Historic Zoning

Introduction to Historic Zoning

Historic Zoning and The National Register

The City’s local East Main Street Historic Zone is located in both National Register districts (East Main Street and North Maney Avenue). Although not entirely located within either of the National Register districts the East Main Street Historic Zone encompasses most of the East Main Street Historic District and only a small portion of the North Maney Avenue Historic District.

The National Register of Historic Places is a federal program administered by the Department of the Interior. Unless federal funds are used for a project, listing on the National Register has no impact on what someone does to their property. Listing in the National Register is honorary, a way to recognize a structure or a district as an intact and important part of Murfreesboro, and America’s history. The East Main Street Historic District and the North Maney Avenue Historic District were both added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. Here are photographs and descriptions of some of the structures in those districts..

The East Main Street Historic Zone’s designation as a local historic zone also honors the neighborhood’s historical significance, and with that recognition, historic zoning protects the neighborhood’s unique character by requiring review of exterior work on buildings within the historic zone. Murfreesboro’s historic zone is locally designated and administered by the Murfreesboro Historic Zoning Commission, an agency of the City of Murfreesboro. Historic zoning is a type of overlay zoning that applies in addition to the land use zoning and has no impact on use. The East Main Street Historic Zone was designated in Murfreesboro in October of 1986.

East Main Street Historic District

Brief History

Murfreesboro was founded in 1811 around a public square on land donated by William Lytle. Although no structures from these years still exist in the district, East Main Street was then beginning to develop into a residential area for the city’s founders and developers. One of the earlier residences in the district, an 1838 Federal style home at 332 East Main, was built by Matthias Murfree, the son of Hardy Murfree for whom the city was named. Another residence associated with the Murfree family is located at 460 Vine Street. A brick portion of Matthias Murfree’s second home is reportedly a portion of the rear ell of this house. Matthias Murfree once owned much of the land within the district.

Although some pre-Civil War residences still exist within the district most of the existing residential development occurred post Civil War when civic, commercial and railroad magnates of the “New South” gained prominence. An outstanding example of this is the 1879 Collier-Critchlow house at 511 E. Main Street. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, the Second Empire residence was the home of four mayors (some of whom were also railroad developers). The residence is a 2 ½ story structure accented with finely crafted decorative lintels, quatrefoil porch ornamentation and dormers with finials. General Joseph B. Palmer, a prominent state military and political leader, built an Italianate residence at 434 E. Main Street in 1869. Highlighted by a filigree cast iron porch and paired arched windows with exaggerated hood molds, the residence was also placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

Prominent within the district are many early twentieth century Colonial Revival residences of outstanding design. Two massive Ionic columns below a pedimented portico delineate the 1910 residence at 519 E. College Street. Another excellent example of this style is seen at 450 E. Main Street. This residence also has massive Ionic columns that support a two-story portico while the entry is defined by a wide fanlight and sidelights.

District Description

Murfreesboro, a city of approximately 80,000 people at the geographic center of Tennessee, is located atop a ridge overlooking the Stones River, site of a major battle during the Civil War. During this time East Main Street was the city’s principal east-west thoroughfare and the location of its most significant concentration of residential structures built by some of Murfreesboro’s most historically prominent families in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The East Main Street Historic District, a corridor containing 103 structures along East Main Street and adjacent streets, consists of architecturally and historically significant buildings along this thoroughfare.

The East Main Street Historic District is composed of predominately single family, owner occupied residences, with a few duplexes, multiple family dwellings and two (2) churches. Consistency of design and appearance have been maintained through the years by near uniform setbacks of approximately 30 feet, wide and deep lots that originally extended south and north to parallel streets providing spacious lawns, the lack of fencing providing an uninterrupted vista from lot to lot, and large shade trees lining both sides of the street. The structures are predominately brick, two or three stories in height, with end gable or hip roofs. Many exhibit broad and highly decorated porches. Overall, the buildings located within the district boundaries have undergone few visible exterior changes and have maintained a high degree of architectural integrity.

While architectural styles in the district span the stylistic spectrum from Federal and Greek Revival design through Mediterranean and Tudor revival, the predominate style is Colonial Revival. Large residences delineated by massive columns and accented with multi-paned windows, dentils, sidelights and overlights and smaller residences usually square in shape with Colonial Revival details found only on porches, are located in the district. Frequently, Four Square residences are ornamented with Colonial Revival details such as porch and window trim. A transitional style that consists of a combination of Queen Anne and Colonial Revival massing and ornamentation is another style contributing to the architectural quality of the district. Wraparound porches with classical and multi-pane windows usually characterize these houses.

Other highlights of the district include finely detailed Italianate residences characterized by brackets, round arch windows and ornamental porch woodwork as well as a simple Gothic Revival residence and two elaborately ornamented Queen Anne residences. Although only one Second Empire residence is located within the district it is of outstanding design and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, the Italianate style Joseph B. Palmer House.

Other styles in the East Main Street Historic District includes Arts and Crafts, Bungalows and various vernacular styles, especially one story residences with hip roofs.

Only three buildings within the district are non-residential: the Central Christian Church, the Believers Tabernacle and the Davis Store. A contributing structure is one that retains a relatively high degree of integrity and/or is associated with historical events or people. Non-contributing structures within the district are those that are less than fifty years old or lack that high degree of integrity.*

The North Maney Avenue Historic District

Brief History

The North Maney Avenue Historic District presents a major concentration of vernacular and stylistic architecture in Murfreesboro. The district consists of 129 buildings, almost exclusively residential, in an approximately sixteen-block area focusing on the avenue which once formed the tree-lined driveway of Oaklands, an antebellum mansion designated to the National Register in 1978. The houses in the district present a diversity of architectural styles and materials dating from 1835 to 1935, although most buildings in the district were constructed between 1870 and 1920. The buildings share a similar scale and setback which provides visual consistency in the historic district. Most buildings are vernacular with Classical, Colonial Revival or Queen Anne ornamentation. Clapboards are the most popular siding material used in the district although some buildings are faced with brick or stucco. Decorative wood shingles, half timbering and ornamental woodwork on porches and along eaves are commonly seen decorative elements. Building lots are wide but shallow and there were no or few fences or plantings to inhibit the view along the streetscapes. Almost all blocks retain large shade trees. In many places mid-to-late-nineteenth century brick sidewalks are still in existence, as are several mounting blocks.

Architectural styles found in the North Maney Avenue Historic District include Federal, Greek Revival, and Italianate residences. The Childress House, an 1860 Greek Revival building with late nineteenth century alterations was placed on the National Register in 1979. the predominate architectural styles found in the district are Queen Anne and vernacular residences. A few Queen Anne houses are stylistically correct buildings of two stories with multi-gable roofs, wraparound porches, bay windows, turrets and elaborate woodwork, but most are vernacular adaptations of the style. These residences are characterized by their smaller size, usually one and one-half stories in height, with L-shaped plans and gable roofs or hip roofs. Less elaborate in detailing than the stylistically correct Queen Anne buildings, they have sawn or turned ornamental porch woodwork and bargeboards.

Many other vernacular residences in the district are one story with L-shaped plans and gable roofs or one-story hip roof buildings. These have little if any ornamentation, often only seen in Classical porch columns. One vernacular building is a turn of the century log house and another is an 1890 commercial building, the only one in the district. A few examples of Stick Style, Craftsman, Four Square, Mediterranean Revival and Tudor Revival are also located in the district. Two more styles frequently seen in the district are Colonial Revival and Bungalow. The Colonial Revival buildings are minimally detailed cottage sized structures with gable returns, Classical porch columns and multi-paned windows while Bungalows are usually characterized by gable roof dormers and front porches.

The North Maney Avenue Historic District has retained much of its architectural integrity. The district contains only twelve intruding buildings constructed after 1935 and most residences have undergone few major exterior alterations. Unified by building scale, setback, and a concentration of late nineteenth and early twentieth century building designs the district presents a cohesive streetscape in Murfreesboro.

The North Maney Avenue Historic District consists of 129 structures of which 112 are considered to be contributing to the district, and 17 are considered to be non-contributing to the district. As with the East Main Street Historic District structures considered to be contributing are fifty years old and possess architectural and/or historical significance. Non-contributing buildings are either less than fifty years old or do not possess architectural or historical integrity.

District Description

Although the City of Murfreesboro was founded in 1811 and served as the capitol of Tennessee from 1819 to 1826, most of the North Maney Avenue Historic District developed post Civil War. Originally the street was part of the tree-lined carriage lane to Oaklands, the plantation home of Dr. James Maney and Sally Hardy Murfree Maney, but in 1868, at a time when many southern plantations were being broken up, the Maney family sold off some of their land. This property was split into lots for residential development and became known as Maney’s Addition of Murfreesboro.

Many residences were constructed along North Maney Avenue and adjacent streets immediately after 1868 resulting in the high concentration of one and one-half story Queen Anne and vernacular style cottages that are included in the district. One of the highlights of the district is the 1847 Childress House at 225 N. Academy. John W. Childress, a prominent attorney and businessman in Murfreesboro and the brother-in-law of President James K. Polk, lived in this house from 1874 until his death ten years later. Another outstanding building is the 1856 Italianate style Woman’s Club at 221 E. College, possibly constructed by the same craftsmen who built the present façade of Oaklands Mansion. In the 1890’s Adeline Maney, widow of the last Maney occupant of Oaklands moved into the house at 322 E. Lytle. The district continued to develop into the twentieth century and contains fine examples of Colonial Revival, Arts and Crafts and Mediterranean Revival styles of architecture.

Although individually many buildings are not eligible for the National Register of Historic Places as a whole the North Maney Avenue Historic District, with its diversity of late nineteenth and early twentieth century building styles, brick sidewalks and uniform scale and setbacks forms a cohesive and architecturally significant residential district in Murfreesboro. Overall the district has suffered few intrusions or building alterations and has retained it architectural integrity.**

*United States Department of the Interior National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places – East Main Street Historic District, Nomination Form, 1985.

**United States Department of the Interior National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places – North Maney Avenue Historic District, Nomination Form, 1985.