Things to Do in Crossville

After its construction in 1928 as a grand movie palace in the Spanish-Moorish style, the Tennessee Theatre gradually fell into disrepair, its ceiling cracking and its colors fading. A $23.5 million renovation completed in 2005 restored the venue to its Roaring Twenties glory, starting with a complete repainting that restored the rich reds and golds of the proscenium, the baby blue of the ceiling, and the original '20s graffiti in the alley that reads, “Talkies are a fad.” Grand chandeliers cast glittering light across the lobby and the meticulously restored, burgundy velvet seating cradles showgoers in downy comfort. Filling the space with a wall of pipe-produced sound, the 17-rank Mighty Wurlitzer pipe organ that acts as the theater’s centerpiece stands at the ready, recently disassembled, refurbished, and restored it to its wall-shaking prime.

Visitors enter a gleeful realm of recreation and friendly competition amid the indoor and outdoor attractions of Putt-Putt Golf & Games. The emerald corridors of 54 mini golf holes meander throughout the playscape, forming three 18-hole courses that gradually escalate in both difficulty and the territorial aggression of their native windmills. The thunderous clap of bat barrels smacking line-drives resonates from the baseball and softball cages, where mechanical hurlers sling baseballs at four different speeds and softballs at fast- and slow-pitch standards. More than 50 arcade and ticket-redemption games hungrily devour tokens in the game room, and guests can sate their appetites with pizza ($9 for a large), hot dogs ($1.50), and scoops of Blue Bunny ice cream ($2 for one scoop).

Sprawling across the Cumberland Plateau at 2,000 feet above sea level—the highest point between the Rocky and Smoky Mountains—lie Fairfield Glade Community Club's five courses, showcasing 90 holes of championship golf. Since the first fairways of the 18-hole Druid Hills course opened in 1970, the golf haven has expanded to include two more 18-hole courses and one 36-hole course. The most recent addition, the Stonehenge course, opened for play in January of 2008 and still perplexes archeologists hoping to decipher the meaning of its immense flagstick monuments. Players find themselves amid postcard-worthy wooded terrain as they traverse fairways bordered with lakes and crawling with wildlife indigenous to the Catoosa Wildlife Management Area, which nudges the grounds directly to the northeast. The beautiful surroundings and challenging course play have allowed the club to host several prestigious events, including the Tennessee Senior Men's Open and the Tennessee Women's Open.

The energetic pastors and staff at Friendship Church seek to help others discover their spiritual faith in an atmosphere reminiscent of a nondenominational church. They reach out to community members of all ages through youth and adult ministries and small discussion groups, constantly working to place theological debates within a modern context. For nearly a decade, they've augmented their main mission with a range of summer camps for children of all ages. Staffers of the church’s tech camps, which build appreciation for the outdoors and technology more effectively than challenging a bear to a game of Super Mario Bros., educate children through the use of robotics, video production, and video games and immerse them in outdoor games and activities such as waterslides and trampolines. They also hold competitive gaming weekends for all experience levels.

In 1997, the UTC Moccasins faced an identity crisis. For most of the century, the school had relied on Native American imagery for its teams, but with the 21st century came a renewed commitment to Tennessee's all-inclusive heritage. Thus, the Mocs re-appropriated their nickname to represent the state bird, the mockingbird, and incorporated Chattanooga's proud history of railroads into their logos. Known for its feisty spirit and ability to twirl a baton in its beak, the mockingbird also embodied qualities found in the greatest student athletes, making it a fitting inspiration for the men and women in sports such as golf, track and field, and women's volleyball. 1997 was a big year for UTC basketball in general, as the men's squad went on to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA tournament, continuing the school's proud legacy of hoops since the team's inception in 1977.

Perched atop an 80-foot bluff overlooking the Tennessee River, Hunter Museum of American Art hosts collections ranging from colonial times to contemporary America. The permanent collection includes historical works by renowned painters such as Thomas Cole, Mary Cassatt, and Winslow Homer as well as contemporary pieces in less traditional mediums such as filmmaking, which artists turned to after paintbrushes went extinct. Educational programs guide visitors through these core works as well as temporary exhibits, which have included Depression-era photographs by Dorothea Lange and the sculptural installation art of Beverly Semmes.

Hunter Museum's buildings are as much a work of art as the paintings they house. An outdoor sculpture plaza and a sleek structure of steel and glass built in 2005 give the compound a contemporary edge. In contrast, the massive fireplaces and hand-carved woodwork inside the original edifice—a classical revival-style mansion built in 1904—recall the days when horses still chauffeured their owners around in Ford Model Ts.