History of the 500 Block 500-504 South Gay Street - Cowan, McClung and Company Building(1871, 1929, National Register 1984) Second Renaissance Revival, four story brick with dressed-faced ashlar applied to the first story of the front elevation in 1929. Bays on north elevation show original Italianate detailing except for westernmost bay, also altered in 1929. Dentiled cornice, frieze of garlands and eagles and second story voussoirs on front (west) elevation. Three front bays. Flat roof. This building originally houses the Cowan, McClung and Company, which carried dry goods. 506 South Gay Street - Walgreen Building (1938) Art Deco, one story brick with stone front façade. Fluted engaged pilasters divide three bay façade; bas-relief mortar and pestle on end bays. Flat roof. Storefront altered. Art Deco in style, this structure is distinctive for its bas relief mortar and pestle design on the cornice, and appears to be one of the few remaining downtown buildings bearing the symbolic representation of its original commercial use. The Walgreen's building was constructed in 1938. A reflection of the expected prosperity to come from TVA, the drug store and its soda fountain and lunch counter quickly became a gathering place for workers and visitors to other businesses located on the street. The businessmen who had morning coffee at the S & W often met at Walgreen's in the afternoon. Along with the S & W, the Walgreen's building was one of the last two buildings constructed on Gay Street until the 1950s. This circa 1938 drugstore is Knoxville's closest thing to a civil rights shrine, the site of some of the most dramatic of the sit'ins of 1960s. This building is believed to be the only existing civil rights site still standing in Knoxville. 510 South Gay Street - Riviera Theatre (1920) Art Deco, two story brick with corbelled cornice, projecting engaged pilasters. Chicago window in central of three bays, flanked by two smaller windows. Vertical mullions divide top side and all windows are topped by transoms divided vertically. Flat roof. Altered storefront. GONE-Demolished in 1988. The Riviera was built in 1920 into an existing Victorian building that stood on the east side of the 500 block of Gay Street. It featured a Wurlitzer organ and the innovative "Typhoon" ventilation system. It seated more than 1,000 and was hailed as "a shrine of the silent art." It christened what would be more than half a century of movies with DeMille's silent film, Conrad In Search Of His Youth. Like most theaters, the Riviera featured its share of live entertainment, from dancer Ginger Rogers to early jazz bands like the popular local orchestra Maynard Baird's Southland Serenaders. In 1927 the Riviera showed what was almost certainly the only big-studio film shot in this area during the silent era, Stark Love. The star of the controversial film, which included a brief nude scene, was Helen Mundy, a reluctant actress whom the director had discovered in a downtown Knoxville soda fountain. The movie was a national sensation for about a week, hailed by some critics as one of the great films of the year; then, like its ambivalent star, it was forgotten. The Riviera burned in 1963, sending an audience who had come to watch the special-effects adventure film Jason and the Argonauts fleeing into the street. Except for the façade, it was considered a near total loss but, remarkably, was restored, less grandly, in a matter of months, and reopened with the Audrey Hepburn/Cary Grant thriller, Charade. It continued showing films until Adios Amigo in early 1976, followed by a series of second-run films the following summer; after that came a dozen years of broken dreams, as one developer after another proposed reopening the Riviera as a performing arts center, a dinner theater or an "ultramodern" office building. Though there was a sentimental effort to restore the theater in the 1970s. The rear of the building, for years, displayed a large black-and-white mural of Charlie Chaplin, clearly visible from James White Parkway. The building was torn down around 1988 with little comment. The site is now paved for a parking lot. 514 South Gay Street - Gant Ogden Stationers Building (1913) Vernacular Commercial, two story brick with false parapet, pressed tin cornice and Dentiled string course. Transoms over second story windows. One bay. Flat roof. Altered storefront. GONE 516-518 South Gay Street - S & W Cafeteria Building (1936) Art deco, two story brick with multichrome terra cotta façade of cream and turquoise. Flatheaded central window covered by grid-pattern grill in gold. Cornice also gold. Storefront with wooden doors with large central panel and kick panels of polished black stone. Interior retains paneling, circular staircase and walkways with wrought iron railings. One bay. Flat roof. Among the best local representations of prevailing national architectural trends, the S & W is apparently the only multi-colored terra cotta clad structure in the city and one of the finest examples of a Egyptian influenced Art Deco styling in Tennessee. The S & W, a swanky, modern, art-deco cafeteria that was previously located in the 600 block of Gay Street, was built in 1936. With its opulent brass fixtures and wood-paneled interior, this new and spacious building quickly became the center of social gatherings for Gay Street businessmen and residents of Knoxville. Most businessmen's clubs and civic associations held their meetings there. Many business community members regularly had their morning coffee at the S & W and used that time for exchanging political and business information. This trend continued until the S & W closed in the early 1980s. With its noontime organ concerts, the S & W achieved prominence as one of the most important social centers of Knoxville. The S & W also became an essential part of the night-at-the-movies experience. It opened near the once Riviera Theater and just a few steps away from the grand Tennessee Theater. The dinner-at-the-S&W, movie-at-the-Tennessee-or-the-Riviera evening downtown became the prototypical urban memory shared by three generations of Knoxvillians. Along with the Walgreen's building, the S & W was one of the last two buildings constructed on Gay Street until the 1950s. 520 South Gay Street - Central House Hotel/Athletic House (1923) Vernacular Commercial, two story brick with stone lintels above second story windows and stone Dentiled cornice. Transoms over second story windows. One bay. Flat roof. Storefront altered. The Athletic House was a well known sporting goods distributor providing sporting uniforms to schools and groups all over the East Tennessee area. 522 South Gay Street - Hotel Royal/WROL Studios/Fidelity Federal (1875) Italianate, three story brick with pressed tin cornice and window hoods above third story windows. Corbelled brick cornice. One bay. Flat roof. Second story windows and storefront altered. This structure was originally part of the Hotel Royal, a section of which was torn down when the Farragut was built. The Royal had fifty rooms and one of the largest and most patronized barber shops in the city. Around 1935, as WROL's studio, this three story Victorian building hosted Roy Acuff's very first radio broadcasts, launching one of the most influential careers in recording history. 524 South Gay Street - Original entrance to Central House Hotel/ Fogarty's/ Hanover Shoes (1875) Vernacular Commercial, two story brick which was original entrance to Central House Hotel to the north. Flat roof. Altered in the 1950s by applied panels at second story. Altered storefront. This building was the original entrance to the old Central House Hotel. 526-530 South Gay Street - Farragut Hotel (1917) Vernacular Commercial with Beaux Arts influence, nine story reinforced concrete with brick and terra cotta exterior. Terra cotta ornamentation at eight and ninth floors with wrought iron balconies at ninth floor windows. Terra cotta stills and cartouches with flagpoles above third floor. Three bays. Flat roof. Windows altered by replacement with single pane glass. Storefront altered.