KNOXVILLE AREA GUIDES
North Knoxville
Older, quirkier and closer in than the west side, with Powell and Halls stretching it out toward the county line. This is the part of town people are surprised they love.
Knoxville Real Estate › North Knoxville
OVERVIEW
The side of town that never got smoothed over
North Knoxville runs north from downtown, up Broadway and Central Street and then out along Emory Road. Five ZIP codes carry most of it, 37912, 37917, 37918, 37921 and 37938, with Powell sitting just past them in 37849. It is older than West Knoxville, tighter in places, and it has held onto more of its own personality than any other quadrant of the city.
These neighborhoods grew along the rail and streetcar lines, which is why the streets are laid out for walking and the houses sit close to the sidewalk. Happy Holler, the small commercial pocket on North Central, is the clearest example of what that produces: a handful of blocks that came back on their own terms rather than being planned into existence. Sharp’s Ridge runs along the top of the city with the broadcast towers on it, and the overlook up there is the best free view in Knoxville.
Here is the honest trade off, and I say this to everyone who tours over here: older housing means older systems. Roofs, wiring, plumbing and foundations vary enormously house to house, and a gorgeous 1920s porch can sit on top of a real project. Get a thorough inspection and build a budget line for it. What you get back is character nobody can build new, and a location closer to downtown than most of West Knox.
Living in North Knoxville
The places I actually send people. Powell and Halls have their own sections below, because they deserve them.
Bring the Dogs
Victor Ashe Park
4901 Bradshaw Rd, 37912
The big one on this side of town, and the default when you need to actually tire someone out.
Sharp’s Ridge Memorial Park
125 Sharps Ridge Memorial Park Dr, 37917
Trails along the ridge with a view at the top. A leashed walk with a payoff.
Central Street patios
Happy Holler, 37917
Several spots along here welcome dogs on the patio, which makes the whole block an easy afternoon.
Get Outside
Sharp’s Ridge Memorial Park
125 Sharps Ridge Memorial Park Dr, 37917
Trails, the broadcast towers and an overlook of the whole city. Go at sunset once and you will go back.
Victor Ashe Park
4901 Bradshaw Rd, 37912
Open space, trails and room for whatever you are doing.
Adair Park
1807 Adair Dr, 37918
Neighborhood scale and connected to the Adair greenway, which is the quiet way to move around up here.
Eat Local
Harby’s Pizza and Deli
3718 Walker Blvd, 37917
A North Knoxville institution, and exactly the kind of place I want a neighborhood to have.
Wild Love Bakehouse
1625 N Central St, 37917
Pastry, bread and coffee. The room is half the reason to go.
Happy Holler
N Central St, 37917
A few blocks with more going on than their size suggests. Park once and walk it.
Coffee
Wild Love Bakehouse
1625 N Central St, 37917
My first stop on this side of town, every time.
Mahalo Coffee Roasters
1317 E Emory Rd, 37918
Founded in 2019 by Trevor and Ashton Bayne, with a drive through for the mornings you are not stopping.
K Brew
Multiple Knoxville locations
Reliable wherever you catch it, which counts for a lot on a moving week.
Things to Do
Happy Holler
N Central St, 37917
Live music, breweries and events. The social center of gravity up here.
The Sharp’s Ridge overlook
125 Sharps Ridge Memorial Park Dr, 37917
Best free view in Knoxville, and I will argue about that.
Walk or bike the historic streets
Old North Knoxville and the blocks around it are worth an afternoon on foot before you decide anything.
Shop
Happy Holler shops
N Central St, 37917
Small, independent and walkable. Bring cash for at least one thing you did not plan on.
Central Street vintage
37917
The best vintage hunting in the city, and it is not close.
North Knoxville makers and markets
Seasonal, local and worth watching the calendar for.
Give Back Local
Young Williams Animal Center is the one I point people toward here. Adopting is the obvious way in, but fostering, donating and volunteering all matter just as much, and fostering is a real option if you are not ready to commit forever. Ask them what they need most, they will tell you straight.
A CLOSER LOOK
Powell, 37849
Powell is a census designated place just north of Knoxville, and it is older than the city it sits beside. It was founded in 1789, two years before Knoxville, and its growth is tied to the railroad that came through later. The Historic Airplane Filling Station still stands on Emory Road, which tells you something about how this community treats its own history.
What people actually notice living here is Beaver Creek. The Powell Greenway runs about 1.7 miles as a paved path, and Legacy Parks built an accessible non motorized boat dock on the creek, with adaptive kayak launches at Powell High Landing on Brickyard Road and at Roy Arthur Stormwater Park on Harrell Road. That is a genuinely unusual amount of water access for a place this far from a lake.
Outside in Powell
Powell Station Park
2318 W Emory Rd, 37849
Collier Preserve
316 W Emory Rd, 37849
Quiet, close in and easy to make a habit of.
Powell Greenway
About 1.7 miles of paved path, and the everyday walk for a lot of people out here.
Eat in Powell
Aubrey’s
214 E Emory Rd, 37849
Comfort food, and the safe answer when nobody can agree.
The Burgers
1420 E Emory Rd, 37849
Corner of Dry Gap and Emory. Exactly what the name promises.
Coffee in Powell
Coffee and Chocolate
3531 W Emory Rd, 37849
Hand painted chocolates, macarons, pastries and locally roasted coffee. Go once and you will understand.
Mahalo Coffee Roasters
1317 E Emory Rd, 37918
Just over toward Halls, with a drive through.
A CLOSER LOOK
Halls, 37918 and 37938
Halls sits along Maynardville Pike and Emory Road at the northern end of the county, split across two ZIP codes. Halls Crossroads is the center of it, and this is a community that runs on its own rhythms: local restaurants people have been going to for decades, community sports, and a calendar that fills up without anybody downtown noticing.
The Halls Greenway connects Halls Community Park to the library on Emory Road, running about 0.6 mile along Beaver Creek past wetland areas, with nature trails and an overlook. Beaver Creek keeps going from here, linking Halls to Powell and on to Solway, which makes this whole northern corridor feel more connected than the map suggests.
Outside in Halls
Tommy Schumpert Park
6400 Fountain City Rd, 37918
The workhorse park up here, and the one you will end up at most weekends.
Halls Greenway
Along Emory Rd, 37918
About 0.6 mile beside Beaver Creek, with wetland views and an overlook.
House Mountain
East of here
When you want a real hiking day without driving to the Smokies.
Eat in Halls
Bel Air Grill
3820 Neal Dr, 37918
Family owned since 1991. Burgers and hand cut fries, and no reason to change a thing.
Kobe Japanese Steakhouse
6947 Maynardville Pike, 37918
A Halls Crossroads fixture since 2003.
Plaza Mexico
7411 Maynardville Pike, 37938
Nights in Halls
Wild Boar Tavern
950 E Emory Rd, 37938
Live music, football watch parties and karaoke. This is where the neighborhood actually turns out.
Mahalo Coffee Roasters
1317 E Emory Rd, 37918
The morning half of the same street.
Ready to call North Knoxville home?
North Knoxville spreads across five ZIP codes, with Powell in a sixth. Pick the one you are searching.
Questions people actually ask me about North Knoxville
What ZIP codes are North Knoxville?
37912, 37917, 37918, 37921 and 37938 cover most of it, and Powell sits just past them in 37849. Halls straddles 37918 and 37938, so search both if that is where you are looking.
Are Powell and Halls part of the city of Knoxville?
No. Both sit in Knox County outside the Knoxville city limits, which means county services and county property taxes. The neighborhoods closer in, along Broadway and Central, are inside the city. It is worth confirming on any specific address, because the line is not where people assume.
Is the housing really that much older?
In the close in neighborhoods, yes, and I would rather tell you now than at the inspection. A lot of these houses are a hundred years old, which means beautiful details and systems that may or may not have been touched since. Powell and Halls have more range, including plenty of newer construction. My advice either way is the same: a thorough inspection and a real number set aside for what it finds.
How is the commute?
Broadway and Central Street run you straight downtown, with Interstate 275 and Interstate 640 doing the heavy lifting. Powell and Halls use Emory Road and Maynardville Pike, and Interstate 75 is right there. Drive whichever one is yours on a weekday morning before you commit, not on a Sunday.
North Knoxville or West Knoxville?
If you want newer, more retail and more predictability, go west. If you want older houses, walkable pockets and a shorter trip downtown, come north. I have had plenty of people arrive convinced they wanted one and leave under contract in the other, which is exactly why I would rather show you both.
Thinking about North Knoxville?
Let’s talk before you tour. This is the side of town where knowing which street and which house matters most, and that is a conversation, not a filter.
Call or text 865-257-4680 · lily@daileydreamhomes.com