University of Tennessee Can't Afford to Maintain Mansion
By Margaret Foster | Online Only | Sept. 1, 2009
Located on 24 acres of riverside property, the Eugenia Williams House, built in 1941, will be torn down by its owner, the University of Tennessee.
Credit: Knox Heritage
The grand mansion that Coca-Cola heiress Eugenia Williams bequeathed to the University of Tennessee 11 years ago has not been used or repaired and could be lost if action is not taken promptly.
Kim Trent, executive director of the nonprofit Knox Heritage, Inc., says that the 10,000-square-foot house built in 1941 stands as an example of demolition by neglect.
"They're just letting it sit," Trent says. "I was in the house last May, and it's gotten worse. … I've gotten more calls about this property in the past year than anything else."
Trent's group has added the Williams House to its 2009 list of "Fragile Fifteen" sites in the area. (It also appeared on the 2008 list.)
But University of Tennessee officials say that the house, which Williams vacated in 1983, was boarded up and needed substantial repairs when it became university property in 1998. The institution still doesn't have the funds to maintain the mansion, according to spokeswoman Elizabeth Davis.
"Given the restrictions, the enormous cost of renovation and subsequent maintenance, and more pressing needs, the university does not have the means at this time to find a more suitable use for the house and grounds," David said in an e-mail.
Eugenia Williams' will stipulated that her 24-acre property could never be sold or subdivided, but that the house could be torn down if there were no "practical benefit" for it.
There are no immediate plans to tear down the house, but Trent and others—including the editors of the Knoxville News Sentinel, which published an op-ed last month urging the university to save the house, say that its condition continues to decline. A bedroom ceiling has collapsed, the foundation is now cracked, and vandals have caused further damage.
Shortly after the university inherited the house, it initiated a capital campaign to finance renovations, and raised $400,000. However, the funds were used to renovate the university president's house, a project completed in 2001.
Nevertheless, Davis says, "The University is grateful for Miss Williams' generosity. ... This property is very valuable."
For more photos, stories, and tips, subscribe to the print edition of Preservation magazine.
Subscribe to the Today's News RSS feed
Comments
Submitted by JDA at: September 2, 2009
"Shortly after the university inherited the house, it initiated a capital campaign to finance renovations, and raised $400,000. However, the funds were used to renovate the university president's house, a project completed in 2001." I wonder how that sat with those who donated to save the historic house?!