Sunsphere
| Sunsphere Knoxville | |
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| Basic data | |
| Place: | Knoxville |
| Geographical location: | Coordinates: 35 ° 57 ′ 42 " N , 83 ° 55 ′ 24" W. |
| Use: | Observation tower, restaurant |
| Construction time: | 1982 |
| Costs: | |
| Architect : | Community tectonics |
| Technical specifications | |
| Height to the top: | 81.07 m |
| Elevators: | |
| Total area: | |
| Floors: | |
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The Sunsphere is the landmark built for the 1982 World Exhibition in Knoxville (Tennessee) . It consists of an 81.07 meter high steel lattice tower with a 22.55 meter ball on top.
The tower was designed by the Knoxville architecture firm Community Tectonics ; he became known for his unique appearance in several engineering publications. Nowadays, most of what was then the world exhibition site consists of a public park and an exhibition hall.
In the original design, the sphere was 86.5 feet (26.37 meters) in diameter, symbolically representing the Sun's 865,000 miles in diameter .
During the 1982 World's Fair, it cost two dollars to use the elevator to the observation deck . The tower served as a restaurant, where specialties such as the Sunburger or a drink called Sunburst were offered. The Sunsphere later remained idle for a long time, from 1992 to 1997 it served as the welcoming center for the city of Knoxville. In 2007 the tower's viewing platforms were opened to the public again. The opening of a café is also planned.
Trivia
In the episode The Trip to Knoxville ( Season 7 , 1996) of the animated series The Simpsons , the ball serves as a wig store and is brought down by Nelson Muntz .
Web links
- Information at Emporis.com (English)