More than 65 years after the last group of students graduated from Knoxville High School, the 107-year-old building is trading its classrooms for bedrooms.
Construction of the Knoxville High Independent Living development is well underway, with the first residents expected to move in this November.
"It's going to be kind of like a cruise ship that landed on a downtown building with a 100-year-old history and hundreds, thousands of people still around that went to school here," said Rick Dover of Dover Development.
The apartments are intended for senior citizens wanting to live downtown, offering amenities like a piano bar and cooking classes.
The building was built in 1910 and opened as a school in 1937.
It closed in 1951 and was used as an administration building and for other classes until 1991.
"It was on our endangered list several years ago because we weren't sure what the school system was going to do with it, it wasn't being very well maintained," said Kim Trent, executive director of Knox Heritage.
Many of the original parts of the building are being restored, including the ceiling and windows.
The famous Doughboy Statue in front of the school will not move.
"Part of the request for proposals that the county put out is that this will have to be saved as a part of the project," Trent said.
You can tour the interior of the school for yourself and see how the renovations are going.
Knox Heritage is hosting a "Behind the Scenes Tour of Knoxville High" on Friday, July 28. You can RSVP for the event here.