Where is Old North Knoxville?

Funny question to ask, right? Well, maybe not so unusual after all.

If you received this newsletter in the mail, the odds are 90% in favor that you live in Old North Knoxville (ONK). The other 10% are various elected or appointed officials, property owners who live outside of ONK and other civic organizations.

Seems obvious, doesn't it? But what about people who are not listed in the categories above, or is just not all that familiar with our neighborhood? Would they be able to answer the question "Where is Old North Knoxville"? When checking the real estate sections of the newspapers one can become very confused about where ONK is. Recently, I saw a listing for "Old North Knoxville," I phoned to ask where I could see the house. The realtor responded, “Do you know where Atlantic Ave. is? It’s just a block off Atlantic.” I replied, “That’s not ONK, it’s Oakwood-Lincoln Park.” She replied, “Well that's north Knoxville.” “Yes, but not Old NK.” I said. She countered, “Well, the house is old.” I tried once again and I said, “Just because the house is old and in north Knoxville, does not mean it is in ONK; ONK is a specific neighborhood with recognized boundaries.” Recently I read a nice article in a newspaper about a house on Irwin Street featured for sale. The author wrote, "It is located on Irwin Street, which is in the transition area between ONK and Fourth & Gill." Well, no, Mr. Feature Writer, it is not. It is firmly in ONK, not a transition area outside a recognized neighborhood.

I'm sure many of you who are reading this article have shared the following experience, probably many times over, as I have. Someone asks, "Where do you live?" You reply, "I live in ONK." They light up with recognition and say, "Oh yeah, over there in Fourth and Gill." Ah..., no, F&G is not ONK.

Now you see why the headline question above is not a no-brainer, as it should be. To try and clear the record, here is the answer:
Imagine you are in a car going north on Broadway from downtown. At the intersection of Broadway and Central Avenue, ONK begins on your left. Continue north on Broadway to Glenwood Ave. and turn right. ONK is still on your left. Continue on Glenwood to Sixth Avenue, and turn left. ONK is still on your left. Continue up Sixth Ave. to Cecil Ave. and turn left. ONK is still on your left. Continue on Cecil to Broadway, and turn right. ONK is still on your left. Continue on Broadway to Woodland Ave., and turn left. ONK will still be on your left. Continue on Woodland Ave. to Central and turn left, ONK will still be on your left. Continue on Central all the way back to the intersection of Central and Broadway, and everything on your left will still be ONK. You will be back where you began, having completely circled the boundaries of ONK. 

If you can't picture all those turns in your head, you can find a wonderful map of ONK at www.OldNorthKnoxville.org by clicking on "Map". ONK is identified on the map by a green outline. So, now that we all know "where is ONK", come on out and join your ONK neighbors in the ONK organization and in the ONK mission statement "to preserve, promote and protect the ONK neighborhood. For general questions or comments regarding the newsletter please e-mail us at .

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