National Historic District
Park City was a town of around 7,000 residents east of Knoxville, Tennessee from 1907 to 1917, when it was annexed by the City of Knoxville.
Today, the best preserved portion of Park City falls within the Park City National Register District, a distinction earned from the U.S. National Park Service in 1990 recognizing the district’s nationally significant contributions to Knoxville’s urban development history.
| Park City National Historic District Form |
A primary focus of the Park City Preservation Alliance centers on preservation of the Park City Historic District, a nationally significant cultural resource in Knoxville, Tennessee noted for its architecture, contribution to American history, design, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association.
Details of that research effort are available from the National Park Service’s record of eligibility for listing on the National Register. An official copy of the determination of eligibility is available from the National Park Service (PDF Document, 2 MB).
The District was admitted to the National Register of Historic Places under criteria A and C:
Criterion A: Associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history
Criterion C: Embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or that represent the work of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction
Areas of significance include architecture, reflected in the designs of George F. Barber, whose designs achieved national and international repute, and in the Queen Anne, Arts and Crafts and later structures dating from the 1880's through the 1940's.
Community planning and development is illustrated in the district, with its layout that reflects reliance on streetcar transportation. In addition, references to Knoxville's social history are embodied by the first Florence Crittenton house which is located in the district.The Park City Historic District represents the physical, social and economic forces present in Knoxville between 1880 and 1940. Fueled by the growth of a rail network that linked crossroads towns with Knoxville, and Knoxville with more distant points, the city became an important regional wholesaling center in the southeast. The development of natural resources contributed to industrial growth. Textile and clothing mills and furniture and mantel manufacturing plants expanded.
The economic growth attracted new residents to the city, and improved the financial conditions of former residents. The mobility of its citizens was expanded by the development of electric streetcars. Local architects, builders and developers built new suburbs to accommodate the more wealthy and more mobile Knoxvillians.
Citizens also became more aware of social ills, and perceived a responsibility to mitigate them. This movement towards social and humanitarian concerns was rooted in a reaction to the disparity between affluence and poverty that became more pronounced as economic growth occurred in Knoxville. It also found a parallel in efforts in other American cities to help the disadvantage.
Visit the Park City National Historic District portfolio, a project of the Park City Preservation Alliance, to explore Park City's built and cultural heritage.
