Bijou Theatre (Knoxville, Tennessee)
[2] The Lamar House Hotel was built by Irish immigrant Thomas Humes (1767–1816) and his descendants, and quickly developed into a gathering place for Knoxville's wealthy.In 1819, Andrew Jackson became the first of five presidents to lodge at the hotel, and in the early 1850s, local businessmen purchased and expanded the building into a lavish 75-room complex.[2] The hotel was initially managed by a local tavern owner named Archibald Rhea, and was advertised as the largest in East Tennessee.In October 1860, ex-Congressman John H. Crozier delivered a pro-secession speech in front of the hotel in which he called the city's pro-Union newspaperman, Parson Brownlow, a "coward.[2] After Sneed died in 1869, his children inherited the Lamar House, and over the next two decades, the hotel once again developed into the preferred gathering place for Knoxville's elite.Frequent attendees included author Frances Hodgson Burnett (whose brother worked as a bartender at the hotel) and artist Lloyd Branson.[6][7] In the 1890s, Knoxville's business focus shifted to the Southern Railroad area toward the north end of Gay Street, and the Lamar Hotel began to decline.Traditional theater played a major role in the Bijou's early success, with performances that included Mr. Green's Reception, which starred the Marx Brothers.[2] Performers at the Bijou during the 1920s included John Philip Sousa and his band, Anna Pavlova and the Ballet Russe, and magician Harry Blackstone.Live performances continued, however, among them Dorothy Gish in Life with Father in 1941, Lunt and Fontanne in Robert Sherwood's There Shall Be No Night in 1941, and Ethel Barrymore in Emlyn Williams's The Corn Is Green in 1943.
KnoxvilleDowntown KnoxvilleCoordinatesAC EntertainmentCapacityU.S. National Register of Historic PlacesFederalGeorgiantheaterKnoxville, TennesseetheatrevaudevilleNational Register of Historic PlacesAndrew JacksonCivil WarWilliam P. SandersGilded Agemasquerade ballsGay StreetMarx BrothersDizzy GillespieJohn Philip SousaBallets RussesEthel BarrymoreAlfred LuntLynn FontanneJohn CullumHoudinimacadamizinggradingClassical RevivalCorinthian columnsmotifsCharles McClungtavernEast Tennesseegranarylooking glassWilliam M. ChurchwellGazaway Bugg LamarWilliam H. SneedsecessionistJohn H. CrozierParson BrownlowKnoxville CampaignFrances Hodgson BurnettLloyd BransonRutherford B. HayesJames Holt ClantonOtis elevatorGeorge CohanLittle Johnny JonesB. F. Keith'sKnoxville CollegeAnna PavlovaHarry BlackstoneTennessee TheatreDorothy GishLife with FatherRobert SherwoodThere Shall Be No NightEmlyn WilliamsThe Corn Is GreenKnoxville Symphony OrchestraBill Haslamfly equipmentMcCusker, J. J.American Antiquarian SocietyAscend AmphitheaterFinley StadiumGreat Stage ParkLevitt ShellLiberty Bowl Memorial StadiumMud IslandNissan StadiumBluebird CaféExit/InGrand Ole OpryRyman AuditoriumWar Memorial AuditoriumStation InnRobert's Western WorldBridgestone ArenaFedExForumFreedom Hall Civic CenterMcKenzie ArenaMurphy CenterNashville Municipal AuditoriumOman ArenaMid-South ColiseumThompson–Boling ArenaViking Hall Civic CenterBonnarooLive on the Green Music FestivalCMA Music FestivalBeale Street Music FestivalBig Ears FestivalPyramid ArenaStarwood Amphitheatre