James Lee House Looking for Restoration Love; Mallory Neely and Magevney; Juvenile Court Centennial

From time to time I like to check in on what's going on with Victorian Village, an area just east of downtown where some gorgeous homes were built from the 1840s through the 1890s by the city's most prominent families..

The Pillow-McIntyre House was built in 1852 according to the Victorian Village website and other sources, though as you can see in the picture the sign out front reads 1847. Curious. It was purchased in 1873 by Mexican War and Confederate General Gideon Pillow and is in the American Greek Revival style. It was for many years the home of the Memphis Art Association’s Free School. In 1976, the Margie Vanlandingham firm bought and restored the house. Somewhere along the line it fell back into disuse, until 2004 when it was again refurbished through corporate and community donations.

The James Lee House, above, has been maintained in its original condition for the past half century, yet it has never been restored. It is about to go before the City Council in October in an effort to transfer ownership from the city to the Center City Development Corporation. It will then be put up for sale in the private sector for *love* restoration and *love* re-use. I heart this house, it is my favorite in the area. It’s hard to believe this Second-Empire beauty started out in the 1840s as a little ol’ farmhouse, was enlarged a couple of times and finally the Lee family added the tower to “impress”.

Also, the process of re-opening both the Mallory-Neely House c. 1852 and the Magevney House, c. 1837 to the public after being closed for five year is being started. There will be a blog up that will follow the process of what’s happening with the houses but for now you can visit

www.memphismuseums.org/mallory_neely-overview

At the end of September Victorian Village will be hosting Juvenile Court’s Centennial Celebration. Among the events is the Right Road 5K followed by a picnic and tours:

Saturday, October 2
7 a.m. (registration) - 9 a.m. (start) Right Road 5K Run
Homecoming in the Village
11 a.m. to 1 p.m. - Picnic in Victorian Village Park, free and open to the public.
Noon to 3 p.m. - Tours of Juvenile Court and historic houses.

See all the Centennial Celebration details at www.victorianvillageinc.org