Throughout this fall, downtown Knoxville residents and visitors will have a front-row seat as the Cradle of Country Music Park undergoes the finishing touches of a $1.2 million transformation. 

The triangular-shaped 0.58-acre sloping green space at Gay Street and Summit Hill Drive is both prominent and understated. For decades, small artwork graced the site. More recently, the park has been unadorned and underutilized.
 
But this week, an artist’s team has started to stage the site for installation of a large piece of public art. In the coming weeks, the installers will be using scissor lifts to gently hoist and install a whimsical curved metal canopy atop a stylistic concrete pier. The precision installation will continue into late fall, when the park is expected to reopen.
 
The total investment of more than $1.2 million for the artwork and landscaping will recreate the passive park into a dynamic public space that is open and inviting to everyone.
 
“This transformation will be a memorable moment in downtown Knoxville,” said R.J. Justice, the City’s Chief of Urban Design and Development.
 
“We wanted to create an inviting and engaging public space at this important downtown pedestrian crossroads. This park pays tribute to Knoxville’s role in shaping country music and soon will be able to host music and small concerts here, under the trees.”
 
The Cradle of Country Music Park is adjacent to the Knoxville Visitors Center. The Lone Tree Pass private mixed-use development is under construction across the street, and the multi-use public stadium – a third of a mile to the east – opens next spring.
 
The sculpture was designed by THEVERYMANY, a New York studio led by artist Marc Fornes. The City’s Public Arts Committee selected the concept as the best from a field of 129 global applicants.
 
THEVERYMANY’s team worked in collaboration with Surface 678 and Hedstrom Design to create the vision for the park. Additional labor or financial support came from the Public Arts Committee, the City’s Urban Forestry and Horticulture divisions, the state of Tennessee, Visit Knoxville, and the Downtown Knoxville Alliance. Blount Contractors Inc. is the City’s construction contractor.
 
The designers and partners were intentional in blending the pier and its covering with their surroundings. In recreating this public space, the park’s tree canopy is being extended: 12 mature trees were preserved and one tree had to be removed. But nine new trees will be planted in the park this fall, the optimum planting season.
 
To avoid the work zone, pedestrians in the coming weeks will be using a permanent new sidewalk built across the eastern side of Cradle of Country Music Park. The sidewalk along Gay Street at the park’s western edge will be closed. Detour signs are posted.
 
Renderings of the completed park space and other information about the park can be found at www.KnoxvilleTN.gov/CradleCountryMusic.