BBB Destination - Somewhere in Knoxville

Stephen Major a 57-year-old Knoxville, Tennessee sign maker and Jeff Pryor, another sign maker, built the largest Rubik's cube in 1982. "We barely got it finished in time for the World's Fair," he says.

The sign makers purchased one of the popular puzzles, invented in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik. They studied it before embarking on the large replica. The cube, with its 2-foot-by-2-foot panels, is made of 2-inch tubing. It runs on a motor with gearing taken from another sign, he says. Major and Pryor used the rear axle from a junked car to make the panels turn.

"When the fair closed down, the Hungarians donated it to the University of Tennessee (UT) Math Department," says Major. "The next time I saw it, it was at the World's Fair Park under a bridge. Then it wound up in front of the Knoxville Museum of Art."

During the World's Fair, Edith Szathmary worked as an interpreter. The same day she learned Rubik was in Knoxville, she planned the reception. The Hungarian government appreciated UT's help during the fair and decided they would give the cube to the university, says Szathmary. "I told the administration about this and they didn't know what to do with this big Rubik's Cube or where we could put it.

"It ended up in the lobby of the College of Architecture. It was there for a long time. And then it disappeared. I just thought it fell apart." She says she read later that then-UT Chancellor Jack Reese handed off the cube to the city of Knoxville.

Dwight Kessel, former Knox County executive and a member of the historical society's board, found the cube in dreadful shape. He managed the effort to restore the cube and return it to working order. He got UT mechanical and electrical engineering students to help.

It runs, turns independently and will be available for viewing at the end of the atrium of the old exhibition hall for the World's Fair. It is part of the historical society's 25th anniversary celebration of the World's Fair.

But the cube still does not have a home, says Randy Kenner, city spokesman. "We don't know where it is going," he says. "We are trying to find a place. The city does not own it. The East Tennessee Historical Society owns it," he says. "It is an artifact, and it is important to the city. We don't want it to sit outside, and we will try to find the right place for it," he says.