Owls & Oaks: a house by (and for) Alfred Abernethy
Structure: Alfred Abernethy residence (called Owls & Oaks)Location: Johnson City, TennesseeArchitect: Alfred AbernethyDate: 1951[Editor’s note: the house we’re featuring today will be for sale later this week. We'll update the blog with the listing link when it hits!]Story: If you've visited this site often, you'll no doubt notice that we
House by (and for) Mel O’Brien
Structure: Mel O’Brien ResidenceLocation: Memphis, TennesseeArchitect: Mel O'BrienDate: 1972[Editor’s note: the house we’re featuring today is for sale. If you’d like to skip the story and click over to the house’s listing, here’s the link to the listing: https://bit.ly/3kwbFHo]Story: Although our story will end up in Memphis, Tennessee, it begins
1958 Better Homes & Garden ‘Idea Home’ by Omer Mithun
Structure: 1958 Idea Home (plan 2809-A)Location: Nashville, TennesseeArchitect: Omer MithunDate: 1958+Story: Throughout the early twentieth century, home plans were a standard feature in house magazines. Prospective homeowners could flip through the magazine, purchase the plans they saw with a phone call, and then hire a local company to build it.
House that HOME built by Bruce McCarty
Structure: House that HOME builtLocation: Knoxville, TennesseeArchitect: Bruce McCartyDate: 1957Story: It’s not often there’s a silver screen connection to Tennessee architecture, but today, there is! In the 1950s, NBC was airing a show called Home. The show was hosted by entertainer Arlene Francis and broadcaster Hugh Downs. The show was
House by (and for) Ben McMurry Jr
Structure: Ben McMury Jr Residence Location: Knoxville, TennesseeArchitect: Ben McMurry JrDate: 1951? (the question mark is because I'm like 90% certain on that)Story: At its heart, today’s blog is a father/son story. Let's start with the father, shall we? Ben McMurry Sr (1885-1969) was an East Tennessee architect who, along
Christus Gardens by Tom A. Windrom
VERY SPECIAL EDITOR'S NOTE: Today's blog is TennMod's first ever guest blog. It was written by my good friend (and pamphlet archivist) Brian McKnight. Although his passion is collecting history on film (as documented on his YouTube page), I appreciate him taking time to help make TennMod a well-rounded repository
Rich’s Dept. Store by Stevens & Wilkinson
Structure: Rich’s Department StoreLocation: Knoxville, TennesseeArchitect: Stevens & Wilkinson (Barber & McMurry, associates)Date: 1955Story: We do an awful lot of house stories here on the blog, this is true. But today, we’re doing a Knoxville city landmark: the department store called Rich’s. Rich’s was a chain of department stores that was