GREENEVILLE, Tenn. (WJHL) – Almost 2 years have passed since the renovation began on a historic street in downtown Greeneville.
Depot Street has a long history in the town and was closed off for construction as part of a project to revitalize the downtown area. With construction nearing completion, the town said it felt it was time to start welcoming people back onto the street.
“We wanted to be the first event down here, selfishly,” said Christina Potts, media and marketing specialist for the town. “The town wanted to say, you know, ‘Welcome to Depot Street. Here’s our grand opening’.”
The Saturday event, titled “Back to Depot”, was inspired by the movie “Back to the Future”. The theme served as a way to both honor 240 years of Greeneville, as well as look forward to what is next for the town.
“This used to be a thriving, bustling street,” said Potts. “And people have a lot of good memories, so they’ll tell you all about it. So we want to honor the past, obviously. And then the future. We want to celebrate what’s to come.”
The event also featured the unveiling of a special rotary clock, thanks to the local Rotary Club. City Manager Todd Smith said the clock was created to honor the club’s 100 years of being active.
“The rotary club approached the Town of Greeneville a few years ago about installing a clock dedicated to 100 years of [them] being in Greeneville,” said Smith. “Thought it was a great idea, they’ve got a beautiful design of a clock.”
The event began at 3 p.m. Saturday with a costume contest and a showing of “Back to the Future”. The festivities continued at 6:30 p.m. with a performance by the Greeneville High School Band, followed by speeches from local officials. The night ended with music and celebration.
Smith said the event shows just how excited the city is to have use of the street again.
“I think this event tonight shows there’s a lot of excitement for Depot Street to be used,” said Smith.
Officials said Depot Street will be open again for vehicle traffic on November 15.
