Mac Rating: 5.00 | Votes: 1 | Date: 10/07/2026 04:38:00

The Tennessee Theatre is a 1,645-seat movie palace at 604 South Gay Street in downtown Knoxville, Tennessee, designated the Official State Theatre of Tennessee. The theatre first opened on October 1, 1928, as Knoxville's Grand Entertainment Palace, with nearly 2,000 seats and a striking Moorish Revival interior designed by the Chicago firm Graven and Mayger. The building featured Italian terrazzo marble floors, Czechoslovakian crystal chandeliers, handwoven carpeting and draperies, French-inspired mouldings, Asian-influenced patterns, and a Wurlitzer pipe organ. It was one of the first public buildings in Knoxville to have air conditioning. During its heyday, the theatre premiered several films, including So This Is Love (1953) and the adaptation of James Agee's All the Way Home (1963). A 1966 refurbishment reduced seating to 1,545. After closures in the late 1970s, businessman James A. Dick purchased the theatre in 1981, and the Knoxville Opera and Knoxville Symphony Orchestra became resident companies. In 1996, the Historic Tennessee Theatre Foundation was formed, and a 25.5-million-dollar restoration and expansion concluded in January 2005, restoring the original 1928 design while modernising the stage, acoustics, lighting, rigging, and adding elevators and a new marquee. Seating was set at its current 1,645. The Tennessee Theatre now hosts classical music, Broadway touring productions, concerts, vintage films, dance, and is a primary venue for the internationally recognised Big Ears Festival.