North Hills Historic District
Encyclopedia
The North Hills Historic District is a residential subdivision
in north Knoxville, Tennessee
, that was added to the National Register of Historic Places
in September 2008 as an historic district
. The subdivision was established in 1927 by the North Hills Corporation as a neighborhood of custom-built homes, catering to middle-class families. The historic district includes 130 houses on about 50 acres (20.2 ha). At the time of its listing on the National Register, it was described by the Tennessee Historical Commission
as a good example of mid-20th century residential architecture
.
passes just south of the district, and Broadway (U.S. Route 441
) passes just to the west. Washington Pike divides the district from the Whittle Springs area to the north. Contributing properties in the district are found along Abbey Road, Fountain Park Boulevard, Kenilworth Lane, Kennington Road, North Hills Boulevard, North Park Boulevard.
The "entrance" to North Hills is located at the intersection of Washington Pike and North Hills Boulevard. On each side of the entrance, there are stone gateposts with marble plaques reading "North Hills." North Hills Boulevard, North Park Boulevard, and Fountain Park Boulevard are true boulevard
s, with grassy medians dividing the right and left lanes.
In 1928, the North Hills Corporation enacted several measures to ensure North Hills would remain an exclusive neighborhood. These included restrictive covenant
s that limited the neighborhood to residential use, set a minimum house size of six rooms and minimum home construction cost of 5,000 (in 1928), specified allowable exterior and roofing materials, mandated design approval by the North Hills Corporation, and banned sales "outside of the Caucasian race
." As an automobile-oriented neighborhood, North Hills was too far (almost two miles) from the nearest streetcar line to be attractive for people who depended on public transportation
.
By 1933, seventy-five houses had been built in North Hills, and 175 lots remained available. Along with the Fieldans themselves, early residents included doctors, attorneys, University of Tennessee
professors, executives of local companies, and Southern Railway employees. The establishment of the Tennessee Valley Authority
in 1933 helped the neighborhood continue to develop during the Great Depression
, as a number of new lots were sold to TVA employees.
The Fieldan brothers managed the North Hills Corporation into the 1950s, and the North Hills subdivision continued to expand during this period. The neighborhood's mix of architectural styles is typical for the mid-20th century. For the earliest houses in North Hills (i.e., late 1920s), the most common styles were Tudor Revival, Colonial Revival
, and Spanish Colonial Revival. During the 1930s, the most commons styles were English Cottage Revival and Minimal Traditional, with the latter remaining common throughout the 1940s. Ranch-style house
s were common among new houses built North Hills during the 1950s.
Subdivision (land)
Subdivision is the act of dividing land into pieces that are easier to sell or otherwise develop, usually via a plat. The former single piece as a whole is then known in the United States as a subdivision...
in north Knoxville, Tennessee
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...
, that was added to 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...
in September 2008 as an historic district
Historic district (United States)
In the United States, a historic district is a group of buildings, properties, or sites that have been designated by one of several entities on different levels as historically or architecturally significant. Buildings, structures, objects and sites within a historic district are normally divided...
. The subdivision was established in 1927 by the North Hills Corporation as a neighborhood of custom-built homes, catering to middle-class families. The historic district includes 130 houses on about 50 acres (20.2 ha). At the time of its listing on the National Register, it was described by the Tennessee Historical Commission
Tennessee Historical Commission
The Tennessee Historical Commission is a Tennessee state government agency, a division of the Department of Environment and Conservation, that has missions related to the state's history and historic preservation....
as a good example of mid-20th century residential architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
.
Location
The North Hills Historic District is located about two miles northeast of downtown Knoxville. Interstate 40Interstate 40
Interstate 40 is the third-longest major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States, after I-90 and I-80. Its western end is at Interstate 15 in Barstow, California; its eastern end is at a concurrency of U.S. Route 117 and North Carolina Highway 132 in Wilmington, North Carolina...
passes just south of the district, and Broadway (U.S. Route 441
U.S. Route 441
U.S. Route 441 is a spur route of U.S. Route 41. It currently runs for 939 miles from U.S. Route 41 in Miami, Florida to U.S. Route 25W in Lake City, Tennessee. Between its termini, US 441 passes through the states of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee...
) passes just to the west. Washington Pike divides the district from the Whittle Springs area to the north. Contributing properties in the district are found along Abbey Road, Fountain Park Boulevard, Kenilworth Lane, Kennington Road, North Hills Boulevard, North Park Boulevard.
The "entrance" to North Hills is located at the intersection of Washington Pike and North Hills Boulevard. On each side of the entrance, there are stone gateposts with marble plaques reading "North Hills." North Hills Boulevard, North Park Boulevard, and Fountain Park Boulevard are true boulevard
Boulevard
A Boulevard is type of road, usually a wide, multi-lane arterial thoroughfare, divided with a median down the centre, and roadways along each side designed as slow travel and parking lanes and for bicycle and pedestrian usage, often with an above-average quality of landscaping and scenery...
s, with grassy medians dividing the right and left lanes.
History
With the advent of the automobile in the 1920s, many middle-class and affluent Knoxvillians began moving from the city's urban neighborhoods to automobile-oriented neighborhoods on the city's periphery. It was during this period that developer George Fieldan and his brothers, Hugh and Carl, founded the North Hills Corporation with the intent of establishing such a neighborhood. In 1927, the Fieldans purchased 43 acres (17.4 ha) encompassing what is now North Hills Boulevard, Fountain Park Boulevard, and Kenilworth Lane, and began laying off lots. The first house, 1929 North Hills Boulevard, was erected that same year.In 1928, the North Hills Corporation enacted several measures to ensure North Hills would remain an exclusive neighborhood. These included restrictive covenant
Restrictive covenant
A restrictive covenant is a type of real covenant, a legal obligation imposed in a deed by the seller upon the buyer of real estate to do or not to do something. Such restrictions frequently "run with the land" and are enforceable on subsequent buyers of the property...
s that limited the neighborhood to residential use, set a minimum house size of six rooms and minimum home construction cost of 5,000 (in 1928), specified allowable exterior and roofing materials, mandated design approval by the North Hills Corporation, and banned sales "outside of the Caucasian race
Caucasian race
The term Caucasian race has been used to denote the general physical type of some or all of the populations of Europe, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western Asia , Central Asia and South Asia...
." As an automobile-oriented neighborhood, North Hills was too far (almost two miles) from the nearest streetcar line to be attractive for people who depended on public transportation
Public transport
Public transport is a shared passenger transportation service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, car pooling or hired buses which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.Public transport modes include buses, trolleybuses, trams...
.
By 1933, seventy-five houses had been built in North Hills, and 175 lots remained available. Along with the Fieldans themselves, early residents included doctors, attorneys, University of Tennessee
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...
professors, executives of local companies, and Southern Railway employees. The establishment of the Tennessee Valley Authority
Tennessee Valley Authority
The Tennessee Valley Authority is a federally owned corporation in the United States created by congressional charter in May 1933 to provide navigation, flood control, electricity generation, fertilizer manufacturing, and economic development in the Tennessee Valley, a region particularly affected...
in 1933 helped the neighborhood continue to develop during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, as a number of new lots were sold to TVA employees.
The Fieldan brothers managed the North Hills Corporation into the 1950s, and the North Hills subdivision continued to expand during this period. The neighborhood's mix of architectural styles is typical for the mid-20th century. For the earliest houses in North Hills (i.e., late 1920s), the most common styles were Tudor Revival, Colonial Revival
Colonial Revival architecture
The Colonial Revival was a nationalistic architectural style, garden design, and interior design movement in the United States which sought to revive elements of Georgian architecture, part of a broader Colonial Revival Movement in the arts. In the early 1890s Americans began to value their own...
, and Spanish Colonial Revival. During the 1930s, the most commons styles were English Cottage Revival and Minimal Traditional, with the latter remaining common throughout the 1940s. Ranch-style house
Ranch-style house
Ranch-style houses is a domestic architectural style originating in the United States. First built in the 1920s, the ranch style was extremely popular amongst the booming post-war middle class of the 1940s to 1970s...
s were common among new houses built North Hills during the 1950s.
Notable properties
The North Hills Historic District contains 130 contributing houses and 28 contributing outbuildings (garages, sheds, etc.). The district also includes several contributing sites, namely the boulevard medians, streetscapes, and North Hills Park.- 2903 Fountain Park Boulevard, a one-story Craftsman-style house built in 1928.
- 2916 Fountain Park Boulevard, a two-story Colonial Revival-style houst built circa 1928.
- 1709 North Hills Boulevard, a one-story Minimal Traditional-style house built in 1935.
- 1714 North Hills Boulevard, a one-story Minimal Traditional-style house built in 1929.
- 1715 North Hills Boulevard, a one-story Minimal Traditional-style house built in 1929. The exterior walls of this house are covered with East Tennessee marble.
- 1829 North Hills Boulevard, a two-story house with a Spanish Eclectic-like design, built in 1929.
- 1905 North Hills Boulevard, a two-story Colonial Revival-style house built in 1929.
- 1906 North Hills Boulevard, a two-story Spanish Eclectic-style house built in 1929.
- 1920 North Hills Boulevard, a two-story Colonial Revival-style house built in 1929.
- 1928 North Hills Boulevard, a one-story English Cottage Revival-style house built circa 1930. The bottom half of this house's front gable is covered in uncoursed East Tennessee marble.
- 1929 North Hills Boulevard, a two-story Colonial Revival-style house. Built in 1927, this is the oldest house in the North Hills Historic District.
- 2412 North Park Boulevard, a two-story English Cottage Revival-style house built in 1928.
External links
- North Hills Neighbor (neighborhood website)