A long hiatus; demotivation

I have not written a blog post since August. That is not to say that I haven't started a few and then stopped. When I started this blog, my mission was clear. I wanted to make the people of Knoxville aware of what rich treasures we have lost, in the hope of avoiding further losses. Well, 2013 was perhaps the worst year in decades for historic preservation in Knoxville. Frankly, I have become a bit demotivated by all that his been destroyed this year.


Aconda Court

Temple Court

Stokely Athletic Center


W.H. Obenour House (The UT Black Cultural Center)

The Magnolia (please excuse the picture quality)


The Mack Truck Dealership on Depot (Industrial Belt and Supply) - lost to fire

The Walnut Street Townhouses

The Walnut Street buildings were a particularly harsh blow to the preservation effort in Knoxville, and to me personally as they were the buildings that prompted me to start this blog. There have been some other demolitions that most folks won't fret over much: the Liberty building, Lucille's, the produce warehouses on Dale Ave. Sadly, there are several more slated for the near future: the 18th Street IGA and it's neighboring Victorian house, the three Victorian houses on White Ave. Perhaps we will see the demolition of Estabrook Hall (the second oldest building on campus), all of the dormitory towers on UT's campus (that should change the skyline), two mansions on Kingston Pike, and others.

There were some successes this year, but the amount of loss was staggering. Here's to a brighter future and to more awareness of our heritage. I hope to begin working on new posts for the near future. Until then...

Comments

Unknown said…

hi what mansions on kingston pike?

January 17, 2014 at 7:34 AM

Jef said…

Sad stuff. I anticipate things getting much worse before they get better. The majority of Knoxvillians harbor irrational hatred toward the center city and the lack of investment both in terms of capital and politically will allow demolitions like this to continue in the future. It's a sinking ship, this city.

January 17, 2014 at 12:03 PM

Barry Bozeman said…

At the very bottom of this website page you will find a 1946 picture taken in the courtyard of Aconda Court. http://knoxville22.blogspot.com

Sorry I cannot simply post the picture here. Aconda Court was my first residence in Knoxville after delivery at Fort Sanders Hospital

March 18, 2014 at 2:39 PM

Anonymous said…

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

April 3, 2022 at 8:25 AM

5709 Lyons View Pike - Westcliff

There has been a lot of discussion in the local property blogs about the proposal of a new shopping development located at the intersection of Cumberland Ave. and Alcoa Hwy. Anyone who has played or follows rugby in Knoxville knows this place very well. It's called Fulton bottoms and the reason it is called Fulton bottoms is that just across third creek was once the principal factory of the Fulton Company. The Fulton Bellows factory as it appeared in the 1930's. This is looking from the Southeast. Note the train tracks which still exist and Cumberland Ave./Kingston Pk. looking very rural. Most of the background in this picture is taken up by the Alcoa Hwy/Kingston Pike interchange. Roughly the same view today. The factory is gone. The foundation pads are all that remain. The story of the Fulton Co. is an interesting but long one. It's probably a subject for another entry, however if you'd like to read the whole story you can find it here , as told by Ja

322 S. Gay St. - The Terminal Building - The Gaps of Gay Street Part 1

If you have lived in Knoxville for any length of time, or if you've just eaten at the Downtown Grill and Brewery, then you have without a doubt heard of the "Million Dollar Fire of 1897." That fire destroyed much of the east side of the 300 and 400 blocks of Gay Street. Firefighters came from as far away as Chattanooga to battle the blaze, which threatened to burn down the entire city. With the ruins smoldering, city leaders declared it the greatest loss the city had ever suffered. However, times were optimistic and the business community vowed the next day to rebuild the structures better than before. Most of them were rebuilt, bigger and better, within five years. Fighting the fire of 1897. To the right, the Cowan McClung & Co. (now H.T. Hackney and The Market). Almost everything decimated. (Century Building at left, still standing) From the ashes of the fire, rose many of the iconic structures we see today on the 300 and 400 blocks. Identifying them b

The 500 Block of Gay Street, West Side - Krutch Park Extension - The Gaps of Gay Street Part 6

As we continue our tour south down Gay Street, we walk past the 400 block without stopping. The 400 block is one of the few (two) truly unbroken blocks on Knoxville's most important street. 400 Block West then. 400 Block now, they're all accounted for. So Bravo 400 Block, though you may look a little different you've weathered the years better than most. No surface parking lots here, so we're uninterested!!! Let's cross Union Avenue and set foot on the 500 block, under the large porch of the Park National Bank Building (Conley Building, First American Bank Building, 507 S. Gay Tower, Embassy Suites , what have you...). This block has something in common with the 300 block in that it resembles a 7/10 split (for you non-bowlers that means it's missing its middle teeth). The 500 block is probably best known for its two giant bookends, the Park National Bank Building (1974) and the Holston Bank Building (1912). Between the two lies what we now know as &

Knoxville Lost and Found

Search This Blog