Historic Zoning Commission

N/A: Level II

4-O-08-HZ

Applicant Request

Level II. Replacement/repair

NOTE: To assist in describing the two sections of the buildings Allan Associates Architects PLLC has used the terms Building A and Building B. Building A is the portion of the building facing North Broadway. Building B is the portion of the building facing West Fifth Avenue.

Façade: Brick façade will be cleaned and repaired in accordance with the recommendations of the National Park Service's Preservation Briefs; the brick will be repainted. Due to possible damage to the original brick façade, stuccoed portions of the façade will be cleaned and repainted. Existing windows will be restored; missing windows will be replaced with
compatible new windows. One non-original window opening in the east end projecting bay of Building B will be removed and the opening filled in with brick and mortar to match that of the adjacent wall. Missing stone sills will be replaced. Metal cornice will be cleaned, repaired and repainted.

Porches: Brick piers will be repaired as described in the section on Brick Façade. Wood ceiling, brackets and cornice features will be repaired and replaced where missing. Enough molding and trim remain to replicate the missing portions.
Building A: the original porch floors and floor structure were removed in the 1960s to create a common lobby for both buildings at a new elevation between the basement and first floor. Much of the original porch material remains above the floor level. Because the first floor of Building A will be used as the main and accessible entrance to both buildings, no aspect of these porch floors are planned to be restored. Instead, a concrete porch floor will be installed at the level of the original building floor. This new porch floor will be linked with a new ramp to provide an accessible entrance to both buildings and a single set of concrete steps and brick wing walls with brick caps will be built at one end.

Building B: These front porches will have their original floors restored in elevation and material, with the following exception. There are two sets of concrete steps and brick wing walls with concrete caps which we propose to leave in place. Three of these porch floors have been raised a few inches; we propose to return these to their original level and wood flooring. The
floor of Building B is at one level and the porches of Building B were originally all at another level a few inches below the building floor level. New concrete steps and brick wing walls with brick caps will be provided from the sidewalk to the porches.

While we possess physical evidence of most of the various architectural elements of the front porches, no portions of the porch railings exist. We have been unable to locate any historic photos of the building. The only evidence we have of porch railing is the shadow on the brick piers. There is an 'over paint' shadow of the vertical board which the rail abutted.
That shadow confirms the existence of a rail and its height. Our proposed rail is intended to suggest a simple and compatible reference to a historic wood porch rail without creating a false since of history by using an elaborately turned spindle for which we have no documentation on these buildings.

Additions: Buildings A and B will be linked by a corridor and elevator core. This addition will be recessed away from the North Broadway façade to reduce visual impact. The painted brick addition will echo the simplicity of the existing building and will be compatible in scale, size, material and color of the historic building.

A new exit stair will be built behind the Building B near Queen Street in order to have a low visual impact upon the structure. The stair will be accessed via covered open air corridors placed in an area that would have originally been a recessed area between two townhouses. The painted brick addition will echo the simplicity of the existing building and will be compatible in scale, size, material and color of the historic building.

A new stair will be built behind Building A to meet exiting requirements with a low visual impact upon the structure. The stair will be placed in an area that would have originally been a recessed area between two townhouses. The addition will echo the simplicity of the existing building and will be compatible in scale, size, material and color of the historic building.

Demolition: Existing non original concrete and metal stairs will be removed. Additionally, on the rear of Building A, one of the original recessed exterior areas that would have been between two individual townhouses has been filled in with an enclosed addition. The enclosure closes off the originally open end of this area with a wood frame wall and clad with stucco. This frame addition, porch roof and concrete steps will be removed in order to return back of this portion of Building A to its original
appearance.



Site

The entire rear area will be fenced with a 42-48 inch ornamental metal fence to provide security. The Building B (West Fifth Avenue) façade will receive a 42-48 inch ornamental metal fence and gates between the porches and city sidewalk.

Site Info

Baumann & Baumann, Architects.

Two sections of attached rowhouses, with ten units facing West Fifth Avenue and three units facing North Broadway, both constructed of load bearing brick. Two stories in height on front elevations with raised basement openings at rear. Demolition of the added one story concrete block section on the front of each building has revealed a series of one bay front entry porticos with flat roofs and square columns; the roof sections originally included balconies. Eight over one double hung windows, topped by a projecting cornice with dentil molding and a flat brick roof with a parapet wall with coping and louvered brick. Three story rear elevation, with separate entrances for each unit, marked by an entry centered in a projecting bay, with a recessed light well dividing the units. Brick chimneys are also present for each rowhouse.

On the side elevation of the ten-unit section facing N. Broadway is a cornerstone under an applied, projecting, gabled roof with a full cornice return. Constructed of East Tennessee marble, the cornerstone bears the date 1913 in its gabled portion. Under the entablature are the words - Minvilla built by H. Clay Bondurant. Brimer & England Bros Contractors and Baumann Bros. Architects - form the remaining inscription.

The project that centers around this building will meet the Secretary of Interior's Standards adopted as design guidelines, and has been reviewed at the state and National level for conformity with those Standards.