Magnolia Avenue's Theater Season Is Playing on Boyds Bridge Pike

The steel-blue house at 1405 E. Magnolia Avenue dates to around 1905. It sits next door to Likewise Coffee & Roastery, and in late August it held a grand opening with art on the walls, musicians, vendors, food and belly dancing. The founders estimated that more than 75 people were inside at one point. Today it's called Magnolia Art House. For now, it's also one of the clearest pictures of what Magnolia's arts corridor actually looks like.

The Parkridge Community Organization's bylaws set the neighborhood's southern boundary at Magnolia Avenue, with Hall of Fame Boulevard on the west, I-40 on the north and Cherry Street on the east. Several big projects have been announced along that avenue: a 500-seat performance hall, a 240-seat professional theater and another round of streetscape work. None of them opens this year. Each has its own schedule, and the dates stretch from spring 2027 to late spring 2028. Until then, what you can use on Magnolia is a cantina and a converted house, and the corridor's theater company is staging its whole season a few miles east.

What's Open on Magnolia This Fall

Magnolia Art House belongs to two artists, Margo Miller and Heather Finney. They describe it as a mission-driven space built around creativity, healing and connection. Inside of Knoxville reported that Heather bought the property around 2015, planning to rent studio space to artists. Later, the Appalachian Community Fund moved its office into the house after leaving Gay Street.

The first exhibition shows how they mean to run the place. About 47 artists answered the open call. Some were established and some were hanging work for the first time. All art sales went to the artists, with no commission taken, and vendors paid no booth fees. The house has room for workshops, classes, meetings and small events. Community groups, including the food justice collective Rooted East, have started using it. Regular public hours were still being worked out when the house opened. Before you walk over, check the Magnolia Art House Instagram.

Rosarita's Mexican Cantina at 2816 E. Magnolia Ave. held its grand opening on April 14. It's open daily from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. and stays open until 10:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. The menu runs from fajitas, quesadillas and enchiladas to carnitas, arroz con pollo and seafood plates, with margaritas and sangria on the drink list. Inside of Knoxville's opening coverage pointed out that its evening hours give people a sit-down dinner on a stretch of Magnolia that hasn't always had one.

Right now, these are the only two corridor venues that have opened. Rosarita's keeps daily hours, and the Art House is still setting its own. The bigger venues still need months, and in one case years, of construction.

Every Project on the Magnolia Timeline

The two venue openings are more than a year apart. That gap decides how Magnolia will feel through most of 2027.

The Grandiflora Comes First

The Grandiflora is building a 500-seat Grand Hall at 2439 E. Magnolia and has partnered with the Bijou Theatre for its first entertainment season. The two will co-produce shows once the venue opens in spring 2027. Inside of Knoxville reported in July that the two venues will share a talent buyer, so their calendars are meant to complement each other rather than compete. In the same piece, Bijou executive director Courtney Bergmeier said Knoxville has long been "missing a flexible, mid-sized performance space that can serve both seated listening-room experiences and standing-room concerts."

The project is still moving. A post on the Grandiflora's blog dated October 6 covers a construction milestone at the Gatehouse and the stained-glass work for its event spaces, and it repeats the spring 2027 opening. Meanwhile, the venue is already booking weddings, corporate events and private functions. So the first crowds on Magnolia may well be wedding guests, before any concert audience arrives.

River & Rail Is Playing Its Season at the Botanical Garden

River & Rail Theatre Company has picked the 1925 Spanish Eclectic Sterchi-Audigier House at 2651 E. Magnolia as its permanent home. The renovation campaign is $7.5 million. In September the company announced $4 million from the Boyd Foundation and members of the Boyd family, which brought the total raised to $5.5 million. The finished building will seat 240 and include a rehearsal studio, dressing rooms and a lobby with a full bar.

Jenny Boyd, a Boyd Foundation board member, put it this way in the release Inside of Knoxville published:

"I hope through their productions that many adults and children will be able to experience live theater in their very own neighborhood. We are excited for River and Rail to be a part of East Knoxville!"

The same report quotes development director Ashley Helton saying construction will start in February 2027, with an estimated opening in late spring 2028. Until then, the company has moved its whole 2026–27 season to the historic Carriage House at the Knoxville Botanical Garden & Arboretum, 2649 Boyds Bridge Pike, inside the garden's 44 acres.

The season opened with Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years, which ran September 10 to 27. Inside of Knoxville's reviewer reported shows selling out. That production used a traverse stage, with seats on two sides of a long, narrow playing area. It suits a room the size of the Carriage House. The next show is Every Brilliant Thing, running December 3 to 20, 2026. Tickets are on the River & Rail season page. September's shows were selling out during the run, so it makes sense to buy early.

The company's interim home also keeps it in East Knoxville while the Magnolia building is under construction. If you live in Parkridge, the theater you'll eventually walk to on Magnolia is a short drive away this winter.

The Sidewalks Are on Their Own Schedule

The venues aren't the only thing in progress. The street in front of them is being rebuilt too. On August 18, 2026, City Council authorized the city's $3.1 million Phase 3 of the Magnolia Avenue Streetscapes Plan. The work extends the project three more blocks east. According to the City of Knoxville's announcement, Phase 3 includes:

• New sidewalks and curbs
• Bike lanes
• Lighting and landscaping
• Transit stops

It covers Magnolia between North Bertrand and North Kyle streets. Adams Contracting is the builder, and Gresham Smith is handling engineering inspection. The city has already put about $9 million into Magnolia's infrastructure and utilities, starting near the Jessamine Street intersection and working east. Plans call for the work to continue to Cherry Street eventually, which is Parkridge's eastern boundary.

The city's September 2026 status sheet still lists the notice to proceed and contract completion as TBD. The new buildings and the new sidewalks were funded separately, and nothing guarantees they'll be finished in the same year.

A December Evening Built From What's Open

Here's one way to string together the pieces you can use between now and the end of the year:

1. Start at 1405 E. Magnolia. Look at the Magnolia Art House Instagram first for an open event or exhibition, since its hours are still being set. Likewise Coffee & Roastery is next door if you want something warm on the way.
2. Head east for dinner at Rosarita's, 2816 E. Magnolia. On a Friday or Saturday the kitchen stays open until 10:30 p.m., so you can eat early or late.
3. Drive to 2649 Boyds Bridge Pike for Every Brilliant Thing at the Carriage House. It plays December 3 to 20.
4. Drive back past 2439 and 2651 E. Magnolia. These are the Grandiflora and River & Rail's future home. The first is due in spring 2027 and the second in late spring 2028.

At Foster-Boline Group, we track how Magnolia's openings line up with the historic streets of Parkridge, and how a new venue, a theater or a stretch of sidewalk can change what a block feels like day to day. If you'd like to talk about what the corridor's timeline means for your own street, schedule a neighborhood consultation or get your free home valuation.