The Victorian Village District is an area of

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

Geography

The Victorian Village is located in the eastern quadrant of

downtown Memphis Downtown Memphis, Tennessee is the central business district of Memphis, Tennessee and is located along the Mississippi River between Interstate 40 to the north, Interstate 55 to the south and I-240 to the east, where it abuts Midtown Memphis. It ...

History

During Memphis' early period of growth in the mid-19th century, a few wealthy Memphians built grand, Victorian-style homes in what was then the outskirts of the city. The homes in Victorian Village were built from 1846 into the 1890s, and range in style from Neo-classical through Late Gothic Revival.Historic Sites - Victorian Village.
/ref> Edward C. Jones, one of Memphis's most significant Victorian-era architects, and his partner, Matthias Harvey Baldwin, built the Woodruff-Fontaine House (1870) and renovated the Harsson-Goyer-Lee House (1871). Massey House 2

The Massey House, the oldest in the area (ca. 1846), was built for Benjamin A. Massey, an early Memphis lawyer. The Mallory-Neely House (1852) was built in Italian villa style with a central tower for banker Isaac Kirtland and extensively renovated and expanded during the 1880s and 1890s. The interior is well preserved, with much of the original late-19th-century furnishings intact. The Harsson-Goyer-Lee House (690 Adams, see photograph) was once the home of riverboat owner James Lee. It was expanded in 1871 by Charles Goyer, a founder of

Union Planters Bank Union Planters Bank was a United States financial institution and multi-state bank holding corporation headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee prior to being acquired by Regions Financial Corporation. With over $34 billion in assets, Union Planters B ...

.Association for the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities
Historic Sites Tour. The Pillow-McIntyre House (ca. 1852) is a two-story Greek Revival home purchased in 1873 by Mexican War and Confederate General Gideon Pillow. This striking eclectic-style Victorian had been unused for years, but with the assistance of corporate and community donations it was refurbished in 2004. The Woodruff-Fontaine House (1870) was built in French-Victorian style by Amos Woodruff, a successful carriage maker, entrepreneur and politician. The second resident, Noland Fontaine, was a

factor Factor, a Latin word meaning "who/which acts", may refer to: Commerce * Factor (agent), a person who acts for, notably a mercantile and colonial agent * Factor (Scotland), a person or firm managing a Scottish estate * Factors of production, suc ...

in the

Memphis Cotton Exchange The Memphis Cotton Exchange is located in downtown Memphis, Tennessee, United States, on the corner of Front Street and Union Avenue. It was founded in 1874 as a result of the growing cotton market in Memphis, where trade was strong after the Ame ...

. The house was deeded to the city in 1936, and in later years was used for an art school. In 1961 the art school moved, and the Association for the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities took over the house and restored it with 19th-century regional antiques and textiles. A Victorian Gingerbread playhouse is also on the grounds.Woodrff-Fontaine House Museum
680 Adams Ave., Memphis, TN 38105. The Snowden home in the Annesdale-Snowden Historic District dates from the same era. In 1850, Dr. Samuel Mansfield built this " Italianate villa" on his plantation just outside Memphis. The house was situated on a knoll above what was then the stage route to

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

. In 1869 Colonel Robert C. Brinkley bought the estate as a wedding gift to his daughter, Annie Overton Brinkley, and her new husband, Colonel Bogardus Snowden. The estate was named Annesdale in her honor. In the first decade of the 20th century, Col. Snowden and his sons John and Robert built two subdivisions on the estate, ''Annesdale Park'' (1903), claimed to be the first in the South, and ''Snowden Homestead'' (1910). The streets in these then-affluent subdivisions were named for the Snowden children. Memphis entrepreneur

Kemmons Wilson Charles Kemmons Wilson (January 5, 1913 – February 12, 2003) was an American hotelier. He is best known for founding the hotel chain Holiday Inn in the 1950s. Personal life He was born in Osceola, Arkansas, the only child of Kemmons and Ruby ...

and other well-known Memphis names resided there. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the neighborhood gradually declined until it began to be gentrified in the 1970s and after it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The Snowden home is not open to the public.

Present

Some of these three- and four-story mansions now stand near the city's downtown along Adams Avenue. While most of the original homes are now gone, several remain as museums: the

Magevney House The Magevney House is a historic residence on 198 Adams Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. It is located in the Victorian Village of Memphis and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is one of the oldest residences remaini ...

(198 Adams), the Mallory-Neely House (652 Adams) and the Woodruff-Fontaine House (680 Adams). The Magevney House is currently open the first Saturday each month from 1pm-4pm with free admission. The Mallory-Neely House is open Friday and Saturday, 10:00-4:00. After 60+ years of being vacant, the Harsson-Goyer-Lee House has been renovated into a high-end Bed and Breakfast. The Woodruff-Fontaine House's hours are Wednesday-Sunday, 12:00-4:00 and is a popular venue for weddings and private parties. The Victorian Village neighborhood is 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 ...

Endangered homes

The Lowenstein-Long House (1901) at 217 N. Waldran Blvd. and the Lee-Macintyre House in Victorian Village are considered to be endangered by Memphis Heritage, a non-profit preservationist group based in the city.Memphis Heritage Inc. Endangered Historic Properties. (2010).
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References

{{Memphis, Tennessee Italianate architecture in Tennessee Neighborhoods in Memphis, Tennessee Populated places established in 1846 Tourist attractions in Memphis, Tennessee Historic mansion districts Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Tennessee 1846 establishments in Tennessee National Register of Historic Places in Memphis, Tennessee

Geography

History

Present

Endangered homes

See also

References