Tennessee Pink Marble... I mean Limestone

Preserved by the South Knox Heritage group, Candoro Marble Works holds a lot of history for Knoxville. Unfortunately, I was unable to visit this week, but I am definitely going to go this week, because the research I did about it's history was very alluring. 

It seems that after the Civil War, there was an increased need for marble and quarries; soon after recognizing that Knoxville had some of the most rich quarries, Knoxville became known as the "Marble City". However, according to the Candoro Marble Works website, that marble that became known as "Tennessee Pink Marble" wasn't actually marble at all; it was limestone. This marble has been used in many important structures, including the National Gallery of Art, Grand Central Station, and even the Capitol building in Washington D.C. 

This pink marble (ummm... limestone) did not discover itself. It was due to many important companies setting in Knoxville and the surround areas that this marble was able to be refined and used. One of the leading companies at the time was the John J. Craig company, which was responsible for developing Candoro Marble Works. They chose the location in South Knoxville because it was both close to the railroad station as well as Goose Creek, which was used to cut the marble. It's main purpose was to develop the marble that the John J. Craig company found in the quarries into a finished product. 

However, after World War II, building using marble decreased, which meant a decline in business for Candoro in 1982. The building, however, continued to be used by several different independent marble finishing companies into the beginning of the 21st century. Today, the building is used as an event center and those who are in charge of the building are working to preserve the integrity of its history. You can even get married at this historic site and even have your first dance on its marble floors.