These are both on Center Street. The Warranty Mower Repair mural is a pro job by Murals and More, the other is behind The Fire Escape club and is not.
Couple of murals
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Penley’s (Funtastics)
This building, on the corner of Roller and Sullivan Streets, is gone now. The area around the newly-developed former Kingsport Press/Quebecor lots is now catnip for developers. Of course, that will also do away with this example of primitive wall art.
Lynn House
Taken probably in the late 70s. This was Oak Hill Mansion, built sometime between 1815 and 1840 or so. It was owned by the Lynn family, who were wealthy merchants and landowners (think “Lynn Garden”), who decamped to Knoxville in 1883. In later times, this building was a private men’s club, hospital (the first public hospital in Kingsport, according to Muriel Spoden’s “Historic Sites in Sullivan County” ), a nightclub, and, for ages, an apartment building. I drew this building in pencil back in the late 70s (I took this picture during the original photo shoot…the picture I took after climbing in a tree on the opposite side of the road was the one I used for my reference shot) (no, I climbed in the tree to get a better shot of the front of the building). I put a vague suggestion of a person looking out of the upper left front window. I was like that then…
Kingsport Milling
This was earlier known as “Gibson Mill” or “Gibson’s Mill” (after one Andrew Gibson, who also gave his name to this area, called Gibsontown). This mill burned in March, 2010.
Kingsport Press
This was taken in 2010. The building has since been demolished.
Strauss building
At the time I drew this, only the facade remained of this building. It had been burned out. This is still on Broad Street and home to Anchor Antiques.
Kingsport Power Company
This was how the entrance to the old Kingsport Power Company building looked like in the late 70s. I was told that the boss of Kingsport Power at the time considered buying this, but he didn’t like the way I did the trees in front.
Gone, but not forgotten
This was located on the Glen Bruce Park side of the former Kingsport Power Company building, on the corner near Shelby Street. When this building was, um, gentrified a few years ago, this whole end portion was eliminated.
Milhorn Appliance
This is early work for me. It was done in 1975 and I was living, again, in the apartments upstairs. I’d lived there as a kid and lived there when I got out of service. This was the old Latimer Chevrolet building. At the time, the concrete ramp that allowed cars to be driven to the second floor was still there. I know that because I’d go down the back steps to the second floor, and cross over the ramp to a side door. I’d go out that door, climb down the ladder to the alley and head up to John Sevier Junior High (now the Renaissance Center). The apartments were put in after WWII and, according to the received story, were the first in Kingsport to have air conditioning units. This is located at 315 Cherokee Street. I don’t know who painted that sign, either.
First Baptist Church
First Baptist Church, Sullivan Street portico. The church originally faced Shelby Street and this was the general area of the main entrance.
Bob Lawrence's Kingsport 