Knoxville SunSphere, Knoxville (must see)

Sometimes jokingly referred to as "The Lord's Golf Tee", the Sunsphere is an 81.07 m (266 ft) high hexagonal steel truss structure, topped with a 23 m (75 ft) gold-colored glass sphere.

Designed by the Knoxville-based architectural firm Community Tectonics, this is one of only two remnants from the 1982 World's Fair in Knoxville still standing; the other one is the Tennessee Amphitheater, located directly across a man-made pond.

In line with the Sun theme, the window glass panels of the structure are layered with 24-karat gold dust. It weighs 600 tons and features six double steel truss columns to support the seven-story sphere. The sphere itself, in its original design, had a diameter of 86.5 feet (26.4 m) to represent symbolically the 865,000-mile (1,392,000 km) diameter of the Sun. During the Fair, the tower served as a restaurant which had on its menu such items as the Sunburger and a rum-and-fruit juice cocktail, called the Sunburst.

Throughout much of the 1980s and into the early 1990s, the building stood vacant. In 2007, the Sunsphere began to see occupancy.

In February 2022, the Sunsphere observation deck was reopened. Capable of holding up to 90 people, it offers a breathtaking 360-degree view stretching from downtown to the Great Smoky Mountains including World’s Fair Park, the Tennessee River, and the University of Tennessee Campus. Other on-site amenities include a 1982 World’s Fair timeline, a gallery, memorabilia, and a gift shop.

Originally created as the symbol of the Fair, today the Sunsphere serves as a symbol for Knoxville, often featured on postcards and logos.

Admission is $5 per person and free for children under 12.