Open House

VOL. 129 | NO. 68 | Tuesday, April 08, 2014

The historic James Lee house in Victorian Village is days away from a grand opening celebration, the culmination of a restoration several years in the making that has turned the property once home to the Memphis College of Art into a bed-and-breakfast inn.

One of the many features in the newly renovated James Lee House is this 114-year-old Steinway piano that sits in the bed-and-breakfast inns living room.

(Daily News/Andrew J. Breig)

The property, which includes five suites, has been in a soft opening period and has already welcomed visitors whove booked suites in the 166-year-old mansion at 690 Adams Ave. A grand opening has been set for April 17 at 10 a.m., and looking ahead to the date, project partner Jose Velazquez still looks at the results of the transformation with a mixture of near-disbelief and elation.

The public has responded in kind, with bookings already popping up online as far into the year as September.

My first reaction is, Oh my gosh, I cant believe this actually happened, Velazquez said. To see it back to its original splendor, to be a home again with a family living here and also open to the public so individuals can come in and enjoy this piece of Memphis heritage is quite extraordinary.

This could not have been done without the financial support of J.W. Gibson and Kathy Buckman. Theyre our partners, and they made it happen. And we were surrounded by a great contractor who could do this job and do it in a timely manner, and a team of subcontractors that made it happen. Also a great architect. Thats what it took, a whole community coming together and believing that this was important for the city.

The Memphis College of Art was housed in the home until the college moved to Overton Park in 1959. Since then, the home had sat vacant and deteriorating.

The home was built in 1841 as a two-story, four-room home. It was once the home of riverboat tycoon James Lee, as well as the site of an art school that was a forerunner of the Memphis College of Art.

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Open House