Overview

“The Knoxville International Energy Exposition,” also known as “Energy Expo 82,” was held in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, from May 1 to October 31, 1982. A specialized exhibition under the theme "Energy Turns the World," it was produced by the Knoxville International Energy Exposition (KIEE), with S. H. "Bo" Roberts as president and banker Jake Butcher as chairman of the board. Over its six-month run, 11,127,786 visitors passed through the turnstiles.

Origins and the bid

The idea grew out of the energy crisis of 1973 and 1974 and the example of Expo 1974 Spokane. W. Stewart Evans of the Downtown Knoxville Association proposed an energy-themed Expo, and Mayor Kyle Testerman appointed a group to study its feasibility. When federal officials discouraged a 1980 date because of plans for an exhibition in Los Angeles, organizers set their sights on 1982, and in early 1977 they persuaded the International Exhibitions Bureau (Bureau International des Expositions, BIE) that Knoxville could host it. Under Mayor Randy Tyree, the city issued $11.6 million in bonds to acquire and prepare the site.

The site

The grounds, about 29 hectares, occupied an abandoned Louisville and Nashville Railroad yard between downtown Knoxville and the University of Tennessee campus. The existing rail station and foundry were renovated for restaurants, offices and VIP rooms. Above the site rose the Sunsphere, a 266-foot (81-meter) tower crowned by a five-story globe of gold-tinted glass, designed by William Denton and Hubert Bebb of Community Tectonics, with an observation deck open to visitors during the Expo.

Pavilions and international participation

President Ronald Reagan opened the Expo on May 1, 1982. The BIE lists 16 official participants. Western European nations signed on early, with the European Economic Community joining as a bloc, while the Soviet Union withdrew after its invasion of Afghanistan. The People's Republic of China, which signed a letter of intent in October 1980, presented carved lacquerware, bricks from the Great Wall, and two life-size statues from the tomb complex at Xi'an. Its pavilion proved the most popular on the grounds, with waits of up to four hours. Hungary's pavilion displayed a giant Rubik's Cube.

Legacy

The KIEE paid all its bills before it disbanded, but the city remained deeply in debt for its investment in the site and did not retire that debt until May 2007. Just over three months after the Expo closed, federal agents descended on the banks run by Jake and C. H. Butcher, an episode many residents associated with the Expo even though it was reportedly unrelated to its financing.

The Sunsphere and the amphitheater are the only original structures that remain. Most of the grounds now form World's Fair Park, while the Knoxville Convention Center, opened in 2002, occupies the eastern part of the former site and holds the Hungarian Rubik's Cube. The Knoxville Museum of Art opened on the grounds in 1990, and the old L&N station now houses the L&N STEM Academy. Expo 1982 Knoxville gave a mid-sized city a lasting landmark and a reshaped edge to its downtown.