By Megan Venable
Photography by Ben Finch, Finch Photo
The Eugenia Williams House behind the brick wall on Lyons View Pike is a mystery no more. The elusive home has been hidden and sat empty and derelict for decades. Brief glimpses through the front gate have only afforded a quick glance at a boarded-up mansion. Long owned by the University of Tennessee after Williams’s death in 1998, the home was in such disrepair that turning it into a habitable residence was too daunting a task for a state entity. Emergency repairs and keeping the lawn under control were the only maintenance provided for the grounds until the Aslan Foundation purchased the property in 2020.
The original house was designed by Knoxville native John Fanz Staub and featured three bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms, a library and a three-car garage. Williams’s love of entertaining was evident in details such as a large dining room complete with attached butler’s pantry that featured modern amenities unheard of in 1941 such as a built-in dishwasher and electric plate warmer. Her bedroom illustrated her role as a fashionista with an extensive boudoir to house her extensive clothes collection.
Williams lived in the house for more than 40 years, and as time grew on, she became more and more reclusive into the home. The last 15 years of her life she spent in a nursing home leaving the home vacant and bestowing an air of mystery on the grounds. Until the Aslan Foundation’s purchase, it sat empty and unloved with its only visitors from vandals and critters.
That time has now ended. The Aslan Foundation has scrupulously worked with experts in landscape architecture, restoration and intentional effort to turn the estate into a shared cultural space. Aslan Foundation President Robert Young claims that those working tirelessly to restore the home back to its original integrity were “slightly crazy” and “fanatical about getting it exactly right.”
And Knoxville has noticed that the Eugenia House has come back to life. All pre-grand opening tours of the house sold out almost immediately; everyone is dying to get a look at the restored estate. When clearing invasives from the back of the house, stewards discovered many decorative moments in the landscape and encourage the public to come enjoy the property and find your own moment in these gardens.