Historic homes and gardens that were featured in a 1936 book by the Nashville Garden Club. God bless them, I have tried to find any that still remain today and find out if time has been kind or cruel. Included in Jefferson Davis' Memphis home, Annesdale, Hunt-Phelan and many others.

1. Historic Homes & Gardens of
Tennessee-Shelby County
This book was published in 1936 by
the Garden Study Club of Nashville

2. Plan of Memphis by Wm Lawrence, 1819

3. C 1835 Magevney House-Adams Avenue
Original town lot Hall and Parlor design timber frame construction, built by
early settler and schoolmaster Eugene Magevney for his bride. First Catholic
wedding and christening performed here, family sold land St. Peters R C is on.

4. Magevney House had outside stairs to accommodate
boarders (photo from unknown time)

5. Today abusively altered -“Williamsburgesque”
Removal of porch has greatly accelerated its deterioration by allowing water
to damage façade, windows sills, etc. Early in the 20th century, the
restoration and re-creation of Colonial Williamsburg, one of the largest such
projects in the nation, was championed by the W.A.R. Goodwin and patriarch
John D. Rockefeller, Jr., along with his wife, Abby to celebrate the patriots
and the early history of the United States.

6. Magevney gardens today thanks to Master Gardeners!

7. Kitchen garden

8. c. 1854 St. Peter’s Church-Adams Avenue
Designed by Patrick C. Keeley, stucco over brick., cruciform plan.

9. c. 1840 Frazier House “The Little Greek House”
Greek Revival masonry and stucco center hall plan raised cottage.
Originally had magnolias in front yard and rose garden in rear. In 1933
voted one of six best examples of early architecture in Memphis.

10. 1933 HABS photo.
Heavily vandalize during Union occupation, later used as boarding house.
Marble Greek “household gods” statues stolen. Original marble and
wrought iron balustrade and stairs were sold to someone from New
Orleans in late 19th century.

11. Historic American Building Survey drawing

12. Site of Fraizer House today
When the building was demolished in 1946, the demo contractor stated
it was the best constructed house he had ever demolished!

13. c. 1835-1850 Hunt-Phelan House-Beale Street
Federal style c. 1835, renovated into Greek Revival c. 1851. Landscaping
was done by French architect who built house. Masonry construction.

14. c. 1934 West elevation of Hunt-Phelan
Originally laid out with lawn, walks, driveway, shrubbery and fine trees.
Site was on Gayoso Bayou which is channelized under Danny Tomas
today and is reputed to be built on an Indian mound!

15. Hunt Phelan House photographed c. 1863
Hunt-Phelan House was commandeered by General Grant during Civil
War and this rare photograph shows Union troops in front yard.

16. Rear elevation c. 1934
.

17. c. 1935 Hunt Phelan Gardens.
Its flowers were famous. Varina (Mrs. Jefferson) Davis is credited with laying
out the roses. There was a lily pool, greenhouses, vegetable gardens and small
fruit trees. It was surrounded by la hedge of lovely Cherokee roses. Stephen
Phelan was a cultivator of new rose species.

18. Hunt-Phelan House today

19. Jefferson Davis House on Court St, Davis and his family lived in Memphis after
he was released from Federal Prison. After their son died out at Buntyn
Station in the Yellow Fever epidemic of 1878, they moved to Biloxi, Mississippi.

20. Site of Jefferson Davis House today
Another one bites the dust! Site is half block east of 3rd Street

21. c. 1850 Captain Joseph Lenow House-lost
In1848,he came to Memphis and began dealing in real estate rather extensively. In 1852 he
was instrumental in establishing Elmwood Cemetery, with which he was president for thirty
years. He served as a captain in the Mexican American War In the Tennessee Regiment of
Cavalry. He was president of the Bank of Tennessee during its existence, and was a director
of the Mississippi & Tennessee Railroad for a decade. Elmwood was part of Park movement.

22. d. 1852 Elmwood Cemetery
Initially established on a 40-acre plot 2.5 miles from town. Laid out in English Garden
style, it served not only as a cemetery, but as the city's first public park with winding
roads, bridges, large specimen trees and other park-like features, and was one of the
first destinations for the early trolley line. Perimeter road is named Grand Tour!

24. c. 1880 Carpenter Gothic Revival cottage-Elmwood
Carpenter Gothic is an American architectural style for an application of Gothic
Revival architectural detailing and picturesque massing applied to wooden
structures. The carpenter-built vernacular architecture is based upon picturesque
improvisation s and emphasized charm and quaintness rather than fidelity to
received models. The genre received its impetus from the publication by
Alexander Jackson Davis, Rural Residences and from detailed plans and elevations
in publications by Andrew Jackson Downing.

25. c. 1906 Entrance to Elmwood
Railroad was built across entrance.

26. Elmwood with crepe myrtles in bloom
Roses garden, champion hardwood trees, originally had marble
surrounds over graves to plant flowers.

27. East elevation Littleton-Pettit House w/temple front
colonnaded two-story porch-lost

28. c. 1845 Littleton-Pettit House-lost
This was another Greek Revival Building selected as being noteworthy both by
the HABS survey and a group of architects. It was frame construction of yellow
poplar. It stood on Beale Street in the vicinity of the Hunt-Phelan House and
was a center of ante-bellum social life in Memphis. All photos date 1933

29. Note: the heavy window brackets and plantation
shutters

30. Etched Venetian glass side lights.

31. Interior with heavy ceiling molding and paneled doors

32. Site of Littleton-Pettit House today

33. c. 1853 Pillow-McIntyre- House-Adams Avenue
Greek Revival with later side addition. Stucco over brick. Home of
General Gideon Pillow after the Civil War. Family home of Florence
McIntyre who founded the Memphis College of Art. Photo 1933.

34. Today the house is part of Victorian Village H. D.

35. Pillow McIntyre House
Note: double door, double-hung, single light windows, plantation
shutters and colonnaded, full -height temple front porch.

36. Rear of house today
Note: L-plan rear addition and remnant of original garden

38. Marble birdbath hidden among roses

39. Heritage roses

40. c. 1855 Annesdale House
Rare example of towered Italian villa style, indigenous style is part of
Picturesque movement. Rounded arch porch, square tower, asymmetrical
plan. Possibly designed by architect Samuel Sloane who also designed
Longwood in Natchez. Photo 1935

41. c. 1933 Historic American Building survey photos

42. Annesdale-east elevation detail

43. Front porch and porte-cochere

44. Note: elaborate brackets, arched windows, multiple
fireplaces and circular bay on left side.
Rear elevation has two story wrought iron galleries overlooking garden.

45. Detail of wrought iron galleries. Ornamental wrought iron was produced
from brittle but malleable southern iron ore and produced in most
southern cities.

46. Annesdale Gardens
Formal English garden with statuary c. 1935

47. c. 1859 Memphis Landing aka Cobblestones
Note remainder of 4th Chickasaw Bluff in upper right corner. Customs
house and rear of Cossit library in upper center.

48. 1870 Bird’s Eye view of Memphis, TN
Original town in center, Greenlaw to left and South Memphis to right.
Horizon is Bellevue, also known as Raleigh Road.

49. C. 1852-1890 Mallory Neely House
Photo from 1935, house is located on Adams and was later donated to city.
House was begun in 1852. 2nd owner James Columbus Neely was a cotton
factor, and grocer. Third floor added in 1890, enlarged to 25 rooms.

50. Mallory Neely House today
Stucco over brick, three story “Robber Baron” style. Neely was cotton
factor, grocer and merchant. Miss Daisy Mallory lived here her entire
life, she was married to Barton Lee Mallory.

51. Exquisite wrought iron and cast stone fence

52. Cast stone lawn ornament

53. “Green Garden” of Mrs. E. P. Sale-739 Jefferson Avenue
Borders of shrubs are on the property line and bear a succession of bloom
from the early forsythia to the crepe myrtles and buddeias of summer and
fall. Redbuds and dog woods are accents, weeping willows a s background.
For water lily pool. 87 year old owner used it as an outdoor living room.

54. Mrs. Sale’s Cedrus deodara-37’ high and wide, 55’ at
base (photo from 1935)
The specific epithet and English vernacular name derive from the Sanskrit
term devadāru, which means "wood of the gods", a compound of deva (god)
and dāru (wood, etym. tree)). It is worshipped in India as sacred.

55. It is widely grown as an ornamental tree, planted in
parks and large gardens for its drooping foliage
Forests full of Devadaru trees were the favorite abode of ancient Indian sages
devoted to Hindu god Shiva. To please Lord Shiva, the sages used to perform very
difficult tapasya (meditation) in deodar forests. There is regular mention of
Darukavana, meaning a forest of deodars, as a sacred place in the ancient Hindu
epics ..

56. Deodara is in great demand as building material because of its
durability, rot-resistant character and fine, close grain.
General cultivation is limited to areas with mild winters, with trees frequently
killed by temperatures below about −25 °C, limiting it to hardiness zones 8 and
warmer for reliable growth. The species has been decimated in US due to a
blight similar to American chestnut.

57. 739 Jefferson today
Ain’t Urban Renewal grand?

58. Gateway into Hunter Raine House aka Beverly Hall-
Central at Willett. Current photo

59. c. 1905 Hunter Raine House
The first major example of the Colonial Revival style in Memphis,. W.J.
Dodd, Louisville, architect, Jones & Furbringer, associates

60. Beverly Hall was its name at time of this 1935 photo

61. Statue of Greek goddess c. 1935

62. Note re-arrangement of statuary in yard today

63. Pergola in rear

64. c. 1926 Robert Carrier House
Architect designed Jacobean Revival with imported leaded windows.
Sited on the main level of a three –tiered plot. Located at 642 S. Willett
and is currently for sale. Photo from 1935.

65. Has the feel of being constructed in East Anglia during
late 16th or early 17th century.
This is actually the rear of the house!

66. Brick and stone balustrade terrace faces west over
sunken lawn
Note statuary figures

67. Denuded balustrade today

68. Historic gargoyle court
Brick paved and enclosed by low iron railing with five ancient gargoyles

69. Gargoyle court today sans gargoyles

70. Main entrance off rear garden court
Note picturesque but destructive English ivy climbing masonry walls!

71. Entrance today
Lovely garden court paved over for parking

72. Wide flagstone steps lead up to delicate wrought iron
gate opening into garden.

73. View today

74. Historic entrance to Birdwood Estate.
Originally Birdwood was home of Mrs. Wm Webster

75. Historic view of formal Birdwood gardens-locate at
Highland and Central across from Junior League

76. Stone brick wall fountain

77. Birdwood today is adaptively reused as church
New sanctuary on north side

78. Birdwood Gardens today

79. c. 1922 Virginia Frazier Boyle House
She was a poet dubbed the “Poet Laureate of the Confederacy”. House
plan is based on two villas in Italy she had visited.

80. Boyle House today
653 South McLean in shocking pink!