1201 Holly Street Christine and Michael Kreyling's 1885 Eastlake Victorian is by Hugh Cathcart Thompson. If that doesn't ring a bell, he was the architect who designed the Union Gospel Tabernacle - best known as the "Ryman Auditorium and the home of the Grand Ole Opry" in downtown Nashville. Thompson lived here when he did the Ryman and countless other buildings. Many of them were in Edgefield, but were lost in the 1916 Fire. This surviving example illustrates that he wasn't just about "brick and mortar", but was a master in layering the fanciful elements of wood decoration as well. This one-and-a-half-story house is constructed of native Tennessee poplar on a limestone foundation, both materials plentiful here in Tennessee. The elaborate millwork and mantels were originally false-grained to look like mahogany or walnut and thus disguise poplar, a less expensive wood. Art tiles surrounding the fireplaces, copper transom fixtures and the stair newel are very special elements. The tin-shingle roof and Philadelphia gutters were restored and remain the only surviving examples in this district.Metropolitan Historical Commission Award Winner |