2026 Fourth & Gill Tour of Homes & Secret Gardens, Part 1

There’s no neighborhood prettier than Fourth & Gill in the springtime, its candy-colored Victorian and Craftsman houses ensconced in a bright tangle of gardens beneath a canopy of old trees. 

Visiting the neighborhood for the 36th anniversary Tour of Homes & Secret Gardens on Sunday afternoon reminded me of waddling up and down its streets, so very pregnant, seven years ago last week when we lived on North Fourth. The peonies were unfurling from swollen buds just in time for Mother’s Day as I willed myself to pop, too.

Now, fast-forward, I’m chasing my zoomy kiddo through the neighborhood on a bike, on a scavenger hunt for tour stops. He nearly ran over the mayor, who was out on the sidewalk trimming her hedges. Sorry about that!😬

As we rode, I pointed out houses to Thomas – the one on Luttrell where I lived for a hot minute, and another Luttrell house where dad lived when we first started dating. Then he moved directly across the street into another house. I showed Thomas the window where his parents used to crawl out onto the roof during parties to smoochy kiss.  

“Ewww mom gross. And dangerous.” 

We pedaled past more houses, more stories. 

His mom’s weird anecdotes aside, Thomas was very into the tour, devouring each home at a speed that was efficient if not conducive to thoughtful, well-staged photography or proper conversations with homeowners. But I did the best I could with what I had to work with, which was harsh late-afternoon light and a seven-year-old’s attention span. 

That being said … let’s ride!

The tour began as it always does at Central United Methodist Church (201 3rd Ave.), a Gothic Revival structure on the National Register of Historic Places completed in 1927. Architecture aside, this church is a fine example of one that goes out of its way to be an asset to the community, providing space for Centro Hispano’s headquarters (which Alan wrote about last year) and serving as a voting location for the 11th precinct among other contributions. 

We said hello to lovely longtime volunteer Jeff Johnson and picked up our map and guidebook, a treasure trove of neighborhood history meticulously compiled by Arin Streeter, upon which this write-up is largely based. 

First stop: the Nichols Garden at 617 Deery Street. Tucked just below street level behind a hedge and a white picket fence, this shaded garden truly feels like a secret oasis. 

Over the past 50 years, three neighborhood families have left their mark here. The Corteses (of Cortese Tree Specialists) introduced winding walkways and established the larger trees that now anchor the space. The Butlers layered in a bit of whimsy with a greenhouse, koi pond, prayer maze and hookah hut. Today’s caretakers have added the Fountain of Aslan, a Jessica Tezak–designed native plant section, and inviting seating areas nestled among peonies, daylilies and fruit trees. 

If I lived in this house, I suspect I’d spend far too much time stretched out in a hammock, listening to water trickling and thinking about not much at all. 

Onward to the Talmy-Langer House at 730 Deery Street. This is a rare new build I’ve been quite curious about so it was a treat to see inside. 

Arin notes that the arc of this plot tracks closely with the story of Fourth & Gill itself. In 1889, J. Macauley Susong, a clerk and bookkeeper, built a modest home here for his family, later expanding it to two stories as their needs grew. By the 1930s, though, Knoxville’s early streetcar suburbs were starting to lose their shine. As car ownership rose, wealthier residents moved farther out, and once-fashionable Victorian homes fell out of favor, their details dulled by years of industrial soot.

A pre–World War II housing shortage led many of these larger houses to be subdivided, often into multiple apartments and frequently more than the structures could reasonably support. As conditions declined, maintenance became harder to justify, vacancies increased, and the Susong house was sitting empty by 1962. It was eventually demolished.

In recent years, that pattern has reversed. Vacant lots have become increasingly rare as new generations are drawn back to the neighborhood’s walkability and character. The house completed here in 2025 looks different from what came before, inside especially, with its modern open floorplan and distinct lack of creakiness and quirks. But the exterior keeps to the scale and rhythm of the street.

Just up the way we park our bikes outside the Ault-Wallace House / Howard Home at 721 Luttrell Street. Hello to a fellow Beaumont Elementary family! I loved the adventure-seeking spirit of this home. 

The Ault–Wallace House was completed in 1889. Its first owners, James and Jane McCauley, purchased the home later that year but lost it in 1895 to the Workingman’s Building and Savings Association after falling behind on payments.

In April 1900, Martha M. Ault, widow of J. Albert Ault, acquired the property. Two years later, she built a second dwelling just to the south to operate as a lodging house. Before remarrying in 1903 to Samuel M. Blake, she took the step of securing a property agreement to ensure the home would pass to her daughters. Her daughter Etta Leonora Ault, who had married M. Frazier Wallace in 1901, went on to raise their children, Rosalie, Lucille and James, here. Martha Ault died in the house in 1911 of a cerebral hemorrhage.

Like many large homes in the neighborhood, it was later divided into multiple apartments, at one point as many as six, and by 1980 it was largely vacant. Longtime residents remember it sitting for years with boarded windows and peeling green paint weathering to gray. After stalled redevelopment efforts in the early 2000s, a more recent restoration finally brought the house back from the brink.

Next, the Morin-LaCour Garden at 814 Luttrell Street. 

Once a simple patch of grass, this garden has been transformed over time into a thoughtfully layered outdoor space. Plantings were selected to engage the senses—colorful blooms, grasses that shift with the breeze, and the soft scent of lavender woven throughout. The garden evolves with the seasons, offering something a little different each time through.

Designed as much for gathering as for quiet moments, the space includes areas for dining on the deck and relaxing by the fire pit. It’s a lived-in garden, shaped by regular use and ongoing care, and one that invites visitors to slow down and take it in. I loved all the art here and there, and am always envious of a backyard hot tub! A hallmark of living one’s best life. 

A pedal now up the hill to the Bowman–Emert House / Landis Home at 914 Gratz Street. Despite the variety of forms and sizes across Fourth & Gill, many of its houses were originally built on speculation and rented out upon completion. Knoxville’s growth spurts between the 1880s and 1920 made homeownership a heavier lift financially, and houses of the era, quick to frame but slower to fully finish, especially with limited plumbing and heating, were often occupied before they were technically complete.

That was the case here. The house was built and sold in early 1903 while still unfinished, and it wasn’t owner-occupied until November 1905, when William H. and Mary L. Bowman moved in.

While some homes in the neighborhood are known for long, continuous family ownership, occasionally stretching more than a century, 914 Gratz tells a different story. The property has changed hands at least 19 times over the years. The current owners, who purchased the home in 2023, acquired it from a neighbor who, at 18 years, holds the record for longest residency in the house’s history.

I apologize that I didn’t get more photos of this one; someone had ants in their pants.

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I feel like this is already quite a lot of words and information, so I’ll let you digest and I’ll be back soon with Part 2 (the remaining five tour homes/gardens plus a surprise sixth!). In the meantime, learn more about the Fourth & Gill neighborhood here.