Medical Arts Building (Knoxville, Tennessee)
Encyclopedia
The Medical Arts Building is an office high-rise located at 603 Main Street in Knoxville, Tennessee
, USA. Completed in 1930, the 10-story structure originally provided office space for physicians and dentists, and at the time was considered the "best equipped" medical building in the South. The building has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places
as one of the region's best examples of a Gothic Revival-style
office building. It is currently used for general office space.
's 1791 plat of Knoxville, though the lot had been incorporated into the city by 1800. By the late 19th century, the elaborate Victorian residence of pharmaceutical magnate A. J. Albers stood on the lot. The home of Charles Krutch, who provided funding for the establishment of Krutch Park, once stood in the parking lot adjacent to the building.
By the early 1900s, numerous physicians were operating out of buildings in the area between South Market Street and Henley Street, such as those located in what is now the South Market Historic District
. Following World War I
, the James Park House
(at the corner of Walnut and Cumberland) was converted into a clinic, in part because of the large number of doctors' offices in its vicinity. In the late 1920s, prominent physician Herbert Acuff (1886–1951), seeing a necessity for a more modern medical office building, recruited several investors, and purchased the lot at the corner of Main and Locust. Construction on the Medical Arts Building, designed by the Lexington, Kentucky
-based firm Manley and Young, began in 1929 and was completed in 1930.
In the 1930s, Acuff's investment company went bankrupt, and the Medical Arts Building was sold to the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
. In subsequent years, the building's first floor tenants have included a bank, a drug store and restaurant. In 1981, Knoxville-area developer Kristopher Kendrick purchased the building, and in turn sold it in 1983 to the Medical Arts Building Association, which renovated the building for modern office space.
lies across Locust to the east.
The east (Locust) and south (Main) facades of the building are decorated with terra cotta
elements and dark green spandrel panels. A terra cotta cornice
surrounds the top of the building. The entrances along Main and Locust are decorated with terra cotta buttress
es, pointed arches, and brass double-doors flanked by transoms with Gothic tracery
elements. The garage is accessed via a Tudor arch
entrance along Locust Street. The first floor interior contains a marble floor and walls, and upper level hallways contain marble wainscoting.
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
, USA. Completed in 1930, the 10-story structure originally provided office space for physicians and dentists, and at the time was considered the "best equipped" medical building in the South. The building has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
as one of the region's best examples of a Gothic Revival-style
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
office building. It is currently used for general office space.
History
The lot on which the Medical Arts Building stands was originally located just outside Charles McClungCharles McClung
Charles McClung was an American pioneer, politician, and surveyor best known for drawing up the original plat of Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1791. While Knoxville has since expanded to many times its original size, the city's downtown area still roughly follows McClung's 1791 grid...
's 1791 plat of Knoxville, though the lot had been incorporated into the city by 1800. By the late 19th century, the elaborate Victorian residence of pharmaceutical magnate A. J. Albers stood on the lot. The home of Charles Krutch, who provided funding for the establishment of Krutch Park, once stood in the parking lot adjacent to the building.
By the early 1900s, numerous physicians were operating out of buildings in the area between South Market Street and Henley Street, such as those located in what is now the South Market Historic District
South Market Historic District
The South Market Historic District is a cluster of five buildings at the intersection of Market Street and Church Avenue in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996...
. Following World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the James Park House
James Park House
The James Park House is a historic house located at 422 West Cumberland Avenue in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. The house's foundation was built by Governor John Sevier in the 1790s, and the house itself was built by Knoxville merchant and mayor, James Park , in 1812, making it the second-oldest...
(at the corner of Walnut and Cumberland) was converted into a clinic, in part because of the large number of doctors' offices in its vicinity. In the late 1920s, prominent physician Herbert Acuff (1886–1951), seeing a necessity for a more modern medical office building, recruited several investors, and purchased the lot at the corner of Main and Locust. Construction on the Medical Arts Building, designed by the Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
-based firm Manley and Young, began in 1929 and was completed in 1930.
In the 1930s, Acuff's investment company went bankrupt, and the Medical Arts Building was sold to the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
MetLife, Inc. is the holding corporation for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, or MetLife, for short, and its affiliates. MetLife is among the largest global providers of insurance, annuities, and employee benefit programs, with 90 million customers in over 60 countries...
. In subsequent years, the building's first floor tenants have included a bank, a drug store and restaurant. In 1981, Knoxville-area developer Kristopher Kendrick purchased the building, and in turn sold it in 1983 to the Medical Arts Building Association, which renovated the building for modern office space.
Design
The Medical Arts Building is located at the northwest corner of Main and Locust, with an attached three-story garage extending the length of Locust all the way to Cumberland Avenue. A parking lot separates it from Henley Street to the west, and the Knoxville Post OfficeUnited States Post Office and Courthouse (Knoxville, Tennessee)
The United States Post Office and Courthouse, commonly called the Knoxville Post Office, is a federal building located at 501 Main Street in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. Constructed in the early 1930s for use as a post office and federal courthouse, the building contains numerous Art Deco and...
lies across Locust to the east.
The east (Locust) and south (Main) facades of the building are decorated with terra cotta
Terra cotta
Terracotta, Terra cotta or Terra-cotta is a clay-based unglazed ceramic, although the term can also be applied to glazed ceramics where the fired body is porous and red in color...
elements and dark green spandrel panels. A terra cotta cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
surrounds the top of the building. The entrances along Main and Locust are decorated with terra cotta buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
es, pointed arches, and brass double-doors flanked by transoms with Gothic tracery
Tracery
In architecture, Tracery is the stonework elements that support the glass in a Gothic window. The term probably derives from the 'tracing floors' on which the complex patterns of late Gothic windows were laid out.-Plate tracery:...
elements. The garage is accessed via a Tudor arch
Tudor arch
A four-centred arch, also known as a depressed arch or Tudor arch, is a low, wide type of arch with a pointed apex. It is much wider than its height and gives the visual effect of having been flattened under pressure...
entrance along Locust Street. The first floor interior contains a marble floor and walls, and upper level hallways contain marble wainscoting.
See also
- General BuildingGeneral BuildingThe General Building, also called the Tennessee General Building or the First Bank Building, is an office high-rise located in downtown Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. Constructed in the mid-1920s, the 15-story building is the only high-rise designed by Charles I...
- The HolstonThe HolstonThe Holston is a condominium high-rise located at 531 South Gay Street in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. Completed in 1913 as the headquarters for the Holston National Bank, the fourteen-story building was the tallest in Knoxville until the construction in the late 1920s of the Andrew Johnson Hotel,...
- Andrew Johnson BuildingAndrew Johnson BuildingThe Andrew Johnson Building is a high-rise office building in downtown Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. Completed in 1930, the structure was Knoxville's tallest building for nearly a half-century. The building was originally home to the Andrew Johnson Hotel, and is now used for office space by Knox...
- Mechanics' Bank and Trust Company BuildingMechanics' Bank and Trust Company BuildingThe Mechanics' Bank and Trust Company Building is an office building located at 612 South Gay Street in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. Built in 1907 for the Mechanics' Bank and Trust Company, the building now houses offices for several law firms and financial agencies...
- Dr. Fred Stone, Sr., HospitalDr. Fred Stone, Sr., HospitalThe Dr. Fred Stone, Sr., Hospital is a six-story brick structure in Oliver Springs, Tennessee, USA. Noted for its castle-like appearance and eccentric, unplanned design, the building was home to a one-doctor hospital operated by retired U.S. Army physician Fred Stone, Sr. in the 1940s, 1950s, and...
External links
- Medical Arts Building — official site