Old North Knoxville

Old North Knoxville was developed as a streetcar suburb between the 1880's and the 1940's. Streetcar suburbs had a strong pedestrian orientation. Most people walked to their homes from the street car stop. The automobile did not have a major influence on Knoxville until the 1920's, so there are few driveways or garages in the neighborhood. Some carriage houses remain behind the oldest houses, but most people did not own a horse and carriage. They depended on the streetcars for transportation and used the neighborhood sidewalks to reach the streetcar lines.

North Knoxville was incorporated on January 16, 1889. Larger than the current Old North Knoxville neighborhood (several original subdivisions make up the current Old North Knoxville Historic District), it was a desirable residential area and grew rapidly. North Knoxville provided a water supply, improved streets, fire protection, a city hall, and a school for approximately 100 students. Electric lights were installed in 1899 and a city sewer system was planned but not built due to annexation in 1897.

The architectural styles in the neighborhood reflect economic conditions of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Many of Old North Knoxville's houses were probably designed by architects for the affluent residents.

Homes by George Barber, his son Charles Barber, and David Getaz are located in the neighborhood. The buildings of Old North Knoxville make a unified statement about Knoxville's history and architectural development.

Late 19th century styles found in the neighborhood include: Queen Anne, Queen Anne Cottage, Eastlake, Shotgun, and Folk Victorian. Early 20th century architecture include: Craftsman and Bungalow, Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival, Dutch Colonial Revival, Neoclassical, American Four Square, Minimal Traditional, and French Eclectic.

-"The Old North Knoxville Historic District Design Guidelines booklet," published by the Knoxville Historic Zoning Commission.

Brownlow

The Brownlow area of Old North Knoxville began to develop before the Civil War, as housing for a mill located to the north of Grainger Avenue. It was further subdivided and platted into its present grid street pattern in the late 1880s with the development of a streetcar line along Broadway. The four blocks included in this nomination comprise the original dwellings of the mill workers and of the later Mayfield Subdivision, with the exception of five dwellings along North Four Avenue, which were excluded due to their extreme deterioration. Other dwellings along North Fourth were demolished several years ago by the City of Knoxville to combat flooding problems along First Creek.

Development of the Brownlow Historic District follows the patterns outlined in Property Type -Residential Historic Districts, in the Multiple Property Documentation Form of Suburban growth and Development in Knoxville and Knox County, 1850-1940. Principal buildings in the district are single or multi-family dwellings. The houses occupy fifty-foot lots shaded by hardwood trees, with many brick sidewalks and gutters remaining, and stone or concrete retaining walls at the front property liens when dictated by the elevation of the individual lots. Both the buildings and the street features retain a high degree of architectural integrity.

Houses in the district range from a unique Queen Anne Cottage with Craftsman influence one story in height, to larger two and one-half story residences, which were built for the owners and managers of the Bradley-Peters Mill. Weatherboard siding is the most common wall covering. Outbuildings usually have a construction date that is more recent than the primary building with which they are associated; they may be frame, but are also frequently of concrete block.

The area contains several outstanding examples of architectural styles, including a Goth Revival with Easlake influence at 210 Leonard Place, which is the only intact Gothic Revival residence in the city, and an Italianate with Neoclassical detailing at 1319 Grainger, which was substantially rehabilitated in c.1890 using the design services of George Barber, a nationally known Knoxville architect. Other significant architectural designs in the neighborhood include a type of Queen Anne Cottage, which was originally built with strong Craftsman influence in the front porch design. Although there are houses in Knoxville, which have had Craftsman porches, added to earlier styles, it is rare to find the combination of original design seen in these Brownlow houses. The design and architectural detailing are indications that the houses were built by the same contractor, although his identity is unknown. Another Neoclassic style house, at 209 Leonard Place, is also intact and uncommon in Knoxville. The neighborhood contains a good example of a Queen Anne Cottage at 206 Leonard, which is unusual for the amount of original ornamentation it still retains. Other architectural styles in the neighborhood include Folk Victorian, Queen Anne and Bungalow, many with original features still extant.



The Brownlow Historic District began its development as a location of housing for the owners of the Bradley-Peters Mill. The mill was developed early in the 19th century on First Creek just east of the present Broadway Avenue. A bridge across First Creek links the mill site with the Bradley and Peters Houses. Originally, the stables and other outbuildings for the two residences were located on the north edge of the creek. The present footbridge was is a poured concrete structure probably built in the 1950s; it is assumed that bridge replaced the earlier structure. The mill was closed and demolished in the early 1960s. The owners of the mill also were the developers of Washington Pike, a turnpike chartered in 1807 that began just north of the mill.



In 1890, a streetcar line was first built along Broadway to Fountain City. The presence of public transportation caused suburban development in many locations along its path; one of these new suburbs was the Mayfield Addition. Lots were platted in a rectangular pattern typical of streetcar suburbs, and respecting the original development already present, and building began in the neighborhood. The neighborhood developed fairly slowly to the south, and eventually grew to be joined with the Fourth & Gill neighborhood (NR 4/25/85) to the south of Brownlow. However, the meeting of the two neighborhoods took several decades to develop. A 1935 aerial photograph made by the Tennessee Valley Authority shows a completely developed Brownlow along Grainger Avenue and Leonard Place. Development to the south was still sparse. In the 1970s, the construction of Knoxville's interstate system began. When I-40 East was planned, it traveled along the edge of Fourth and Gill, and access ramps at the southern edge of the original Brownlow resulted in clearance of the buildings there, isolating Brownlow from its neighbors to the south. A number of vacant lots still exist at the southern edge of Brownlow, and other buildings are later, unsympathetically designed infill structures.



First Creek was the location of much of early Knoxville's industrial development. The increasing pollution caused by the discharge from these industries was so noxious by the early 20th century that a long process of containing the creek in underground pipes was begun. This process started south of the Brownlow neighborhood boundaries and eventually continued to the mouth of First Creek at the Tennessee River. However, the waters of First Creek bordering Brownlow are still relatively pure. As urban development has increased at the northern end of its watershed, First Creek has come to present a flooding problem for many structures built in its floodplain. Through a large public works program several years ago, Knoxville channelized and cleaned out the stream to the north of the neighborhood, and purchased and demolished several homes at the eastern boundary of the neighborhood. A trail system is planned to take advantage of this newly vacant land.



The development of Brownlow was specifically linked to the two events that substantially affected residential development in Knoxville in the late 19th century - first, the development of industry adjacent to the neighborhood, which provided an economic spur to housing development, and second, the development of the streetcar, which influenced the form of the streets and lots within the area, and provided workers with access to other city locations through the use of public transportation. Buildings date from the 1870s through the 1920s, and reflect styles that range from Victorian Gothic with Eastlake influences to the later Craftsman style. Included are Queen Anne and Neoclassical stylistic influences. The houses range from the large homes of mill owners and the Mayfield family, which development the subdivision, to the smaller Queen Anne cottages and Folk Victorian houses, which provided worker housing. Property maintenance has improved in the last few years, and promises to improve still further as new residents are attracted to the area by the reinvestment occurring there and the proximity of the city-owned recreational facility.



The oldest house in the district is the Bradley House at 1319 Grainger, which had substantial alterations in 1890, when George Barber provided a redesign for the structure, together with the addition of a two story front porch. This design was substantial as to change the house to a Neoclassical style in its exterior appearance. The Mayfield House at 210 Leonard Place is another large home. Built by the man who developed the subdivision, the house is a large, opulent example of Victorian Gothic and later Eastlake styling.



The Brownlow Historic District contains some of the most distinctive houses in Knoxville, and presents an intact picture of worker and owner housing. Many of the houses were occupied by personnel connected with the Bradley-Peters Mill. Although the neighborhood has deteriorated in the past, it is being restored. About a year ago, the Brownlow neighborhood, which was named for Brownlow elementary across the expressway, decided to join forces with Old North Knoxville, and its residents have become members of the Old North Knoxville Association, Inc. They participate in the activities of Old North Knoxville, including the neighborhood's house tour. The neighborhood is seeing a great deal of owner-sponsored rehabilitation, and residents are actively involved in refurbishing their neighborhood so it can recapture its historic status.