Westwood (Knoxville, Tennessee)

Westwood is a historic home located at 3425 Kingston Pike at the edge of the Sequoyah Hills area of Knoxville, Tennessee. Also known as the Adelia Armstrong Lutz House, the house was built in 1890 by John Lutz and his wife, artist Adelia Armstrong Lutz, on land given to them by Adelia's father, Robert H. Armstrong. In 1984, the house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its architecture.

Westwood
Location3425 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, Tennessee
Coordinates35°56′55″N 83°56′58″W
Area1.4 acres (0.57 ha)
Built1890
ArchitectBaumann Brothers
Architectural styleQueen Anne, Romanesque
NRHP reference No.84000366[1]
Added to NRHPNovember 8, 1984

The house stands on land that was once part of the large estate established by early Knoxville resident Drury P. Armstrong (1799–1856). Armstrong built Crescent Bend, which still stands nearby, in 1834. Robert H. Armstrong, a son of Drury, inherited a portion of his father's estate. The Bleak House, built in 1858, also still stands a few blocks from Westwood on Kingston Pike.[2]

Westwood was designed in the Queen Anne style by the local architectural firm of Baumann Brothers. Unlike most Queen Anne houses extant in Knoxville, the house was executed in brick and stone, incorporating some Richardsonian Romanesque elements. The 5,000-square-foot (460 m2), 10-bedroom house has 10 fireplaces with custom mantels and decorative tiles. The front parlor features a hand-painted ceiling.[3]

Adelia Armstrong Lutz was an accomplished painter who had studied at the Corcoran in Washington, D.C., the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and in Europe. She maintained an art studio in the house, in an unusual long room on the eastern side of the house that has a high ceiling, tall louvered windows, and skylights. Its hardwood floors are laid with alternating types of wood, creating a striped effect, and the walls are painted red.[3][4]

Westwood remained in the Lutz family until 2009, when the Lutzes' granddaughter died. In 2012, the house was purchased by the Aslan Foundation, which planned to restore the house and transfer it to the local historic preservation organization, Knox Heritage, for its offices.[3][4] Restoration plans included removing a garage and a recreation room that was added in the 20th century, repainting in the style of the period, and updating the plumbing, HVAC, and electrical systems.[3]

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. Alice Howell, Lucile Deaderick (ed.), Heart of the Valley: A History of Knoxville, Tennessee (Knoxville, Tenn.: East Tennessee Historical Society, 1976), pp. 561-563.
  3. Amy McCrary, "Historic Home to be Regional Center for Preservation," Knoxville News Sentinel, 17 September 2012. Retrieved: 17 September 2012.
  4. Jack Neely (May 30, 2012). "Aslan Foundation Acquires a Kingston Pike Landmark". Metro Pulse. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014.

Further reading
  • Knoxville: Fifty Landmarks. (Knoxville: The Knoxville Heritage Committee of the Junior League of Knoxville, 1976), page 23.
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