East Tennessee Historical Society’s annual Downtown Home Tour offers a unique opportunity to see what urban living has to offer. This year’s event was held on Saturday, June 14. Amelia Bartlett takes us on a voyeuristic stroll through this year’s crop of homes.
After years of watching Knoxville downtown residential transformation from the sidewalks below, the chance to actually step inside these converted buildings and modern developments felt like getting a backstage pass to the city’s evolution.
The tour offered a fascinating contrast to the Victorian homes I’d explored in Old North Knoxville — instead of century-old cottages and Queen Anne architecture, this was Knoxville’s urban living story written in converted banks, former department stores and brand-new developments overlooking the new stadium. Each stop promised a different answer to the same question: What does it mean to make a home in the heart of the city?
Walking between buildings on a perfect June morning, I found myself in conversations with fellow tour-goers about everything from downtown parking strategies to the challenges of historic preservation. There’s something special about a group of people united by curiosity about how their neighbors live, especially when those neighbors have chosen to call downtown Knoxville home.
Century Building
If you’ve ever looked up above Chivo Taqueria and The Humble Hog and thought, Look at those windows!, you really ought to get a look behind them. Palladian windows (arched windows sometimes referred to as Venetian style) are just one of the many preserved details of the Century Building, the 1920s-built newly-converted “urban luxury” residences overlooking Gay Street and the Old City.
Unit 503 was very VIP, serving champagne and Dubai chocolate surrounded by glittering light fixtures, exposed brick and a fabulous collection of designer wallpaper. Part-time second-home and part-time Airbnb, you’d never know this was a rental with the sheer volume of personality in this flat. With art from local galleries and plush, colorful patterns in every room, I can only imagine these folks throw a fabulous party.
Next door’s Unit 504 couldn’t have been more different with crisp, airy neutrals and quintessential University of Tennessee swag in every eyeline. This loft felt almost like one of the bungalows you might tour in Old North Knoxville, and with new building regulations in place, you could experience this one for yourself on Airbnb.
Lerner Lofts
Walking into Unit 207 in the Lerner Lofts felt like a choose your own adventure moment. I opted for the pocket stairwell just off the front door and found it connected three levels and both sides of the house, all open concept with legendary acoustics. A modern black and white interior sets the foundation for reflective tile accents and bold exposed elements. When standing at the center of this space, you can look up and see the snaking ducts and staircases like scaffolding beneath soaring ceilings.
Having never lived in a loft, I can only imagine the delight of waking up and walking out the front door onto bustling Gay Street, just a stone’s throw from coffee and donuts at Status Dough. And, when opting to stay in, the back patio at Learner could easily entertain 20+ guests with spectacular views of downtown Knoxville’s rooftops — a new way to see the city.
Commerce Lofts
To the left of newer downtown staples Addison’s Books and Wabi Wear are the Commerce Lofts, concealing one of this writer’s favorite stops on the Downtown Homes tour. Unit 205 welcomes visitors with a gorgeous center staircase, resplendent with bannister (handrail), balusters (spindles) and balustrade (assembled top rail) as you’d see in a stately manor.
Antique books and fixtures accent the 100-year-plus aged original hardwood floors mixed with bold paint colors and the homeowners’ personal collections — including a few key custom pieces epitomizing their beloved puppers — to create a delightfully homey feel to this regal residence. The only non-wooded and truly ultra-modern room in this home was the bathroom, whose blue stone shower with arched glass doorway had a whole crowd of us packed into the powder room, jaws on the floor. Fun fact, this two-floor unit can be accessed at both levels.
The Holston
This corner flat overlooks Gay Street with gorgeous peek-throughs to the mountains between the sprawl of downtown architectural variety. Originally built as a bank — with its vault now serving as a speakeasy — the Holston’s stately exterior inspired this writer to research terms like frieze (ornate corners on a building), triglyphs and metopes (grooved shaping within said friezes) to better appreciate the flourishes now relegated to historic sites.
The cozy flat in Unit 401 immediately felt like home upon arrival with colorful art, tons of natural light, and a music room I never want to leave. You can see so much more from our very own Alan Sims’ apartment in this recent post.
The Crozier
Though the first half of the tour consisted of historic homes, entering the Old City brought tour-goers into the modern day. The Crozier was completed in the late-2010s as a mixed-use development over Southern Grit and Fin Two Japanese Ale House. This writer trekked five floors on account of spontaneous elevator malfunction and can say with confidence that Unit 500 was worth the walk!
The single-level interior is split into two sides; the owner’s suite features a gorgeously tiled bathroom with the only bathtub so far on the tour. The main house felt fit for entertaining with a large center room and open concept kitchen, bordered entirely by floor-to-ceiling glass-walled access to one of the largest downtown patios in Knoxville. Accessible by almost every room in the house, this patio overlooks the Old City and into South Knoxville, with views of the Tennessee River on particularly clear days.
Yardley Flats
Have you ever dreamed of living on a baseball field? Views from the units at Yardley Flats include Knoxville Smokies and One Knoxville Soccer Club games and accompanying fireworks. These units offer the five-over-one feel with leveled-up access and amenities and a blank canvas for new residents to find their fit. You can learn more about the Yardley Flats in Inside of Knoxville’s coverage of their construction and of the Covenant Health Park project.
What struck me most …
… about the Downtown Home Tour was how each space reflected not just personal style, but a different vision of urban living. From the cozy intimacy of converted historic buildings to the sleek functionality of new construction, downtown Knoxville is clearly attracting residents who want to be part of the city’s ongoing story rather than just observers of it.
Whether you’re considering a move downtown yourself, curious about historic preservation, or simply love seeing how creative people transform spaces into homes, this tour delivered insights you can’t get from street-level glimpses through windows. The homeowners and residents who opened their doors were generous with their time and stories, making each stop feel like a personal invitation rather than a formal event.
Keep an eye out for future Downtown Home Tours from the East Tennessee Historical Society — this writer will definitely be back to see how the neighborhood continues to evolve. In the meantime, next time you’re walking Gay Street or exploring the Old City, you’ll have a better sense of the lives being lived behind all those gorgeous windows.
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