won't you take me to Irish Town

The Old City is probably Knoxville's most interesting neighborhood. I went there on my second night in town and I've been going back every week since. A radio station flew me in for a job interview and put me up at the hotel on Summit Hill. After a day of meetings, I walked to the Old City to see Einstein Simplified perform on a Tuesday night in the Spring of 2002.

The cover story of this week's Metro Pulse is all about the Old City. Jack Neely mentions most of the bars and restaurants, including the new pizza place. The article describes the activity on a typical weekend night at the bars and the lack of activity during a typical day at the retailers. However the Tuesday night gathering of almost 100 disciples of improv in an upper room gets totally ignored.

Patrick Sullivan's is the site of our weekly comedy show. The building dates back to 1888 and was reportedly a brothel in the old days. The structure has a unique look that I find appealing. Back in March, I showed you some drinking glasses with Sullivan's turret on them. There's a sidebar about the history of the Old City on the Metro Pulse website. Here's an excerpt that gives another reason why I might feel so comfortable down there:

Everybody who talks about the Old City's past simplifies the story a little. It was the red-light district. It was the immigrant district. It was the Warehouse District. It was the African-American district. It was called "the Bottom." It was called "Irish Town." It was called "the Bowery."

The movement to embellish the area into an urban commercial district was apparently led by the man for whom the Old City's most distinctive building is named. Patrick Sullivan was an Irish immigrant and Union veteran whose successful saloon became the hallmark of a neighborhood.

Beginning in the 1850s, the Irish, who came to the growing town to work on the railroad and other local industries, settled around the northern fringes of downtown because it was near their work and especially because it was near the only Catholic church in East Tennessee. Immaculate Conception was established up on the hill overlooking what came to be known to a generation as Irish Town.

It's all a matter of perspective but to me the Old City isn't only about the live music or the drinking. It's also about the comedy. Jack Neely should check it out.