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PIER 865 photo by artist Marc FornesPIER 865 photo by artist Marc Fornes

Photos and Design by MARC FORNES / THEVERYMANY


A small corner of downtown Knoxville has received a very big upgrade thanks to a new, long-awaited sculpture in the Cradle of Country Music Park, located at the intersection of Gay St. and Summit Hill Dr. Pier 865, by artist Marc Fornes / THEVERYMANY,  is the focal point of a $1.2 million improvement project that was conceived in 2018 and, after being delayed by the 2020 pandemic and concerns over tree plantings, completed in early 2025. 

The larger-than-life art installation — a multipiece canopy-like creation that serves as a fanciful interpretation of mature forest growth — stands out visually within the park thanks to its sheer size and its color palette of pale green and yellow.

Learn more about Pier 865:

• Downtown Knoxville - Pier 865 Public Art
• Inside of Knoxville - Pier 865 Sculpture Unfenced and Unveiled
• Marc Fornes / THEVERYMANY - PIER 865


Major Upgrade Coming to Downtown's Cradle of Country Music Park - October 2024 News Release

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.

Read More


Rendering of Cradle of Country Music Park
Click here for more renderings
Design by MARC FORNES / THEVERYMANY - theverymany.com


Construction Timeline

SUMMER 2023
Tree preservation and site preparation
Next in timeline
FALL 2023 - WINTER 2024
Construction of Pier
Next in timeline
WINTER - SPRING 2024
Continued site work, installation of walking paths, landscaping
Next in timeline
FALL
Installation of artwork
Next in timeline
EARLY 2025
New park space open to public, trees planted



2022 Tree Mitigation Plan
• One tree scheduled to be removed
• 14 new trees to be added
• View Tree Preservation Plan [PDF]

Diagram of Tree Mitigation


Cradle of Country Music Park


  Cradle of Country Music Park
  PARK DETAILS
  • .58 acre
  RIDE THE BUS TO THIS PARK
  KATRoute 22 or Green Line Trolley - Summit Hill at Gay St.
  City Council District: 6
   
Cradle of Country Music Park 

204 S. Gay St.
Knoxville, TN 37902

Downtown

Directions: From I-40, take exit 388A onto TN-158 West/James White Parkway; in .4 miles take exit for W Summit Hill Drive; in .2 miles turn right onto Gay Street.


This half-acre triangle shaped park sits at the corner of Summit Hill Drive and Gay Street and has been the location of temporary art from the Dogwood Art's Arts in Public Places program.


HISTORY OF THE PARK

In 1986, the Cradle of Country Music Park was created to recognize Knoxville's role in the promotion of Country music. The park is included on the East Tennessee Historical Society's Cradle of Country Music Walking Tour.

Also in 1986, the Knoxville News Sentinel donated an 18-foot 6,000-pound sculpture of a musical Treble Clef to honor the city's country music heritage and celebrate the paper's 100th anniversary, In 2009, the Treble Clef sculpture, made of fiberglass and metal, was removed due to deterioration and being beyond repair.

Starting in 2014, the Dogwood Arts Festival provided a sculpture piece for the park as part of their Art in Public Places Program. A new sculpture was installed each year.