Reimagining a Riverside Legacy
The story of Lakeshore Park in Knoxville, Tennessee, follows an arc from pain and isolation to community healing. Located on the site of a former state mental hospital, the 185-acre park transforms a once fortified and isolating place into an inclusive public space dedicated to civic, ecological, and physical health.
This transformation began over 35 years ago, when a small group of local parents petitioned the East Tennessee Hospital for the Insane for access to a few acres of its largely unused campus to build Little League baseball fields. This grassroots effort gradually expanded as community advocates reclaimed more land and reimagined its future. Stewardship ultimately transitioned to the Lakeshore Park Conservancy, in partnership with the City of Knoxville, culminating in public stewardship of the full site. Today, the park welcomes more than one million visitors annually and stands as the city’s most visited public green space.
In 2019, NBW led a comprehensive landscape plan that honored the site’s layered cultural and ecological history while reshaping it for contemporary public use. Extensive site investigation examined Indigenous histories, institutional legacies, topography, hydrology, and native ecologies of the Tennessee River Valley. The resulting design framework organized the park into three interconnected, but distinct zones—Natural, Athletic, and Civic.
At the heart of the Civic Zone, the newly constructed Overlook Plaza and Esplanade align with the historic Administration Building, opening panoramic views to the Tennessee River and the Great Smoky Mountains beyond. A monumental earthwork, the Mound, anchors the opposite end of the Civic Zone. Constructed using on-site fill generated during demolition and grading, the Mound transforms what was unused park space into a flexible event lawn and overlook.
Subsequent phases expanded opportunities for physical wellness and ecological restoration. New ballfields were relocated to the Athletic Zone to improve safety and circulation, while new sports courts, fitness stations, universally accessible playgrounds, and a Little League Challenger Field broadened access for users of all ages and abilities. More than 700 trees were planted to increase canopy cover, mitigate heat, and enhance biodiversity. A seven-acre warm-season grass meadow provides pollinator habitat, improves stormwater infiltration, and significantly reduces long-term mowing and maintenance demands.
