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Showing posts from March, 2012

417 - 425 W. Church Avenue, 610 - 614 Walnut Street a.k.a. The Ross Flats

I apologize for the long delay in between my last post and this new one. A lot has come up and I wanted to make sure that this post was thoroughly researched before I published it. Disclaimer over, let's go back in time. In the late 1800's, several newly minted and studied architects made their way from places north to the burgeoning, modern city that was Knoxville, TN. Knoxville had really come a long way since the beginnings of reconstruction, no doubt due to the presence of a number of Union sympathizers during the war. Knoxville was a city that attracted bright minds who were looking to make a name for themselves. One of those folks was a man by the name of R.Z. Gill. Mr. Gill came to Knoxville in 1889, from Illinois. He had studied at the Illinois Industrial University in Urbana, graduating in 1886. His mentor was a man named N.C. Ricker (funny how these folks always went by initials in their professional lives). Mr. Gill worked for the prestigious Chicago architectural