The Cal Johnson Building in downtown Knoxville. Photo by Clay Duda.

City allocates money for preservation of historic sites

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Yesterday, the City of Knoxville’s Community Development Department revealed which of Knoxville’s many historic sites would receive monetary aid from the City’s Historic Preservation Fund this year.

The Fund, established in 2014 by Mayor Madeline Rogero, is designed to allocate government money for the preservation of select buildings and historic sites in the form of grants. This year, out of a record 23 applicants, a specially-appointed committee chose 11 recipients. Each site will receive a portion of the $595,007 set aside for the fund this fiscal year ($500,000 of that is from this year’s budget, while the rest is left over from years past.).

Read on to see which historic sites were selected, along with the dollar amount they are set to receive.

  1. Baker Creek Bottoms ChapelFormerly Sevier Heights Baptist Church, $150,000

  2. Former Rayl School PropertySite of now-closed Free Service Tire on Magnolia Avenue, $150,000

  3. Cal Johnson Building$100,000

  4. Crafty Bastard Brewing: $47,010

  5. Keeton’s Jewelers BuildingMartin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, $40,031

  6. Downtown YMCA$36,521

  7. Bijou Theatre$33,903

  8. Mabry-Hazan House Museum$16,393

  9. Knox HeritageThese funds will allow Knox Heritage, a local preservation society, to apply for the placement of two historic Knoxville sites, the Pryor Brown Garage, and Emory Place Historic District, on the National Register of Historic Places. $9,900

  10. Magnolia Avenue United Methodist Church Parsonage: $8,649

  11. Lawhorn Cottage: These funds will allow the cottage’s owners to apply for its placement on the National Register of Historic Places. $2,600

Thomas Stubbs is a lifelong Knoxvillian, although these days he spends the academic year in Greenville, South Carolina, majoring in History and Communications Studies at Furman University. He’ll be a senior when he returns to Furman in the fall, a fact which mystifies him as much as it does everyone else. He writes a column for Furman’s newspaper, The Paladin, covering theatre and the Greenville arts scene. In his spare time, Thomas may be found singing in any number of choirs or catching up with old friends.

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