Fort Wood Neighborhood
Introduction
The Fort Wood district, named for a Civil War redoubt which crowned
the summit until the 1880's, presents an architectural collage of building
trends from 1880 to 1920, reflecting a variety of Victorian and Neoclassical
styles. Most houses are brick Queen Anne with a vertical emphasis, but
others represent Eastlake, Victorian Romanesque, Italianate, Tudor and
Classical Revival influence.
The general elegance of these fine homes reflects the taste and affluence
of the people who built them. As Chattanooga's leading citizens, they made
many contributions to Chattanooga's development in the areas of commerce,
engineering, politics and humanitarian efforts.
Fort Wood existed as one of Chattanooga's finest neighborhoods until
the 1950's when a combination of factors began a process of deterioration.
In the past few years, new families, recognizing the value and convenience
of these fine old homes, have moved to the area and joined forces with
many long-time residents to become the Fort Wood Community Association.
The Association is pursuing the revitalization of the area as a viable
inner-city residential section. Approximately 120 buildings in the area
are listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Fort Wood Historic
District.
In 1990, Fort Wood was designate as Chattanooga's first local historic
district by the City Council. This listing helps protect the historic character
of Fort Wood by requiring a review of all exterior changes by the Historic
Zoning Commission.
The Warner House
800 Vine Street. Major Joseph H. and Alice Horde Warner built this Byzantine
Revival mansion in 1891. Major Warner was a civic and social leader of
Chattanooga and a member of the first City Commission in 1912. Once vandalized
and divided into apartments, the house was rehabilitated by Landmarks Chattanooga
Inc. as a part of its efforts to promote revitalization of the neighborhood.
Adams Hilborne Inn
The Watkins House
801 Vine Street. Another major house stands at the entrance to the Fort
Wood area. This limestone Victorian Romanesque house was built in 1889,
shortly after the Fort Wood area was leveled for development. The first
occupant was Ed Watkins, a businessman largely responsible for the development
of Lookout Mountain. Notice the intricate tile work under the eaves of
the roof, the checker-board pattern of rough- and smooth-cut stone blocks
and the Romanesque arches. This magnificent house was apparently designed
by Samuel M. Patton, an architect who practiced for several years with
the significant New Orleans architectural firm of Sully and Toledano. This
firm constructed a house identical to the Watkins House in New Orleans
in 1889.
Today, the home is the Adams Hilborne Inn. Tours are available by appointment;
reservations are preferred for overnight accommodations. For more information,
call (423) 265-5000.
William G. McAdoo House
829 Vine Street. This home was built in 1888 by William G. McAdoo, then
a young lawyer who was one of Chattanooga's social and professional leaders.
McAdoo moved in 1892 to New York City where he became a national leader
in the Democratic party. He was instrumental in securing the Democratic
presidential nomination for Woodrow Wilson in 1912. Wilson later appointed
McAdoo Secretary of the Treasury and Director General of the United States
Railway Administration during World War I. McAdoo's second wife was Eleanor
Wilson, President Wilson's youngest daughter.
In 1920 and 1924, McAdoo was a strong presidential contender, but failed
to achieve his party's nomination for either election. Even so, he remained
an influential Democrat until his death, having been instrumental in securing
the 1932 Democratic nomination for Franklin D. Roosevelt and having served
as Chairman of the National Democratic Party.
Kosmos-Woman's Club
901 Vine Street. This Colonial Revival house was built in 1910 for J.P.
Smartt, a distributor of wholesale shoes and books. Houses of this style
are a combination of Victorian and Georgian elements. Notice the Georgian
elements, such as the symmetrical appearance, Classical detailings, rectangular
shape and hipped roof. The asymmetrical interior reflect Victorian influences.
H.T. Olmsted House
915 Vine Street. Olmsted, a real estate broker, built this house around
1904. Notice the hipped, slate roof with tile trim on this Colonial Revival
house, brick quoins (contrasting stones that form the outside corners)
and the massive two-story portico.
The Senter School
Fort Wood Apartments
900 Vine Street. This Renaissance Revival house was constructed in 1904
by Samuel R. Read, owner of the downtown Read House Hotel. The architecture
is somewhat unusual for the Chattanooga area; notice the restrained Classical
appearance and the ornate stonework and cornice. In 1928, Read constructed
the Fort Wood Apartments next to his own house as the first apartment building
in an exclusively residential neighborhood. Considered very modern, the
apartments featured built-in refrigerators and jewelry vaults in every
bedroom. Also, it was thought to be the first apartment building in Chattanooga
to have efficiency apartments.
Kappa Sigma Fraternity House
927 Vine Street. Lawyer Oscar J. Peeples built this house in the Shingle
Style in 1903. It was reconstructed in 1990 by the Kappa Sigma Fraternity
after a fire damaged much of the original frame fabric. The foundation
and chimney are original.
Jo Conn Guild House
950 Vine Street. The largest and grandest of the Colonial Revival homes
in this area was built in 1899 by Dr. Richard I. Isbester. The house was
sold in 1902 to Josephus Conn Guild, an engineer who designed on of the
world's steepest inclines, the Lookout Mountain Incline No. 2, which is
still in operation and listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Also, Guild's firm designed and constructed the dam at Hale's Bar, the
first hydroelectric dam ever built on a navigable stream. His son, Jo Conn
Guild, Jr., also a Chattanooga resident, was one of the most influential
businessmen in the area. Notice the ornate features of this house, such
as the highly decorated cornice, the large Palladian (arched) windows and
columned porticoes on the façade and sides.
The Milton House Bed and Breakfast
508 Fort Wood Place. The president of Chattanooga's News Company, George
F. Milton Sr., built this Colonial Revival house in 1915. His wife, Mrs.
Abby Milton, was influential in state politics and a leader in Tennessee's
women's suffrage efforts. She served as the first state chairman of the
League of Women Voters and was made honorary life president. Mrs. Milton
served as the last president of the Tennessee Equal Suffrage Association
and is listed on the honor roll of American Suffrage Leaders. She was also
influential in Tennessee's Democratic Party and a noted poet. Notice the
two-story pedimented portico, quoin treatment and the fanlight and sidelights.
The historic home is now a bed and breakfast inn. Reservations are preferred
for overnight accommodations. For more information, call (423) 265-2800.
Site of Fort Creighton/Fort Wood American Cancer Society
850 Fort Wood Street. An earthen redoubt built on this site by Union
Troops around 1863 gave the area its name. Originally named Fort Creighton
in honor of Colonel William R. Creighton, it was shortly renamed to honor
General Thomas Wood. Historical research indicates the site contained a
fort, its moat and a small road leading to the fort. Civil War cannons
located in the yard indicate the center of the redoubt and are a part of
the interpretive program of the Chickamauga-Chattanooga National Military
Park.
Z.C. Patten Music Hall
801 Oak Street. This Italian Villa-style house was built about 1892
by Captain C.A. Lyerly. It was designated by Samuel Patten, one of Chattanooga's
most distinguished architects, who was also responsible for the design
of the Watkins House, Hundred Oaks Castle in Winchester, and the Tennessee
State Penitentiary in Nashville. Houses of the Italian Villa style usually
feature a square tower, windows grouped in twos and threes, arched windows,
a veranda and bracketed eaves. The cannons are part of the Chickamauga-Chattanooga
National Military Park and show the position of cannon placements near
Fort Wood during the Civil War.
872 Oak Street
The variations in the exterior treatment of this building make this
house especially interesting. While the asymmetrical composition and varied
roof treatment indicate Queen Anne in style, the porch treatment and wood
features indicate Eastlake ornamentation and create an intriguing mixture
of Victorian trends. Built in 1903, the house's most prominent feature
is a corner shingled turret that is in contrast to the adjacent plain narrow
boards.
900 Oak Street
This Classical Revival house was built in 1904 as a private residence.
For many years it was the home of the Kosmos Club, a forerunner of the
Kosmos-Woman's Club. The organization of women's clubs and associations
were especially numerous in the 1890's as a part of the nineteenth century
women's movement. This club. Organized in 1892 and typical of the movement,
was intended to be a study club and its Greek name meant "world." The club
is currently located at 901 Vine Street.
Sigma Chi Fraternity House
901 Oak Street. Built around 1910, this house reflects a style popular
during the early twentieth century-the English Tudor. Tudor houses were
a component of a generalized movement of "period houses," so called because
they were identified with houses of an earlier period by proportions, materials
or details. Notice the half-timbering treatment, the single most distinctive
feature of this style.
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