Follow The Yellow Brick Road: April

 Let me tell you, getting to this point has been a struggle. I am glad that I am here but let's get into it!

The great Patricia Neal is the star of this month! She is very well known for her role in Breakfast at Tiffany's, however, we are going to look at The Day The Earth Stood Still.

What beings from outside of our world come to speak with us about our intentions, the world panics. 

It's the early rise of Sci-Fi Movies this month. Since it's so early there isn't really much to the plot of this movie. I will say that this movie wasn't bad. I don't think I would have ever had watched it had it not been for the fact that Patricia Neal is in it. She was wonderful, and she gave lots of hope to the story, but the story was ok for me. Not too much really to be invested in. 

We are taking another good look downtown this month by being in the Historic Downtown.

This is the old Courthouse. It one of four that have been around downtown. However, it's no longer used as courthouse these day. The local government still uses it for offices and such but not much for anything else. There have been many historic decisions have been made in these alls. The most notable one would be desegregating Clinton High School in 1956. It was the first school in the south to be desegregated. 

In the yard of this building are a few statues that need to be noted. 

The first governor of Tennessee is buried, along with his wife, in the lawn. His name is John Sevier and he was a Revolutionary War hero. He actually died in the lands that would later become Alabama, and was buried there. in the 1880's, during the construction of this building, he was exhumed from Alabama and buried here. 

The soldier that stands outsit the courthouse is to honor those who fought in the Spanish-American. War. It was placed in 1940 but those who actually fought in the way and was the last staue places in the downtown area for a couple of decades.

 This status if the Beloved Woman of Justice that was placed here in 2000. 

The post office was designed in 1932 and it's shows off Tennessee Marble in the best way possible. The eagles that are featured here are carved by Alber Malani, an Italian immigrant who lived in Knoxville for 60 years. 

The Medical Arts Building was build in 1931 and was intended for people who worked in the medical field to live here. It's not hold lots of residents and buisnesses. 

Park House was originally supposed to be a home for John Sevier but he gave up the home in 1812. That same year Irish immigrant James Park took the house and finished building it. James Park became Knoxville's Second and Fourth Mayor. His son was born in the house and died there 90 years later. It's now the heardquarters of the Gulf & Ohion Shor-line Railroad. 

The YWCA has been around since 1925 and it's been a place for women to seek help all this time. However, one of it's more interesting notes is that it was used in the movie October Sky in 1999. The lobby was used to be Indianpolis hotel. 

The YMCA has been home to many people through the years with Benton Mackaye being one of them. He was the creator of the Appalachian Trial. However, one of the most intertesting stories is the in 1944 the FBI caputed a Nazi Spy, who was in town tyring to find out what was going on at Oak Ridge. 

The Lawson McGhee Library has been here since 1971 and it's the third library to honor Charles McClung McGhee's daughter who died giving birth in 1883. 

There are a few churches that we do need to take note of here as well. 

The is First Baptist and it's has called Knoxville it's home since 1924. The Steeple was actually originally built in order to hide a radio tower. The second Knoxville Radio station was actually a religious based network from this church. 

St. John's Episcopal is a beautiful building that has been here since 1892. That is the original church building has been. There has been lost of expansions in the years since it has been here. The church was the home church to Author James Agee. 

Church Street Methodist is the last of the churches on today's list. This church opened in 1930, on the same day of the opening of the Great Smokey Mountain National Park. 

 I know that something of these were cheats. I clearly pictures taken from my car. However, that is life. It's not always how you image it to be. I do love showing off my city, even if it's not in the way that I had wanted to. However, there is only so much that a person can do when life gets nuts. I am clearly behind, seeing that this is being published in June. However, I have done everything to May except write the dang blog. I will be working on that tomorrow and I pray I can get it all caught up before I go back to work and prolong that too!