I hope everyone is having a great weekend! I have been updating the blog this week in preparation for this weeks episode, and finally returning back to podcasting. And it seems like there is never ending list of things I need to finish up, switch over to my name from the school account, etc. So, here’s to hoping that we all have a wonderful and productive week this week! All the images are from me this week.
TRANSCRIPT:
From the Scruffy City, it’s time for Architecture, Coffee, & Ink.
30 second Intro song
Hello, this is Hollywood C. and you’re listening to Architecture, Coffee, & Ink. A podcast dedicated to introducing concepts, detailing out designs, and tackling the architecture you might not realize the meaning behind. I’m your hostess and I am here today to start introducing you to the designs that make you wonder why.
tag line: So I ask you to brew your coffee, grab your sketch book and pen, and let’s begin.
Hello everyone! Long time no hear! So first and foremost, I would like to apologize for the unscheduled missing week.
If you are brand new to the podcast, welcome! I am so sorry that this first bit is going to be a touch confusing, but I will re-explain for everyone what happened and what I am planning to do going forward with my podcast. This will probably be the last time I explain it in this much detail, so take a mental note, and if needed, feel free to come back to this episode. I went on a research trip for school and unfortunately, when I was on my research trip, I ended up catching a cold that meant I was unable to record. I think you can probably still hear the remains of it in my voice. So I ended up skipping last week’s episodes, which ironically enough was going to be when I debuted phase 2 of my thesis. And it took quite a bit longer to overcome the cold than I was anticipating. From now on, until I graduate, I will be adding extra episodes, focused solely on my research, but to keep everyone interested and involved, I will still be continuing to do global case studies, interviews, and research. Think 2 for the price of 1. Double the episodes.
So, in light of my accidental missed episodes, I wanted to let you know that I will be making it up to everyone! I will be releasing 1 episode from last week today, and the remaining three that were scheduled will be smuggled in and released before next week. Since I have already done most of the research, it will just be me catching up on recording the episodes. But since I have a pretty big deadline on Thursday morning I can’t release all four at once, like I was hoping to do this week. Next week will be the new normal, and again, I just cannot apologize enough for mysteriously ghosting everyone. I really wasn’t anticipating the delay. I announced the delay on Facebook, and will figure out a way to do it on Insta and Tik Tok in the future. Speaking of Tik Tok, I will be recording and updating Tik Tok as well. I promise that as I continue to work and improve my podcasting skills that I will be also be working on keeping everyone updated and current. That being said, if you are still around and still listening, let’s dive into this week’s topic!
So, this week, I am proud to announce that I will be studying Knoxville, Tennessee for phase 2 of my Thesis! As many of you know, this is where I go to school, so not only am I on site, I also have the opportunity to conduct the interviews face-to-face. Which allows me the opportunity to talk to demographics that I wouldn’t traditionally get to speak to, and that most firms don’t always have the opportunity to speak with. While my actual process and conversation is more involved, I will be taking you dear listeners with me on a qualitive study, focusing on the city, people, and creating a documentary in a way. Allowing the city and the people to come alive through the stories and the histories. If this isn’t your cup of tea, again, don’t worry, I will be releasing an episode on the Norwegian Scenic Routes later this week. I am trying to be as inclusive as possible, and allow myself to be the facilitator of conversations and study how we as designers and architects approach them and the design process. But no matter how much I want to declare right now how this journey ends, the truth is, this is one giant exercise in trusting the process. We have three months left of school, so the question is, will you join me in discovering a new way to look at design?
Since we are going to be focusing this semester on Knoxville, and moreover the Standard Knitting Mill in particular, I decided to kick things off with a history of Knoxville and a few interviews from some of the students of University of Tennessee. Both to introduce the topics and also as a control group. They were all too willing to help me by trying out the coloring pages of Knoxville I made and testing the standards of the interview process. But they also helped provide a few good starting points for the research and I cannot thank them enough for be willing and helpful, and always a good shoulder to cry on. So, once again, thank you all.
But before we begin:
A clue I would like to tell of you,
Of a tale of Scruff and lore,
Each title brings about a tiny ‘mount more,
Of the pieces one by one,
Assemble together when it’s done,
And find the truth, unveiled once more.
But we are going to start an abridged early history of Knoxville, call it the 10 cent tour of the origins. Undoubtably, I will be revisiting and adding on more facts and information in the coming episodes, but the purpose of this episode is to both give a brief context and student perspective. The history of Knoxville, Tennessee started with the Paleo-Indian period-This is a good moment to remind everyone to always check your sources, check your facts, and most importantly, check me when researching. If you check out just the first few sources on a general internet search for Knoxville history, you are going to miss a lot of information, and could incorrectly be led to believe that the first people to arrive in the region much later than they actually did. Recent discoveries, and the research from those discoveries, have led to an understanding that humans would have settled the region much earlier. The most important aspect to remember as we begin our study is that most organic material will degrade faster, and this break down led to gaps in our understanding. Think if you will of plastics vs paper. Which one breaks down faster? That being said, I am not encouraging us to start over-using plastics in the quest of being good ancestors and giving archaeologist something to do in the future. Just spring load your coffin or something if you are trying to start a mystery like the rest of us, or ask your ashes to be scattered across your least favorite ex’s lawn. We have a huge enough problem with microplastics and pollution in the ocean already.
The Paleo-Indian Period is part of what is called pre-history, It is called pre-history as it is part of the time before history was recorded, or before written records. The primary proof of these people is based on the types of spear points that have been found. The difference between them, other than the general size and shaping would be the type of tools used, whether they are fluted or lanceolate, grooves, etc. Additionally, the bones and other remains can often be tested with carbon dating. This has led to an overall first time period of 15,000+ YBP or years before present. The McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture on the University of Tennessee Campus has a lot of additional information and has several essays on the newer findings and studies being conducted.
After that, came the Archaic Period, which spanned from 11,000-3,000 years before present. When looking at the artifacts from this time period, this is the first of the more stereotypical thought of arrowheads. Where there is essentially a triangle on top with a tail. And even that is an rather large simplification of the facts. This would have been a hunter-gatherer society, and due to the larger expanse of time that they were present, there is overall a larger wealth of hard artifacts.
Then comes the Woodland period, which is part of the pre-Columbian cultures in the North American pre-history. The Woodland period is actually the chronically the fourth stage, from 1000 BC- AD 1000 roughly. Often times, this is part of the cultures referred to as the Mound-Builders. Two structures have survived since this time period, which is two burial mounds-one located on the University of Tennessee Campus, by the agricultural gardens and the other located in a neighborhood in Knoxville. The best preserved one is the one on campus, as you would expect, and is somewhere that I have personally visited several times attending my nearby classes. This mound was from the late period, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places. While the mound itself was believed to have been built from AD 600-900, it was added to the register only in 1978.
Additionally, the area was occupied during the Mississippian period as well, and they also were characterized by the building of Mounds, however, unlike the Woodland mounds, these would have had another structure built on top of the mound. The best way to muddle through these, is to understand that each society or group built and added something else on top of the pre-existing. Unfortunately, this is where my research from other classes comes into the conversation. So, on my trip, I was driving the Tennessee River. Which actually goes through four states. It was for something unrelated to the larger conversation we are having today, but and this is big BUT, the currently existing river is actually very different from what it was originally. So, for my international listeners, as part of a program called the New Deal, an agency called the TVA, Tennessee Valley Authority, was established in the 1930s-umm, 1933, sorry, that year I needed to double check. So the TVA was established as a way to pull the country out of the Great Depression. Which it did as part of the Tennessee Valley Authority Act. Throughout its history it created 29 Dams across the river system and due to this it changed the river. This change in the river, means that a lot of the Mississippian Sites were affected. Not all of them, and one of my sources lists out where is still around. I am not going to list every single site out, but if you are interested in learning more about the pre-history please contact me and I can get you more information.
From here, it is believed based on some information provided by two expeditions in the 15th century that the region was then taken over by the Chiaha, until the 18th century when it was officially part of the Cherokee lands. The two expeditions that led to this information was undertaken by Hernando de Soto and Juan Pardo-both taken underneath the Spanish, though de Soto’s routes are based on the research by John R. Swanton and Charles M. Hudson. Now starting with the Cherokee in the 18th century, is what I consider to be the start of the Modern History of Knoxville. And I gave it capitalization and did air quotes and everything, because from here I am going to go through a brief condensed early start of the area, based on a previous project I did. And I have four pages of sources, a series of letters and things that I have compiled from my school library, so please bear with me as I craft this into a single narrative.
So, our story begins with a man named James White, who was born August 8th, 1747 in Rowan County, North Carolina. Over his life he served in various militias and armies, including during the American Revolution. It was due to his service, and what would be known as the North Carolina Land Grab Act that he would come to build James White Fort on a 1,000 acre lot of land. He actually explored the region, and until he served underneath The State of Franklin, from 1784-1788. So over this time period there were actually two cabins, he built one 9.5 miles from the second and final fort, worked for the State of Franklin, and then moved and built the one know now as James White’s Fort. This fort would over time come to serve as the capital. Now, of course, many of you are asking yourself- Hollywood, what do you mean by the State of Franklin, I took geography and know that there is no State in America called Franklin. So Franklin was actually a temporary state, created after the revolution when four counties declared themselves to be independent. This was done August 23, 1784. While the counties were originally in North Carolina, this eventually all joined together into what is now Tennessee. All in all, it came down to the fear of the being sold off to Foreign Countries to pay off the war debts that occurred during the Revolutionary War. My favorite tidbit, is that it was named Franklin, with the sole express purpose of currying Benjamin Franklin’s favor. I researched this fact so hard to double check if this was true. Because when I was little girl I did a huge project on Benjamin Franklin, and while I found the notes about this fact from then, I was a little afraid of my past research clouding my facts. But yes, out of everyone involved in the revolution, it was my boy Benny that they chose to name themselves after. It actually survived for four years as a Nation. Until the amounting pressures caused it to rejoin America. In moments like this, I am completely upset with myself that I didn’t set up this podcast as a once a month three-five hour release, because there is so much more history and backstory behind this.
But James White Fort was built in 1786, and was chosen as the capital of the Southwest Territory in 1790. In 1791, White donated the land that will become Knoxville, while Governor Blount organized a treaty with the Cherokee. In 1792, White and his son-in-law Col. Charles McClung-recognize that name? Surveyed and divided up the land, and sold it for $8, with the rest of the land used to charter the Blount College on September 10, 1794. And why is Blount College important? Because eventually, it would one day become the University of Tennessee. And I will go more into that history at another time as we dive more and more into the subject. I will slowly build up the information about the town, so I will post on the blog the pretty bad timeline and drawing I did about Knoxville and the formation of the James White Parkway. But for now, I am going to stop here with history. Each time, I will slowly add more and more, but just know that from here a series of treaties occur, railroad stations began coming into the region, and textiles slowly become a primary sources of industry. Quarries, and the 1919 Race Riots, each left a mark on the city. Since its creation under the Washington Administration, it survived both the Civil War, the movement of the capital away from it, and served as a “Cradle of Country Music”. But the rest of the history, you will just have to wait for. Instead, we are going to take a break from history and move into our interviews.
Now, when I was speaking with the students, I chose to ask them the exact same questions and set up the controls and parameters for my research, so, while I am piecing together this next section, please note that the interviews were actually happening at different times, and I am piecing them together into a single narrative to start painting a first layer in the history of Knoxville. And with that, please enjoy.
Interviews: Insert here.
And that’s all we have time for, but look out for the next part, coming out soon, were I continue to fill in the history, and explain just where the name “Scruffy City” came from. But as we end, remember dear friends, the truth is in-between us.
But once again a big thank you to all my listeners! I know I say this every week, but please: Please rate and review. If you liked it, loved it, hated it, let me know. I love feedback, and hearing from everyone, and more importantly, sparking conversation. We again have a Facebook page and private group, both of which are under the same name: Architecture, Coffee, & Ink, which is again, pretty young. https://architectureink.design.blog/, is the website, Everything will be linked in the show notes. I will be posting the transcript and some images on the blog later in the afternoon, so please keep an eye out for that, but as always,
May your coffee mugs be full, and your ink wells never run dry.
60 secs end song re-looped.
SOURCES:
MARKLEY, SCOTT, and MADHURI SHARMA. “Keeping Knoxville Scruffy?: Urban Entrepreneurialism, Creativity, and Gentrification down the Urban Hierarchy.” Southeastern Geographer 56, no. 4 (2016): 384–408. http://www.jstor.org/stable/26233815.
Additional sources will be added, as I unpack the boxes around my house and find my external hard drives with that information. Check back often this week as I continue to update the whole of the blog and the missing transcripts. And I finally begin to edit.
