................92 5 Knoxville World‘s Fair Park and Festival Center ..........................................102 The 1982 ASCA Charrette, Private Redevelopment Schemes, and the Working Group for the Planning of the World‘s Fair Park .....................103 The 1991 Knoxville World‘s Fair Park and Festival Center Master Plan 116 Current Manifestation and Building Uses................................................127 The Sunsphere ..........................................................................................139 6 The Preservation of The Knoxville World‘s Fair Park and Festival Center ..145 Urban Parks and Plazas and Their Role in the Community .....................146 Site or District?: Defining the Energy ‗Expo ‘82 Site as a Resource for Historic Designation ................................................................................152 7 The Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES) as a Guide for Future Use and Preservation of World‘s Fair Parks ................................................................162 Current Maintenance Plan for the Knoxville World‘s Fair Park and Festival Center .........................................................................................166 Recommendations for Knoxville‘s World‘s Fair Park and Festival Center: Application of SITES ...............................................................................168 Current Sustainability and Energy Efficiency Efforts .............................171 Conclusion ...............................................................................................177 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................182 APPENDICES A 1928 Convention of Paris ..............................................................................188 vii B International Expositions U.S. Recognition and Participation Public Law 91- 269 (1970) ...........................................................................................................202 C Map of Knoxville, Tennessee ........................................................................204 D Map of Energy Expo ‘82 Grounds .................................................................205 E Map of current World‘s Fair Park and Festival Center..................................206 F World‘s Fair Park Composite Site Plan with Culvert Highlighted ................207 viii LIST OF TABLES Page Table 3.1: Differences Between Registered and Recognized Exhibitions ........................27 Table 6.1: SITES Credits and Total Possible Points........................................................164