Historic Zoning Commission

City Hall (former) Landmark H-1: Level II

7-H-16-HZ

Applicant Request

Level II. Major replacement of architectural elements

Infill the open areas on first and second floors of the south side of the building with tall, narrow aluminum-clad double-hung windows with transoms above, similar to the original configuration as indicated in the documentary photographs submitted for the July 21, 2016 HZC meeting. Install smooth fiber cement board panels below each window as indicated in rendering submitted for the July 21, 2016 HZC meeting.

Site Info

Two-story brick, low hipped metal roof, with large central dormers on the north and south planes. A pressed metal cornice with dentils and consoles is Classical in design and is repeated above the dormers. Seven bays wide and two bays deep, a stone water table and string coursing emphasize the major horizontal divisions of the building. The south elevation originally had recessed wooden porches (balconies) at both levels. These porches and the transoms and upper portions of all the windows have been infilled in brick to accommodate inappropriate metal windows. Rectangular in plan. National Register (1982).

1. Guardrails are currently mounted in the recessed portion of the building, causing the recessed area to appear as an unenclosed area for exterior porches.

2. However, early photographs of the building (circa 1900-1921) when it was the Tennessee School for the Deaf hospital building (submitted with this application), indicate that the recessed area was infilled with windows during that time, depicting a sleeping porch.

3.The architect's office contacted a former staff person who worked in the building and who has conducted research on the history of the building. Information provided to her by a former student of the school confirmed that the recessed area was upfitted to be used as a sleeping porch at the time that she worked there (Provided by Amy Zucker on June 21st, 2016 - a former secretary who worked in the building during the 1970s when it was utilized for as City Hall).

4. The windows proposed for installation are not replicas of the formerly-installed windows; however, there is no record of the exact specifications for them. Staff believes the proposed windows sufficiently allude to the windows that were formerly present during the c. 1900-1920 period.

5. The HZC has approved aluminum-clad windows for non-single family residential buildings of a similar type as the subject building.