Tennessee Marble

Tennessee marble is a type of crystalline limestone found primarily in East Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. Long esteemed by architects and builders for its pinkish-gray color and the ease with which it is polished, this stone has been used in the construction of numerous notable buildings and monuments throughout the United States and Canada, including the National Gallery of Art and the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., as well as parts of the United States Capitol in Washington, Grand Central Terminal in New York, and Union Station in Toronto. Tennessee marble achieved such popularity in the late-19th century that Knoxville, the stone's primary finishing and distribution center, became known as "The Marble City."

While Tennessee marble is not true marble, its crystalline nature lends it a strong resemblance to marble, especially when polished. The stone occurs in belts of Ordovician-period rocks known as the Holston Formation, and is quarried primarily in Knox, Blount, Loudon, Union, and Hawkins counties. While pink is the most well-known Tennessee marble color, the stone also occurs in gray, dark brown ("cedar"), and variegated shades.

The use of Tennessee marble declined after World War II, when cheaper building materials became widely available. There are currently only six active Tennessee marble quarries, all operated by the Tennessee Marble Company. The stone has most recently been used in the floor of the United States Capitol Visitor Center, and for the 170-ton "First Amendment" tablet that adorns the facade of Washington's Newseum.