Island Home Park

Island Home Park Historic District is a five and one-half block neighborhood in south Knoxville, Knox County, Tennessee. The district is composed of ninety-one primary properties in an area along Island Home Boulevard (divided by a median strip where the streetcar ran), Spence Place, Fisher Place and Maplewood Drive.
The land that comprises the district is level. It was acquired by the Island Home Park Company in 1899. The exact date of subdividing the land is not known, but the earliest houses in the subdivision appear to date from the first decade of the twentieth century. The company coordinated its activities with the streetcar line construction; this district includes the area that was the original subdivision. Additional construction of newer structures has taken place to the north, along the banks of the Tennessee River, and to the south along a wooded ridge line. Island Home Avenue, with newer and older residences of inconsistent character, marks its western boundary. The eastern boundary is the Tennessee School for the Deaf.



Development of the Island Home Park Historic District follows the pattern for streetcar suburbs as described in Suburban Growth and Development from 1861 to 1940 in the Multiple Resource nomination for Knoxville and Knox County. Principal buildings in the district are single family dwellings. The houses are located on large lots, with mature landscaping. Island Home Boulevard itself is divided by a median strip which once contained the streetcar tracks for the trolley that served the subdivision. The median is now a grassy strip with intermittent mature landscaping and trees. The district retains a high degree of architectural integrity.

The houses in the district are frame and one to two stories tall. The district contains Craftsman and Bungalow dwellings, sometimes influenced by Tudor Revival, Neoclassical or Colonial Revival architectural details. Colonial Revival, Minimal Traditional and Tudor Revival styles are also found in the district.



Island Home Park contains some of the best examples of Bungalow and Craftsman architecture in the city. The Bungalow styles are exemplified in homes at 2221 Island Home Boulevard and 2207 Island Home Boulevard, while 2101 Spence Place and 2135 Island Home Boulevard are good examples of Bungalows with Tudor Revival Influence. Craftsman styling is noteworthy on the house at 2125 Island Home Boulevard. Of particular interest is the use of cobblestone detailing for foundations, balustrades and porch posts and columns; this material is not found elsewhere in Knoxville. 2030 Spence Place, a house of the Bungalow style which uses cobblestone extensively for balustrades, basement, porch columns and chimneys, is a particularly good example of the use of this material.

Most of the secondary structures in the district are garages, built after the use of the automobile was more prevalent. One servants' quarters remains at 2200 Island Home Boulevard, and is an unusual, well-detailed Tudor Revival design blending with the primary structure on the lot.