Parkridge is a neighborhood in

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Tennessee, Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Di ...

, United States, located off Magnolia Avenue east of the city's downtown area. Developed as a

streetcar suburb A streetcar suburb is a residential community whose growth and development was strongly shaped by the use of streetcar lines as a primary means of transportation. Such suburbs developed in the United States in the years before the automobile, when ...

for Knoxville's professional class in the 1890s, the neighborhood was incorporated as the separate city of Park City in 1907, and annexed by Knoxville in 1917. In the early 1900s, the neighborhood provided housing for workers at the nearb
Standard Knitting Mill
factory.Becky French Brewer and Douglas Stuart McDaniel, ''Park City'' (Arcadia Publishing, 2005), pp. 7-10, 31-32, 55, 119. In 1990, over 600 houses in Parkridge were listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

as the Park City Historic District. The neighborhood contains one of the largest concentrations of houses designed by

George Franklin Barber George Franklin Barber (July 31, 1854 – February 17, 1915) was an American architect known for the house designs he marketed worldwide through mail-order catalogs. Barber was one of the most successful residential architects of the late Vi ...

(1854–1915), a mail-order architect known nationwide for his ornate Victorian house plans.

Location

Parkridge is located in East Knoxville, and is bounded by

Interstate 40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...

on the north, Magnolia Avenue (part of US-70) on the south, Hall of Fame Drive on the west, and Cherry Street on the east.About Parkridge Community Organization
Retrieved: 7 June 2011. The Chilhowee Park neighborhood lies opposite Cherry Street to the east,

Fourth and Gill Fourth and Gill is a neighborhood in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, located north of the city's downtown area. Initially developed in the late nineteenth century as a residential area for Knoxville's growing middle and professional classes, ...

lies opposite Hall of Fame Drive to the west, Morningside lies to the south, and North Hills lies opposite I-40 to the northeast. First Creek has traditionally divided the area from Downtown Knoxville to the southwest, and expressway construction, namely Hall of Fame Drive and the James White Parkway, has sharpened this division in recent decades.

History

Lake Ottossee

What is now Parkridge was once part of a vast farm owned by Moses White, the son of Knoxville founder James White. By the mid-19th century, much of this land had been acquired by Joseph Mabry, whose house still stands atop Mabry Hill to the south. During the 1850s, a developer named John Shields established Shieldstown between First Creek and modern Bertrand Street, near what is now the Old City, which by 1880 had a population of 700.Margery Weber Bensey
Parkridge Community Organization - History
2009. Retrieved: 8 June 2011. In 1875, Fernando Cortes Beaman (1836–1911), a college professor, purchased an dairy farm east of Shieldstown from the descendants of Alexander McMillan. This included what is now Chilhowee Park, which Beaman began developing in the mid-1880s, namely with the creation of "Lake Ottossee," and the erection of a dance pavilion. A road, Park Avenue (modern Magnolia), was constructed to connect the park with Downtown Knoxville. In 1890, streetcar entrepreneur

William Gibbs McAdoo William Gibbs McAdoo Jr.McAdoo is variously differentiated from family members of the same name: * Dr. William Gibbs McAdoo (1820–1894) – sometimes called "I" or "Senior" * William Gibbs McAdoo (1863–1941) – sometimes called "II" or "Ju ...

agreed to build an electric streetcar line along Park Avenue, springing residential development in the areas between the park and Downtown Knoxville.

Park City

Around 1888, the Edgewood Land and Improvement Company initiated the development of Parkridge, namely with the division of lots in what is now the western part of the neighborhood. Streets in Parkridge still roughly follow the gridlike pattern laid out by this company and other developers during this period. Other developments included the Poplar Springs subdivision, established by Preston Blang in the vicinity of what is now Linden and Bertrand, and Elmwood, in the vicinity of what is now Woodbine and Boruff. A black community was developed in the area of Adams, Dodson and Nichols. Park-city-junior-high-knox-tn1

One of the partners in this company was architect George Franklin Barber, who would eventually become known nationwide for his catalog designs. Barber designed numerous houses in the new subdivision, including his own house, which still stands at 1635 Washington Avenue. Barber lived in this house until 1895, and his company's draftsmen continued boarding at the house until the early 1900s. The designs of several Barber houses along Washington and Jefferson avenues were featured in Barber's catalogs, which were sold worldwide over the subsequent two decades.Knox Heritage
George Barber Homes Trolley Tour Booklet
, 2007. Retrieved: 1 May 2011. The various new subdivisions along Park Avenue incorporated as Park City in 1907, with W. R. Johnson serving as mayor.Robert Booker
Park City made the most of decade of independence
Knoxville ''News Sentinel'', 17 May 2011. Retrieved: 8 June 2011. The new city had a population of 7,000, and its new school, Park City High School, had an enrollment of over 1,000 students, making it one of the largest in the state (the school building was designed by Barber and his new partner,

R. F. Graf Richard Franklin Graf (1863–1940) was an American architect active primarily in Knoxville, Tennessee and the vicinity in the early 20th century. His works include Stratford Mansion (1910), Sterchi Building (1921),Ann Bennett, National Reg ...

). The city benefited from the three national expositions held at Chilhowee Park, namely the Appalachian Expositions of 1910 and 1911, and the

National Conservation Exposition The National Conservation Exposition was an exposition held in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, between September 1, 1913 and November 1, 1913. The exposition celebrated the cause of bringing national attention to conservation activities, espe ...

of 1913. In 1917, Park City was annexed by Knoxville.

20th century

During the 1920s, Knoxville's more affluent residents began moving to automobile suburbs on the outskirts of town, and the city's streetcar suburbs, including Park City, gradually transitioned into working-class neighborhoods. One of Park City's primary employers, Standard Knitting Mills, built a large factory on the neighborhood's western end in 1900. At its height, this factory employed over 3,000 workers. It closed in 1989. The neighborhood's modern name, "Parkridge," is a combination of "Park City" and "Chestnut Ridge," the latter referring to predominantly black community located just north of Park City.

Park City Historic District

In 1990, a large portion of Parkridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places as the Park City Historic District. This district contains 678 contributing buildings, the most of any of the Knox County's National Register-listed historic district.Knox County - Historic District
nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com. Retrieved: 8 June 2011. Most of the buildings were constructed in the first half of the 20th century, and have architectural styles ranging from

Bungalow A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is either single-story or has a second story built into a sloping roof (usually with dormer windows), and may be surrounded by wide verandas. The first house in England that was classified as a b ...

/ Craftsman to

Tudor Revival Tudor Revival architecture (also known as mock Tudor in the UK) first manifested itself in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture ...

. Several notable Victorian houses built during the late 19th century survive, however, especially along Washington and Jefferson avenues.

Notable properties

*George Franklin Barber House (1635 Washington Ave.), a Queen Anne-style house built in 1889 and designed by architect George Franklin Barber. Barber lived here from 1889 until 1895. *Alonzo Cash House (1712 Washington Ave.), built in 1889 and designed by George Franklin Barber. This house was featured as design #3 in Barber's catalog, ''The Cottage Souvenir''. *W. O. Haworth House (1724 Washington Ave.), built in 1889 and design by George Franklin Barber. This house was featured as design #35 in Barber's ''The Cottage Souvenir No. 2''. *F. E. McArthur House (1701 Jefferson Ave.), built in 1889 and designed by George Franklin Barber. This house was featured as design #40 in Barber's ''The Cottage Souvenir No. 2''. *D. D. Remer House (1618 Washington Ave.), built in 1890 and designed by George Franklin Barber. This house, restored by Knox Heritage in 2006, was featured as design #65B in Barber's ''New Modern Dwellings''. *Joshua Deaver House (1803 Washington Ave.), built in 1893 and designed by George Franklin Barber. This house was featured as design #63 in Barber's ''New Modern Dwellings''. *2041 Washington Avenue, a Queen Anne-style house built c. 1893 and designed by architect John Ryno, a later partner of George Barber. Ryno lived here during the 1890s. *2336 Woodbine Avenue, an American Foursquare-style house built c. 1900. This house served as Knoxville Florence Crittenton home for several years. *2511 East Fifth Avenue, a Craftsman-style house with

Prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

features, built c. 1915. *2512 East Fifth Avenue, a Bungalow-style house with Prairie features, built c. 1915. *2331 and 2343 Washington Avenue, identical two-story Eastlake-style houses, built c. 1890. *Central Church of Christ (1932 Woodbine Ave.), a two-story cement block church constructed c. 1910. *Fifth Avenue Baptist Church (2500 E. Fifth Ave.), a brick church constructed in the neoclassical style c. 1921. *Park Lane (1721 E. Fifth Ave.), a two-story apartment building constructed c. 1915 in the

Colonial Revival style The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the archi ...

. *Pleasanttree (2460 E. Fifth Ave.), an Italian Renaissance-style apartment building constructed c. 1925. *Stewart Building (2362 E. Fifth Ave.), a two-story Italian Renaissance-style apartment building, constructed c. 1920. *1805 East Fifth Avenue, two identical two-story apartment buildings constructed c. 1915 in the Italian Renaissance Revival style.

Community

The Parkridge Community Organization (PCO) describes Parkridge as an urban neighborhood with approximately 3,500 people living in 1,800 houses. The neighborhood is "racially mixed," at 65%

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

and 35%

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

. The neighborhood is home to nine churches and six non-profit organizations. Caswell Park, Cansler YMCA, John T. O'Connor Senior Center, and Knoxville Municipal Stadium (formerly

Bill Meyer Stadium Bill Meyer Stadium was a baseball field located in Knoxville, Tennessee. Originally known as Knoxville Municipal Stadium when it opened in 1953, it was later renamed after Billy Meyer (1892–1957), a Knoxville native who was a catcher and manag ...

) are located in Parkridge. The larger

Chilhowee Park Chilhowee Park is a public park, fairgrounds and exhibition venue in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, located off Magnolia Avenue in East Knoxville. Developed in the late 19th century, the park is home to the Tennessee Valley Fair and hosts se ...

and

Zoo Knoxville Zoo Knoxville, formerly known as the ''Knoxville Zoo'' or ''Knoxville Zoological Gardens'', is a zoo located just east of downtown Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, near exit 392 off Interstate 40. The zoo is home to about 1,200 animals and w ...

are located off Magnolia to the east.

References

External links

Parkridge Community Organization - official site.
{{Knoxneighborhoods Neighborhoods in Knoxville, Tennessee Former municipalities in Tennessee