I spent part of this past weekend with the Central High School class of 1984. Unbelievably, it’s been 40 years since we donned our caps and gowns and began our march into adulthood. A fine time was had by all who attended.
On Sunday, an announcement (finally) came from Amazon that the distribution center in East Knoxville (scheduled to open two years ago) would tentatively be in operation prior to this year’s holiday season. Notices for employment opportunities would go up 30 days prior to launch date.
You’re probably wondering what on earth a class reunion and Amazon have to do with each other: hear me out. My classmates and I were born in 1965 and 1966. The class of 1984, broadly speaking, is comprised entirely of the first members of the forgotten generation, Generation X. Not late baby boomers, not generation Jones, but the opening salvo of the generation that thrived on hair metal, new wave, grunge and hip-hop.
For those of us who lived anywhere in the county east of Papermill Drive, what arrived for the class of ’84 shortly after graduation was the opening of East Towne Mall (what I will forever call it). We didn’t have to travel out to west Knoxville anymore to be mall rats. Not only could we shop, grab a bite to eat or just hang out with our friends, we could catch a movie at the East Towne 7 theatre. Granted, we had to go elsewhere to see Prince in Purple Rain (at least four times), but it was the first place we caught The Karate Kid, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, The Neverending Story, Star Trek III: the Search for Spock, and Red Dawn (Go Wolverines!).
East Towne opened on July 25, 1984, with 100 of its planned 170 stores ready to go. I didn’t go on opening day or even opening week. But mall officials at the time estimated at least 25,000 showed up just for the opening ceremonies, and that 100,000 had made it through the 1 million square feet of space by the time doors closed that night. That’s a lot of folks to squeeze into 5,000 parking spaces (Sidebar to those thinking of charging for parking downtown all the time: free and easy parking at malls killed city centers everywhere. Stop it.). The food court and the waterfalls in the central atrium were hits right off the bat.
One attendee that opening day quipped “it’s about time North Knoxville and East Knoxville got something.” Indeed. It’s a sentiment we still feel 40 years on, with the mall closing in early 2020 after years of neglect, and its destruction the following year.
Favorite stores for me and my crew were the Record Bar, Spencer’s Gifts, The Limited and Limited Express, and, of course, The Merry Go Round (had to have a denim jacket with leather fringe). Mannequin modelling was a popular gimmick at the time, and I once spent a couple of days showing off swimsuits in a shop window myself. It was … weird.
The lure of the mall would prove stronger for those following the Class of 1984. Oh, yes, we still went there to shop and see movies. But the fall of that year brought departures for the military, new jobs, starting college, etc. But we finally had a mall in our own backyard, and, truthfully, we still miss it.
Beth Kinnane writes a history feature for KnoxTNToday.com. It’s published each Tuesday and is one of our best-read features.
Sources: Knoxville News Sentinel digital archives¸ McClung Historical Collection digital archives/Knox County Library: Knox County Two Centuries Photograph Project