DeArmond House
1416 Clinch Avenue
Knoxville, Tennessee

Information from KnoxNews.com

March 5, 2000

The DeArmond House at 1416 Clinch Ave., Knoxville, Tennessee, was commissioned by Richard T. and Ella E. DeArmond and was built in 1894. Richard was a U.S. Marshal and state lawmaker who lived in the house until 1897.

The Queen Anne-style house was designed by Albert Benjamin Baumann and Joseph F. Baumann. It was an excellent example of the Baumann brothers’ interpretation of the Queen Anne style. The turreted roof, wraparound front porch and stained glass windows are mindful of a time of strong thriving downtown neighborhoods. Inside the house are cedar-lined closets, a grand entrance staircase and parlors with pocket doors.

Preservationists are afraid this landmark will be torn down to build yet another parking lot. It is the only house remaining on the south side of the 1400 block of Clinch Avenue. Its neighbors have been demolished for parking lots. There is evidence that the garage is already being torn down. More than 60 houses in the Ft. Sanders area of Knoxville have been bulldozed in less than a year, despite its status as a National Register of Historic Places neighborhood, says Knox Heritage Inc., a preservationist and watchdog group. "So if you care, look now, for tomorrow may be too late."

  Published: Wednesday, April 12, 2000

CITY SEEKS COURT ORDER TO BLOCK FORT SANDERS' DEMOLITION; SAYS 4 HISTORIC HOMES 'AT GRAVE RISK'

Section: A SECTION Page: A5

Excerpts from article by JIM BALLOCH, KNOXVILLE NEWS-SENTINEL STAFF WRITER

Knoxville city officials are asking for a court order to prohibit property owners from demolishing four historic homes in Fort Sanders. All four are at "grave risk of being demolished" despite a measure approved last week by City Council temporarily halting all demolition in the historic neighborhood, according to a Chancery Court complaint filed late Monday. Three of the homes are on Clinch Avenue -- at 1416, 1409 and 1417. The fourth is at 1308 White Ave.

Defendants in the lawsuit are Robert B. Shagan, Anderson Partners, Commercial Realty Investment Group, Hembree Partners and RBS & Associates Inc. Shagan, the complaint says, "has expressed his intent to demolish 1416 Clinch Avenue despite the (city's) issuance" of a stop-work order last Wednesday. A Circuit Court lawsuit, filed last week by Anderson Partners, states that there is a valid demolition permit in place for 1416 Clinch Ave., and that the stop-work order was issued before council enacted its moratorium on such permits.

The city's lawsuit says that Shagan "has shuffled his various real estate holdings through a number of ... corporations and partnerships," and that companies "under his control or association have applied for and obtained demolition permits related to the threatened historic properties." However, the lawsuit states, there are no currently valid demolition permits for any of the four properties.

Last week, City Council voted unanimously to enact a moratorium on demolition permits for the core of the Fort Sanders neighborhood while designation as a Neighborhood Conservation Overlay District is sought for the area. Such a designation would afford historic houses in the neighborhood added protection against demolition.

Published: February 9, 2001

A Change Of Address

Edition: Final

After 107 years at the same address, one of the last grand old ladies of Widow's Row in historic Fort Sanders is being uprooted and moved to a new home across the street. The DeArmond House at 1416 Clinch Avenue at Agee Street was marked for demolition when historic preservationists and the city administration stepped in to save her.

The towering Victorian beauty was built in 1894, commissioned by Richard T. and Ella E. DeArmond. It was later sold to Hortense Booth Gillespie. The Gillespies occupied the house until 1941, when it was passed on to their daughter, Hortense Gillespie Anderson. She lived there until 1980, when it was sold to the Shagan family.

The history of the 1400 block is as intriguing as the DeArmond house itself. In the late 1800s four prominent widows commissioned the Baumann brothers to build Victorian homes at 1401, 1402, 1415 and 1416 Clinch -- hence the name Widow's Row.

The members of Knox Heritage Inc. say the DeArmond house is an excellent example of the Baumann brothers' interpretation of the Queen Anne style. The exterior is distinguished by a turreted roof, wraparound front porch and stained glass windows. Inside are cedar-lined closets, a grand entrance stairway and parlors with pocket doors. Nic Arning, president of Knox Heritage and vice chair of the Knoxville-Knox County Historic Zoning Commission, was among those who petitioned to save the house from demolition. "We would prefer to have it left where it was built, but we realize that is not an option for the owner. We hope that it will be restored to a historically accurate appearance, with the chimneys put back up and the trim work restored," Arning said.

Knoxville real estate developer Robert Shagan, a principal of the company that owns the home, sued the city for the right to demolish the house but then offered to give it to the city or any nonprofit group that could pay to move it. Several groups submitted offers, but none could come to financial terms with the owner. Under intense pressure to save it, Shagan finally elected to move the house at his company's expense. "This is a first for Robert Shagan -- to move rather than demolish," Arning said. "We applaud his efforts in this regard."

M & M House Movers of Harrogate, Tenn., a company that has successfully moved many houses in East Tennessee, was hired to do the job. After removing most of its foundation and bolting the structure together to stabilize it, the company plans to jack up the house, which is estimated to weigh more than 150 tons. Steel I-beams will be placed beneath the house and the whole thing will be placed on huge dollies and rotated, with its back facing the street. The house will then be transported across the street and placed between two other Victorian homes, also owned by Shagan's companies. It is not clear what the house will be used for.

Shagan's architect, Roger Roberts, said the house was classified as a single-family residence in the moving plans. Roberts also said that Shagan told him the house was a "mail-order" structure from Sears, Roebuck and Co. and delivered to Knoxville by train in precut parcels.

Shagan's builder, John Whitaker, said a Marriott Hotel or Hampton Inn has been proposed for the block from which the house is being moved. The new Knoxville Convention Center and surrounding improvements made the site prime for redevelopment, noted Shagan spokesman Mark Bunch.

Meanwhile, Knoxville's historic preservationists are waging a battle to save what's left of historic Fort Sanders. More than 60 homes were demolished in the last part of 1999 and early 2000. The preservationists convinced City Council to protect part of the Fort Sanders area by proclaiming it a Neighborhood Conservation District, which prevents further demolition of historic structures inside the designated boundary.

Published: March 24, 2001

After 107 years, it's roll, roll, roll the house

Section: A Section

Edition: Final

After 107 years at the same address, one of the last grand homes on Widow"s Row in historic Fort Sanders has been uprooted and moved to a lot across the street. On Friday morning workers with M&M Movers began the day-long task of moving the DeArmond House from 1416 Clinch Avenue to the north side of the street.

The transplanting of the Queen Anne-style house, which was built in 1894 for R.T. DeArmond, a U.S. marshal and state legislator, drew dozens of spectators Friday. The DeArmond House was the only house remaining on the south side of the 1400 block of Clinch Avenue. Other structures there already have been demolished to make way for parking lots.