The Bottom was a mostly Black neighborhood in Knoxville that was effectively uprooted by Urban Renewal policies in the 1950s.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Fans are getting ready to watch baseball inside Knoxville’s new Covenant Health Park, a multi-million dollar project that was meant to bring the Knoxville Smokies back to the city. During games, fans will have a chance to explore some of the city’s Black history.
Leaders of the baseball team worked with the Beck Cultural Exchange Center to preserve the site’s Black history. It was built at the former site of “The Bottom,” a predominantly Black neighborhood that was effectively uprooted in the 1950s by Urban Renewal policies. Reneé Kesler, the president of the center, said the area was vibrant from the late 1800s to the early 1900s.
“It was the place where they went to school, it was the place where the neighbors knew each other,” she said. “When you talk about The Bottom, you talk about community, you talk about neighbors and memories.”
The Bottom got its name from flooding issues that prevailed throughout its existence. The area has low-lying topography and so nearby creeks would routinely spill over into buildings and homes that were mostly occupied by working-class families.
When the federal Urban Renewal effort arrived in Knoxville in the late 1950s, The Bottom was one of the first neighborhoods to change. Families and business owners effectively had to sell their property for low prices, while crews worked to “slums, urban blight, and substandard housing.”
“We like to say the wrecking ball went too far, because it took the good, bad and the ugly,” said Kesler.
Around 66 years later, the Beck Cultural Exchange Center and leaders with Covenant Health Park and working to preserve some of the area’s history. Kesler said the stadium features monuments to the neighborhood, with markers that give visitors a chance to read and learn about it. THe center is also digitizing hundreds of its archives to display at the stadium.
“We want to do walking tours and driving tours, and we want to celebrate history,” said Kesler.
The stadium is expected to officially open on April 15.
