Sunsphere in Knoxville, Tenn.

Soaring 266-feet into the sky and topped in gold, it’s hard to miss the Sunsphere in downtown Knoxville, Tennessee.

The tower is located in World’s Fair Park.

Designed by Hubert Bebb of Community Tectonics Architects, it was built for the 1982 World’s Fair held on the site from May to October, welcoming over 11 million visitors.

Signs on the site indicated that this was the last successful World’s Fair held in the U.S.

That’s odd phrasing. Does that mean there were unsuccessful World’s Fairs held in the U.S.?

Fortunately, some web sleuthing revealed that the 1984 New Orleans World’s Fair actually filed for bankruptcy (the only one to do so!) due to low attendance, and there have been no more World’s Fairs held in the U.S. since.

The Sunsphere sits on a 198-foot-high hexagonal steel truss, which was apparently quite innovative. It was featured in several engineering publications, and its architect is also known for designing the observation tower on Clingman’s Dome, the high point of Tennessee.

The sphere, whose windows are layered in 24-karat gold dust, adds another 74 feet of height.

I think that’s Church Street United Methodist Church featured bottom left, with the Smoky Mountains in the distance. This picture was taken from the observation deck inside the Sunsphere, naturally.

The Sunsphere is in good company for tall World’s Fair structures. Perhaps you’ve heard of the Eiffel Tower (1889 World’s Fair) or the Seattle Space Needle (1962 World’s Fair)?

The Sunsphere stands directly across from the amphitheater, which is the only other structure remaining from the event.

For $5 a person, you can ride up to the observation deck on the fourth level for a view of the city and distant mountains. There are a couple of businesses renting space inside, but grander plans have all fallen through.