Historic Homes & Gardens of Tennessee-Shelby County

This book was published in 1936 by the Garden Study Club of Nashville

Plan of Memphis by Wm Lawrence, 1819

C 1835 Magevney House-Adams Avenue

Original town lot Hall and Parlor design timber frame construction, built by early settler and schoolmaster Eugene Magevney for his bride. First Catholic wedding and christening performed here, family sold land St. Peters R C is on.

Magevney House had outside stairs to accommodate boarders (photo from unknown time)

Today abusively altered -“Williamsburgesque”

Removal of porch has greatly accelerated its deterioration by allowing water to damage façade, windows sills, etc. Early in the 20th century, the restoration and re-creation of Colonial Williamsburg, one of the largest such projects in the nation, was championed by the W.A.R. Goodwin and patriarch John D. Rockefeller, Jr., along with his wife, Abby to celebrate the patriots and the early history of the United States.

Magevney gardens today thanks to Master Gardeners!

Kitchen garden

c. 1854 St. Peter’s Church-Adams AvenueDesigned by Patrick C. Keeley, stucco over brick., cruciform plan.

c. 1840 Frazier House “The Little Greek House”Greek Revival masonry and stucco center hall plan raised cottage. Originally had magnolias in front yard and rose garden in rear. In 1933 voted one of six best examples of early architecture in Memphis.

1933 HABS photo.

Heavily vandalize during Union occupation, later used as boarding house. Marble Greek “household gods” statues stolen. Original marble and wrought iron balustrade and stairs were sold to someone from New Orleans in late 19th century.

Historic American Building Survey drawing

Site of Fraizer House today When the building was demolished in 1946, the demo contractor stated it was the best constructed house he had ever demolished!

c. 1835-1850 Hunt-Phelan House-Beale StreetFederal style c. 1835, renovated into Greek Revival c. 1851. Landscaping was done by French architect who built house. Masonry construction.

c. 1934 West elevation of Hunt-PhelanOriginally laid out with lawn, walks, driveway, shrubbery and fine trees. Site was on Gayoso Bayou which is channelized under Danny Tomas today and is reputed to be built on an Indian mound!

Hunt Phelan House photographed c. 1863Hunt-Phelan House was commandeered by General Grant during Civil War and this rare photograph shows Union troops in front yard.

Rear elevation c. 1934.

c. 1935 Hunt Phelan Gardens.Its flowers were famous. Varina (Mrs. Jefferson) Davis is credited with laying out the roses. There was a lily pool, greenhouses, vegetable gardens and small fruit trees. It was surrounded by la hedge of lovely Cherokee roses. Stephen Phelan was a cultivator of new rose species.

Hunt-Phelan House today

Jefferson Davis House on Court St, Davis and his family lived in Memphis after he was released from Federal Prison. After their son died out at Buntyn Station in the Yellow Fever epidemic of 1878, they moved to Biloxi, Mississippi.

Site of Jefferson Davis House todayAnother one bites the dust! Site is half block east of 3rd Street

c. 1850 Captain Joseph Lenow House-lost In1848,he came to Memphis and began dealing in real estate rather extensively. In 1852 he was instrumental in establishing Elmwood Cemetery, with which he was president for thirty years. He served as a captain in the Mexican American War In the Tennessee Regiment of Cavalry. He was president of the Bank of Tennessee during its existence, and was a director of the Mississippi & Tennessee Railroad for a decade. Elmwood was part of Park movement.

d. 1852 Elmwood Cemetery Initially established on a 40-acre plot 2.5 miles from town. Laid out in English Garden style, it served not only as a cemetery, but as the city's first public park with winding roads, bridges, large specimen trees and other park-like features, and was one of the first destinations for the early trolley line. Perimeter road is named Grand Tour!

c. 1880 Carpenter Gothic Revival cottage-Elmwood

Carpenter Gothic is an American architectural style for an application of Gothic Revival architectural detailing and picturesque massing applied to wooden structures. The carpenter-built vernacular architecture is based upon picturesque improvisation s and emphasized charm and quaintness rather than fidelity to received models. The genre received its impetus from the publication by Alexander Jackson Davis, Rural Residences and from detailed plans and elevations in publications by Andrew Jackson Downing.

c. 1906 Entrance to ElmwoodRailroad was built across entrance.

Elmwood with crepe myrtles in bloomRoses garden, champion hardwood trees, originally had marble surrounds over graves to plant flowers.

East elevation Littleton-Pettit House w/temple front colonnaded two-story porch-lost

c. 1845 Littleton-Pettit House-lostThis was another Greek Revival Building selected as being noteworthy both by the HABS survey and a group of architects. It was frame construction of yellow poplar. It stood on Beale Street in the vicinity of the Hunt-Phelan House and was a center of ante-bellum social life in Memphis. All photos date 1933

Note: the heavy window brackets and plantation shutters

Etched Venetian glass side lights.

Interior with heavy ceiling molding and paneled doors

Site of Littleton-Pettit House today

c. 1853 Pillow-McIntyre- House-Adams Avenue Greek Revival with later side addition. Stucco over brick. Home of General Gideon Pillow after the Civil War. Family home of Florence McIntyre who founded the Memphis College of Art. Photo 1933.

Today the house is part of Victorian Village H. D.

Pillow McIntyre House Note: double door, double-hung, single light windows, plantation shutters and colonnaded, full -height temple front porch.

Rear of house todayNote: L-plan rear addition and remnant of original garden

Marble birdbath hidden among roses

Heritage roses

c. 1855 Annesdale HouseRare example of towered Italian villa style, indigenous style is part of Picturesque movement. Rounded arch porch, square tower, asymmetrical plan. Possibly designed by architect Samuel Sloane who also designed Longwood in Natchez. Photo 1935

c. 1933 Historic American Building survey photos

Annesdale-east elevation detail

Front porch and porte-cochere

Note: elaborate brackets, arched windows, multiple fireplaces and circular bay on left side. Rear elevation has two story wrought iron galleries overlooking garden.

Detail of wrought iron galleries. Ornamental wrought iron was produced from brittle but malleable southern iron ore and produced in most southern cities.

Annesdale GardensFormal English garden with statuary c. 1935

c. 1859 Memphis Landing aka CobblestonesNote remainder of 4th Chickasaw Bluff in upper right corner. Customs house and rear of Cossit library in upper center.

1870 Bird’s Eye view of Memphis, TNOriginal town in center, Greenlaw to left and South Memphis to right.

Horizon is Bellevue, also known as Raleigh Road.

C. 1852-1890 Mallory Neely HousePhoto from 1935, house is located on Adams and was later donated to city. House was begun in 1852. 2nd owner James Columbus Neely was a cotton factor, and grocer. Third floor added in 1890, enlarged to 25 rooms.

Mallory Neely House todayStucco over brick, three story “Robber Baron” style. Neely was cotton factor, grocer and merchant. Miss Daisy Mallory lived here her entire life, she was married to Barton Lee Mallory.

Exquisite wrought iron and cast stone fence

Cast stone lawn ornament

“Green Garden” of Mrs. E. P. Sale-739 Jefferson AvenueBorders of shrubs are on the property line and bear a succession of bloom from the early forsythia to the crepe myrtles and buddeias of summer and fall. Redbuds and dog woods are accents, weeping willows a s background. For water lily pool. 87 year old owner used it as an outdoor living room.

Mrs. Sale’s Cedrus deodara-37’ high and wide, 55’ at base (photo from 1935)The specific epithet and English vernacular name derive from the Sanskrit term devadāru, which means "wood of the gods", a compound of deva (god) and dāru (wood, etym. tree)). It is worshipped in India as sacred.

It is widely grown as an ornamental tree, planted in parks and large gardens for its drooping foliageForests full of Devadaru trees were the favorite abode of ancient Indian sages devoted to Hindu god Shiva. To please Lord Shiva, the sages used to perform very difficult tapasya (meditation) in deodar forests. There is regular mention of Darukavana, meaning a forest of deodars, as a sacred place in the ancient Hindu epics ..

Deodara is in great demand as building material because of its durability, rot-resistant character and fine, close grain.General cultivation is limited to areas with mild winters, with trees frequently killed by temperatures below about −25 °C, limiting it to hardiness zones 8 and warmer for reliable growth. The species has been decimated in US due to a blight similar to American chestnut.

739 Jefferson todayAin’t Urban Renewal grand?

Gateway into Hunter Raine House aka Beverly Hall-Central at Willett. Current photo

c. 1905 Hunter Raine HouseThe first major example of the Colonial Revival style in Memphis,. W.J. Dodd, Louisville, architect, Jones & Furbringer, associates

Beverly Hall was its name at time of this 1935 photo

Statue of Greek goddess c. 1935

Note re-arrangement of statuary in yard today

Pergola in rear

c. 1926 Robert Carrier HouseArchitect designed Jacobean Revival with imported leaded windows. Sited on the main level of a three –tiered plot. Located at 642 S. Willett and is currently for sale. Photo from 1935.

Has the feel of being constructed in East Anglia during late 16th or early 17th century.

This is actually the rear of the house!

Brick and stone balustrade terrace faces west over sunken lawn

Note statuary figures

Denuded balustrade today

Historic gargoyle court Brick paved and enclosed by low iron railing with five ancient gargoyles

Gargoyle court today sans gargoyles

Main entrance off rear garden courtNote picturesque but destructive English ivy climbing masonry walls!

Entrance todayLovely garden court paved over for parking

Wide flagstone steps lead up to delicate wrought iron gate opening into garden.

View today

Historic entrance to Birdwood Estate. Originally Birdwood was home of Mrs. Wm Webster

Historic view of formal Birdwood gardens-locate at Highland and Central across from Junior League

Stone brick wall fountain

Birdwood today is adaptively reused as churchNew sanctuary on north side

Birdwood Gardens today

c. 1922 Virginia Frazier Boyle HouseShe was a poet dubbed the “Poet Laureate of the Confederacy”. House

plan is based on two villas in Italy she had visited.

Boyle House today653 South McLean in shocking pink!