47th Central Gardens Association Home & Garden Tour

Welcome to Home Tour

The Central Gardens Home Tour Committee is thrilled to offer our 47th annual tour of the neighborhood.

This year’s homes represent some of the most distinctive architecture styles that were popular in the late 19th century/ early 20th century including Tudor, Prairie and Italian Renaissance designs. One home featured on this year’s tour is a new build, illustrating how new construction is possible in historic neighborhoods as long as guidelines are followed and the historic character of the surroundings are kept in mind.

Thank you for your continued support and enjoy your day in Central Gardens.

2023 HOME TOUR COMMITTEE

Kathy Ferguson, Chair

Patti Joyner, co-chair

Elizabeth Domas

Cori McCullers

Nancy Knight

Sheila Noone

HOME FLORAL ARRANGEMENTS

GRACIOUSLY DONATED BY:

LeFleur

Holliday Flowers

Pugh’s Garden District

Rachel’s Flower Shop

Cynthia Saatkamp

Kat Schwartz

Barry Simpson

Kate Sullivan

Midtown Bramble and Bloom

Premier Flowers

SPECIAL THANKS PHOTOGRAPHS BY BRENNAN WILBANKS

Heather & Henry Grovesnor

The Kuhlman House

This newcomer to Central Gardens is located on Lot 20 of the Matthew’s Land Company Subdivision, platted in 1905 by James M. Goodbar and R.L. Matthews. The boundaries are Peabody Avenue, Melrose, Harbert Avenue and Willett on the east.

Goodbar was a prominent Memphis merchant, real estate developer, owner of Goodbar & Co. wholesale dealers in boots and shoes. He was also the director of the Memphis Trust Company, Memphis National Bank, Chickasaw Cooperage, the Little Rock Ice Company and a member of Second Presbyterian Church. Nothing more was discovered about Mr. Matthews.

A search of the Sanborn Fire Maps reveals this lot had never had a building on it. This new residence was built in 2020 under Landmarks Commission review because Central Gardens is a Landmarks District. For most of the 1960s and into the early ‘70s, numerous historic structures and neighborhoods throughout Memphis were becoming victim to the wrecking ball in favor of new construction and in the name of progress. This trend was of great concern to many Memphians of the

day, who feared that they’d eventually lose much of what they had grown up with and which made their Memphis so unique.

However local preservationists - from organizations like the Association for the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities and the Memphis City Beautiful Commission, historian and author Dr. Charles Crawford and individuals and homeowners passionate about preservation –continued to lobby the old Memphis Housing Authority and the Memphis-Shelby County Planning Commission to form the type of conservation authority allowed by the 1966 National Historic Preservation Act. What resulted, in the passing by the City Council of Ordinance 2276 in 1975, was the forming of the Memphis Landmarks Commission (MLC). The MLC in their mission was mandated to preserve and protect “the historic, architectural and cultural landmarks in the City of Memphis.”

In 1992, after the loss of the Ada Norfleet Turner Home, the Central Gardens Neighborhood Association petitioned the city for a landmark’s designation as a historic conservation district.

They also submitted detailed architectural guidelines established back in 1980 for their nomination to the National Register.

There were inevitable compromises. With anything of such magnitude, which required buy-in by the majority of residents and influential neighborhood institutions, such compromises are made with the greater good in mind; moreover, it is quite possible that the historic conservation district designation would have eluded Central Gardens if not for such give and take.

“In the early 1990s, the Central Gardens Board of Directors fought to have the neighborhood designated as a Historic Conservation District. This designation gives the entire neighborhood the protections of the Historic Guidelines that are applied and governed by the Memphis Landmarks Commission,” said 2017 Association President Kathy Ferguson. “To put it simply, if (certain compromises) would not have been adopted in 1992, this district ... would not have the protections now provided under our Historic Guidelines.

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The Uzzelle House

The Matthews Land Company subdivision has a prestigious group of late 19th-century old money Memphis real estate developers connected with it. Developer M. L. Meacham platted the Central Gardens M. L. Meacham subdivision in 1891, bounded by Union Avenue, Vance Avenue, Pine Street on the west and Watkins Street on the east. M. L and wife Emma built a large fashionable residence at 178 Pine Street in 1899 and reared their daughter Virginia there. As prolific Central Gardens developer John F. Kimbrough’s family home was located two blocks to the east on Union Avenue (now the Kimbrough Apartments), John Kimbrough practically married the girl next door when he wed Virginia Meacham.

James M. Goodbar was a prominent Memphis merchant who business interests included Goodbar & Co. wholesale dealers, director of the Memphis Trust Company and the Memphis National Bank, the Chickasaw Cooperage and the Little Rock Ice Company. He partnered with John Kimbrough and developer Robert L. Matthews of the R. L. Matthews & Co to create the Matthews Land Company

subdivision bounded by Peabody Avenue, Melrose Street, Harbert Avenue and Harris Avenue in 1905.

The first owner of 1475 Carr was an Arkansas planter George H. Uzzelle who purchased the house in 1910 with wife, Eula Sloan. He died in 1915. The youthful widow remarried to Granville Searcy Standish of Providence, R.I., a member of well-known Southern and New England families.

The next resident was James L. Hutter, the president and secretary of the Clinton Lumber Company which he owned. He resided here for five years before selling it to Benjamin Covington and his wife Pauline. Mr. Covington was president of Continental Piston Ring Company. Covington died suddenly in 1936 and left the property to his minor child.

The property was sold in 1937 to Mrs. M. A. Portis. She held it until 1961 when she sold it to Claud W. Howard, a fireman and his wife Virginia. In the early 1960’s the Memphis Fire Department sent Claud to Battle Creek, Michigan where he studied radioactive materials, decay, etc. With this special

training he taught firemen preparedness and safety in case of a nuclear disaster. Wayne was a captain on the Memphis Fire Department when he retired after thirty years of service. Mr. Howard died in 2006 and Virginia left the property to the children after her death in 2017. The current owners purchased the property in October, 2022 and are excited to be participating in this year’s Home Tour.

This two-story modified American Foursquare house is a subtype of the Eclectic House movement, which began quietly in the last decades of the 19thcentury as fashionable, European-trained architects began to design landmark period houses for wealthy clients. An unusually creative group of Chicago style architects later known as the Prairie School (1900-1920) developed it. Architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s (1867-1960) early work is in this style. Landmark examples are concentrated in that city’s early 20thcentury suburbs.

Pattern books and popular magazines spread vernacular examples such as 1475 Carr widely and they are common in early 20th-century suburbs throughout Memphis. Mostly built between 1905 and 1915; the style faded quickly from fashion after World War I. This is one of the few indigenous American styles. This house has a hip-on-hip roof, partial-front porch with field stone battered piers, and bay windows on the front and side. The center entry has wood single light door with full sidelights and a multi- light transom. The wall dormer projecting from the second floor has a single window with a hip roof.

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The H. J. Parrish House

The circa 1906 hipped roof, asymmetrical high style house is a subtype of the Prairie House movement which began quietly in the last decades of the 19th century. This is one of the few indigenous American styles. It was developed by an unusually creative group of Chicago style architects now known as the Prairie School (1900 to 1920). Architect Frank Lloyd Wright (1867 to 1960) is acknowledged master of the Prairie House. According to author Eugene Johnson’s Memphis: An Architectural Guide, it is one of the finest efforts by architect Neander M. Woods, Jr. “Woods took full advantage of the corner lot site to design a house of great sculptural vigor that works from any direction of approach. Woods’ trademark diagonal porte-cochere splits the twostory, circular bulge on the east from the elaborate play of planes and roof levels on the west. The mixture of materials and the wavy joints of the stonework are particularly marvelous here. One would dearly like to know the name of the extraordinarily talented mason. The Parrish House is one of Woods’ finest efforts.

The residence’s original owner H. J. Parrish was a prominent businessman in cottonseed products and general manager of the Gayoso Oil Works. He was also president of the Merchants’ Exchange, which erected another Neander Woods building in 1911: the nineteen-story Exchange Building which survives on Second Street, and was Memphis’ tallest building for twenty years.

In 1919, the home was purchased by Mrs. Elizabeth Dies, widow of former Commissioner of Public Utilities under Boss Crump, Thomas Dies. Thomas Dies had passed two years before the purchase of the home in a suspicious death, caused by an “accidental gun shot” while cleaning his pistol at his S. Main office. Dies had been a respected businessman who started as a grocer in the late 1800s. He invested his profits in real-estate, owning many properties in the city, and later became involved in politics. Controversy surrounded his years as Commissioner of Public Works as his earlier role in negotiations between warehouse developers and railroad interests (the Harahan Bridge Project) came into question. Under scrutiny, he

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resigned from office in 1916. As for Elizabeth Dies, she unsuccessfully sued the Fidelity & Casualty Company for payout on her husband’s life insurance. Mrs. Dies lived in the home until her death in 1956. Her obituary states that she was a former member of the Nineteenth Century Club and active in social and civic affairs during her youth. She died at 85 years of age.

More notables lived in the home after Mrs. Dies passed, including a well-loved writer from the Memphis Press Scimitar, Paul Fairleigh, and Sherry Mathis

(daughter of C.M. Mathis) a Broadway and daytime TV actress.

The home has been lovingly cared for through the decades with many modifications and upgrades completed over time. Current owners (need to find out if we can use their names) Angela Howard and Tina Motroni have recently finished renovations to include opening up the breakfast room space, replacing wood floors and updating the “she-shed” by the pool.

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The Wilholte Home

Transportation drove development in all major US cities including Memphis. Early on, streetcars provided convenient transportation to downtown. Unlike the nearby Annesdale Park neighborhood which was created as a smaller, single subdivision; Central Gardens is composed of many subdivisions including the Mathews Land Company subdivision and the Bonnie Crest subdivision (unrecorded), both of which are included in the tour today.

Central Gardens has homes that families have lived in for succeeding generations. One such property is located on Lot 61 of the Matthew’s Land Company’s Subdivision. The first owners were Josephine Moore and William L. Wilholte who purchased it from the subdivision developer himself in 1917. William was the supervisor of the Agencies Reliance Life Insurance Company and Josephine was a homemaker. Josephine died in 1967 while still living at this address. She willed the property to her two sons Thomas and Lawson. Thomas became the owner and lived there with his wife Virginia until 1972 when they sold it out of the family after fifty-five years.

The next owners were John W. Willard and his wife Ann. In 1991 they sold the property to Dr. Jeffrey D. Nesin and his wife Diane. Nesin was the director of the Memphis College of Art which was born near the end of the Great Depression. The James Lee Memorial Art Academy — the institution that gave birth to the Memphis Academy of Art, which became the Memphis College of Art — took a distinctly 19th-century approach to art education, aiming to shelter students from the corrupting influence of Modernism. In the mid-1930s, a progressive splinter group broke away from the Lee Academy, and as the older institution went down, the new school was awarded physical and financial support from the city of Memphis, establishing a public/private partnership that endured into the 1990s. When the Nesins returned to New York in 2010, he had led the school for 19 years. The current owners, Jennifer and Robert Daniels, purchased the property in February, 2019.

The handsome, brick Prairie-style house has an asphalt shingle hip roof, a full porch supported by brick columns and a terrace on one side. The center entry has paired

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multi-light wood doors and the paired windows are double hung single light. The d. 1908 hipped roof, asymmetrical plan, Prairie-style house at 1364 Vinton is a vernacular example of the Eclectic House movement which began quietly in the last decades of the 19th-century as fashionable, European-trained architects began to design landmark period houses for wealthy clients. These trends gained momentum with Chicago’s Columbian Exposition of 1893, which stressed correct historical interpretations of European styles.

The Prairie style originated in Chicago and landmark examples are concentrated in that city’s early 20th-century suburbs, particularly Oak Park and River Forest, and in other large mid-western cities. This is one of the few indigenous American styles. It was developed by an unusually creative group of Chicago style architects that have come to be known as the Prairie School (1900-1920).

Architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s (1867-1960) early work is in this style and he is the acknowledged master of the Prairie house. Wright is unusual in that he early turned his

creative genius towards the problems of domestic architecture rather than public buildings. Vernacular examples such as 1364 Vinton were spread widely by pattern books and popular magazines and they are common in early 20th-century suburbs throughout Memphis. Most were built between 1905 and 1915; the style faded quickly from fashion after World War I.

The homeowners worked with designer Maggie Clarke on decor. To honor this historic home, we accentuated its most unique features: the intricate crown molding, marble surround on the fireplace, and the custom window bench seat. Saturated colors on the walls, upholstery, and art bring this space to life. The commissioned art piece by Katherine George adds to the depth of the space, telling a story of the family’s multi-generational legacy.

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The Mannen Home

This handsome residence is located on Lot 48 in the Bonny Crest subdivision (unrecorded). Percy L. Mannen was the first owner in 1912. He was a sales agent at the National Cash Register Company. Three years later in 1915 it sold to second owners Hugh Ford and his wife Sallie. Hugh was manager of the Pioneer Pole and Shaft Lumber Company.

In 1921 it was purchased by Eva Nall, a widow. She and her son William and his wife Edna and their son William, Jr. all lived here. They ran a family business called Gray & Nall. William, Sr. died in January, 1943. It was later purchased by Martha McFadden Miller who sold it in January, 1969 to Randolph and Carolyn Holt.

The Holts only lived there two years before selling it to Beverly Goodwin Sousoulas in June, 1971. Beverly had married Frank George Sousoulas, an American military man from Memphis. The two of them moved to Panama under Frank’s diplomatic status, living on the American base for the next couple of years. By 1956, the two of them had since relocated to Memphis and

begin their family that resulted in three sons: James, Earl Frank, and Frank George Jr.

Over the next thirty years, Beverly became immersed in Greek culture within the greater Memphis area, and was an active member of Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, including her work with the longstanding Memphis Greek Culture Food Festival. During this time, Beverly also became very active in the Memphis arts, working with many well-known composers, dancers, musicians, and fine artists. She attended the old Memphis College of Arts, where she met her “adopted fourth son” (as she referred to him), the fine art painter, Jay Worth Allen. In 1990 she sold the property to Betty Brooks. Sadly Ms. Brooks lost the property to foreclosure three years later.

It was then sold to Clementine Brooks in August of 1994. She lived there over two decades before selling it to Joshua Haralson in 2006. Mr. Haralson sold it a year later to David Solecki and Maria GomesSolecki, who have lived here in Central Gardens since that time. Dr. Gomes-Solecki is as professor of microbiology

at the University of Tennessee Health Sciences. She is known in the field of Lyme disease research as an expert developer of oral vaccines based on commensal bacteria (i.e. Lactobacillus sp. and E. coli). David Solecki, PhD is a member of the St. Jude faculty with a specialty in Developmental Neurobiology.

The c. 1912 Tudor-style house is a great vernacular example of the Eclectic movement which began quietly in the last decades of the 19th century as fashionable, European-trained architects began to design landmark period houses for wealthy clients. The Tudor style is loosely based on a variety of early English building traditions ranging from simple folk houses to Late Medieval palaces. Most of them empathize high-pitched gable roofs and elaborate chimneys but other decorative detailing is drawn from Renaissance or even modern Craftsman traditions.

The Tudor Revival style of domestic building was used for a large proportion of early 20th century suburban houses and apartment buildings throughout newer parts of Memphis. It was particularly fashionable in the Midtown subdivisions. During the 1920s and 1930s only Colonial Revival rivaled it in popularity as a vernacular style.

Distinctive Tudor features on this house include stucco and wood shingle wall cladding, a crenelated parapet bay and an incised porch centered on the second story of the facade, false half-timbering in the front gable and unique rubble stone and stucco columns supporting the porch and port-cochere. The stained glass window on the right side of the porch is derived from the Craftsman tradition. The triple windows are distinctive multi-lightover-one double-hung wood framed.

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The Smithwick Home

The Goodbar subdivision is adjacent to the Matthew’s Land Company subdivision. It was platted in 1908 by J.M. Goodbar and his wife Mary. Goodbar was a native of Overton County and moved to Memphis in 1860. After the Civil War, he was united in marriage with Miss Mary Morgan and they had four children. By the early 20th-century, he decided to subdivide the old Goodbar home place and develop it. The 46-lot subdivision is bounded by Harbert Avenue, the rear property lines on the south side of Goodbar Place on the south, South Melrose and the former Harris Avenue, now Willett Street.

Development went slowly until the Roaring ’20s. It was 1926 when the first owners, James T. Smithwick and his wife Elise purchased the property. James was a cotton broker in the family cotton business on Front Street. His father, Presley Smithwick, chairman of the board of First National Bank, lived a block over on the 600 block of Willett. James died peacefully at home here in 1962 at age 80; Elise had preceded him in death. Their daughter, Elise Farnsworth Smithwick Miles, inherited

thepropertyandsoldittoWinfredand SaraLeeSharpinDecember1964.

WinfredwasborninGreenfield,Tennessee, in1922andeducatedatUofMandthe UniversityofMissouri.Heservedinthe NavyduringWorldWarII.Afterthewarhe settledinMemphis,retiringfromactive dutyin1954.HereturnedtotheNavyat theNavalAirTechnicalTrainingCenter inMillingtonfrom1954to1994,retiringat therankofcaptain.Hewasadedicated memberofIdlewildPresbyterianChurch SaradiedinMay2003.Winfredsoldthe property11yearslatertoMillardE.Byrdin 2014.MillardimmediatelysoldittoMark andBrookeNaszadiwhoowneditforthree yearsbeforesellingtoScottBengstonand hiswifeNancy.TheBengstonslivedthere untilOctober2021whentheysoldittothe presentowner,FranMcRae

Thehouseisavernacularexampleofan eclectic-stylehouse,specificallyColonial Revival.Thestyle,whichhasneverreally died,wasadominantstylefordomestic buildingthroughoutthecountryduring thelate19th-centuryandfirsthalfofthe 20th-century.Afterbrieflypassingfrom

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favor in mid-century, the style has currently reappeared in somewhat different form as a dominant Neo-Eclectic style.

The Philadelphia Centennial of 1876 is credited with first awakening interest in our colonial architectural heritage. In 1877 the fashionable architects McKim, Mead, White and Bigelow took a wide tour through New England to study original Georgian and Adam buildings. By 1886 they had executed two landmark houses in the style — the Appleton House (1883–84) in Lenox, Massachusetts, and the Taylor House (1885–86) in Newport, Rhode Island. These important examples typify the two subtypes that were most common before 1910: an asymmetrical form with superimposed colonial details and the more authentic symmetrical hipped roof shape of which the subject property is one.

For detailing on the 1926 house, the architect drew upon Colonial Revival details including an entry portico supported by slender columns; a façade with symmetrically balanced windows with

double hung sashes and a double-leaf center door with a fanlight transom. It has one-story telescopic additions on either side. The boxed eave cornice is an important Colonial Revival identifying feature.

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