James Park House
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| James Park House | |
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| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
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| Location: | 422 W. Cumberland Ave. Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Built/Founded: | 1812 |
| Added to NRHP: | October 18, 1972 |
| NRHP Reference#: | 72001242 |
The historic James Park House is located at 422 West Cumberland Avenue in Knoxville, Tennessee. The house's foundation was reportedly laid by Governor John Sevier in 1797, who intended the house to be the Governor's mansion for the state of Tennessee. According to tradition, the state never appropriated any funds for the building, and Sevier abandoned its construction, continuing to live outside Knoxville at Marble Springs during his term as Governor. The property was sold to John Dunlap, who subsequently died, also without completing the house. In 1812, the lot and its unfinished house were purchased from Dunlap's estate by James Park (born 1770), who had immigrated from Ireland with his brother William and had become a wealthy merchant and prominent citizen, serving two terms as mayor. James Park completed the house in 1812 or 1813, and added an ell to the rear before 1830 to accommodate his large family. During the American Civil War, the house was vacated. The eleventh of James Park's twelve children, also named James Park, reoccupied the house following the war when he became minister of First Presbyterian Church, in which position he served until his death in 1912. The house briefly passed to one of Rev. Park's daughters, but as the property had become more valuable as a commercial address, it was sold. For a brief period in 1918, the house hosted a Wark Work Shop and Tea Room to raise money in support of local soldiers abroad. It eventually became home to the Reeves Leach Infirmary, an ENT clinic. The Knoxville Academy of Medicine (originally the Knox County Medical Society) purchased the house from Dr. Leach in 1945, and made it their headquarters. The Academy vacated the building in 2002, when it was purchased and renovated as offices for Gulf & Ohio Railways.
The original house is two stories over a raised basement, constructed in Flemish-bond brick, with 12-over-12 double-hung windows. A difference in texture of the brick is evident at the base of the main floor level, where Sevier's brick ends and Park's begins. The ell is similar in construction, but is built of common bond brick. Both sections of the house are fairly simple in detailing, but exhibit a lovely modillion and ovolo cornice. The familiar street elevation of the house was originally the rear -- when the house was begun as the Governor's mansion, a long lawn ran the entire length of the block to Prince Street (now Market Street), which was the main access between Market Square and the boat landing on the Tennessee River. The original front door in the east side of the building no longer exists. Many alterations were made to the house during its many renovations, but some period woodworking details, executed around 1812 by John McCullen, remain, including a paneled dado with a guilloche border, pilastered window surrounds, and fireplace mantel in the original Parlor. In 1968 the Academy of Medicine built an addition on the south side of the structure to house a meeting room, a lecture hall, and other facilities. This addition was removed during the 2003 restoration of the structure and replaced with a much smaller subservient addition. Part of the restoration also included reconstruction from photographic evidence of the house's original "sunburst" stair and the exuberant Victorian-era porch. The home is on the National Register of Historic Places.
[edit] References
- Isenhour, Judith Clayton. Knoxville - A Pictorial History. (Donning, 1978), page 164.
- Knoxville: Fifty Landmarks. (Knoxville: The Knoxville Heritage Committee of the Junior League of Knoxville, 1976), page 12.
- The Future of Knoxville's Past: Historic and Architectural Resources in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Knoxville Historic Zoning Commission, October, 2006), page 19.
