Fernweh, An Ache for Distant Places

GEORGE F. BARBER (1854–1915) was a prominent architect and publisher in the late 1800s and early 1900s who gained an incredible amount of success with his company Geo. F. Barber & Co. Architects, and his novel production and distribution of mail order blueprint catalogs.

Barber moved to Knoxville, my current city of residence, in the 1880s. His firm quickly began to gain notoriety around the country, and nearly every major city in the 1900s had a Barber home.

You would be hard pressed to find a more popular architect during the Victorian age.

It is estimated that more than 800 different designs were created and used to construct over 20,000 properties worldwide. Barber homes were built as far as South Africa, Japan, all across Europe, and in the Philippines.

Photo below is from Find A Grave:

Below are the residential homes I was able to locate in Knoxville outside of Parkridge that are still standing as of 2023. I have divided the homes by neighbourhood and each description will be in the format of  “Address- alternate name – year built – catalog design number” if known.

If you have any additional information or stories about any of these homes, please send me a message. I will be updating this entry as I learn more.

NEIGHBOURHOOD: 4TH & GILL

816 N 4th Avenue –  1890 – CS2 #36

821 Deery Street – 1890 – MD3 #36-E

1319 Grainger Avenue – Peters House – 1900s

1006 Luttrell Street – 1890s – CS2 #38

907 Luttrell Street – 1900 – ART #557

703 Luttrell Street – Mrs. J. W. Taylor House – 1902 -MD3 #34-E; ART #265

516 Lovenia Street – 1905 -ART #599; AMH5 #792/809D

817 Eleanor Street – 1890 – CS2 #38

941 Eleanor Street – Eugene Wilson House – 1905 – MD #205; MD3 #9

1003 Eleanor Street – Thomas A. Kluttz House – 1903 – MD5 #179
Note: This was the home of Barber’s professional partner, Thomas A. Kluttz, of Barber & Kluttz

NEIGHBOURHOOD: OLD NORTH KNOX

522 E. Scott Avenue – The S. B. Newman House – 1892 – catalog number unknown

Note: S. B. Newman printed many of Barber’s mail order catalogs

241 E Scott – The James Eugene Fair House – 1896 – NMD #58B

131 E Scott – Pine Crest Home – 1900 – MD #213; MD3 #14

1433 Coker Avenue – 1900 – MD #266

Note: This is listed as 1433 Coker Avenue in the database, but in real life it is 1424 Coker Avenue.

1355 Armstrong Avenue- 1900 – catalog number unknown

913 Chickamauga Avenue – C. W. Barrett House – 1893 – CS3 #12

542 Watauga Avenue – year unknown – catalog number unknown

PASSING THE TORCH

Barber’s son Charles also became a renowned architect and his firm Barber & McMurry designed and built some of Knoxville’s most prominent buildings, including the Knoxville YWCA Building, Washington Pike Methodist Church, Holston Hills Country Club, Church Street United Methodist, Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center, Fountain City Library, East Tennessee History Center, Smokies Stadium, University of Tennessee buildings,   Candoro Marble Works Show Room/Garage,  and the General Building on S. Market Street.  

On the University of Tennessee campus, they are credited for constructing the UT Alumni Gym Auditorium, Henderson Hall, Hessler Hall, Dabney Hall,  Melrose Hall, and Hoskins Library.

While most Barber & McMurry projects have been commercial, the firm has built a few residential home including his brother George F. Barber Jr.’s House at 1854 Prospect Place, the Benjamin McMurray House at 937 Scenic Drive, a whole slew of lakefront properties in the Lyons View Road and Cherokee Boulevard areas, and the West Barber House at 518 Glenwood Ave.

For a more complete list of Barber & McMurry properties, check out this Wiki link.

DEMOLISHED BUILDINGS
Sadly, many of George Barber’s buildings have been demolished. Among those in Knoxville, the list includes:

• T.W. Fisk House (737 N. Third Ave.)
• Isaac Ziegler House (712 N. Fourth Ave.)
• Davis J. Egleston House (933 N. Fourth Ave.) of 1889
• 802 and 806 5th Avenue
• W.B. Trent House (825 N. Fifth Ave.)
• The French & Roberts Building (405 W. Depot St.) of 1896 that once housed the offices and drafting rooms of Barber’s firm
• Richard P. Gettys House (719 W. Hill Ave.) of 1897 was  demolished, Barber designed front porch
• E. Frederick Mynatt House (3300 N. Broadway) of 1897
• C.A. Nickerson House (1711 E. Glenwood Ave.) of 1897 (burned down)
• Manning House (1517 Asylum Ave.) of 1898
• Matthew McClung House (1625 W. Clinch Ave.) of 1906
• John L. Boyd House (1131 Circle Park) of 1909
• John Yates Johnston House (411 W. Main Ave.) of 1909
• Knoxville Motor & Garage (State St.) of the early 1900s
• McKinney Apartments (603 W. Hill Ave.) of the early 1900s

In the area for a while? Be sure to check out my blog about Barber Homes in the Parkridge neighbourhood and don’t be a creep!

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