Web Logs
12/5/2003 - The 1982 World's Fair and The Mighty Sunsphere!
(From my Going to Graceland trip earlier this year.)
I had an opportunity to visit the 1982 World;s Fair when if first opened down in Knoxville Tennessee. That opportunity was quashed by poor grades and having to attend summer school and I've always regretted it (as I've regretted so much of my academic history...). Well it took me over 20 years, but I finally made it to see the Sunsphere and what's left of the site.
The place itself is under renovation so most everything was closed. A hunky construction worker grumbled that I wasn't supposed to be in the work zone so I smiled and continued wandered about taking pictures. Hmm. 20 years later it's still a fascinating site. Curvilinear concrete walkways, a large central lagoon, some shopworn suspension tents, and the gleaming Sunsphere comprise a small, but elegant fairgrounds. The Sunsphere itself bears a striking resemblance to the Eiffel tower retro fitted for the Jeston's age, or perhaps one of Nikola Tesla's experiment towers. I love it!
