Three years ago, a vacant historic mansion on Magnolia Avenue was nearly demolished. But then it was saved, and now it's getting an artsy new purpose.
Knox News stepped inside the unique Sterchi-Audigier House – which is dusty, boarded up and without power – to see the storied house's "before" ahead of its transformation to the home of River & Rail Theatre Company. The nonprofit recently received a $4 million donation from the Boyd Foundation and the Boyd family toward the $7.5 million campaign to cover the renovations. River & Rail founding artistic director Joshua Peterson said the space could be complete as soon as February 2028.
With an exciting vision for the future, it's easy to forget that the details inside − the floating spiral staircase,
massive fireplace and arched openings, just to name a few − were almost razed. In 2023, the Sterchi-Audigier House was slated to become a parole office, which resulted in the threat of demolition, and pushback from preservationists and local leaders who saw the planned state office as an obstacle for a vital corridor poised to flourish.
Instead, with the Grandiflora venue coming to life down the street, a mini entertainment district is forming along Magnolia, and the Sterchi-Audigier mansion's historic bones will add character to a place where Peterson hopes "everybody in the city" can "feel welcome."
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Soon-to-be theater has century-long history
The Spanish Eclectic Style building at 2651 E. Magnolia Ave. was constructed by 1925 for W.H. Sterchi, one of the original Sterchi brothers who founded the Sterchi Brothers Furniture Company. Downtown, the Sterchi Lofts continue to bear the name of the local family that rose to prominence as its furniture offerings took off around the world.
A Knoxville Journal article from 1925 describes W.H. Sterchi and his wife hosting a silver tea benefit in their "handsome home," and a story the following year tells of a Sterchi family reunion held there.
When the house was on the market in 1934, the Knoxville News Sentinel reported on its "beautiful structure, shrubs and lawn," as well as its big rooms, 5-foot-tall fireplace and "handsome stained birch beams across the ceiling of the living room." The fireplace and stunning beams remain, as do original hardwood floors.
The house on Magnolia then became the residence of Louis Audigier and his family. Audigier was a world traveler and collector who donated the Audigier art collection to the University of Tennessee. He bought the mansion in 1936.
Ads for the palatial home in the 1950s called it "one of the most spacious homes in Knoxville," noting among its features seven rooms total with three big rooms and two bathrooms upstairs, a breakfast room, a sun room and a double garage.
When the Masons organization bought the house in 1959, it was the Evergreen Tourist Home. Plans were soon announced to add on to the structure so that it could be the base for Masters Lodge #244 (which was moving out of the Locust Street temple − now facing demolition itself). The addition by the Masons to the Magnolia mansion included a lodge room and dining room behind the original house.
In 2021, the state selected a bid to lease the Magnolia Avenue property in a renovated-state as a new parole office. After a fire in October 2022 damaged the historic home's second floor, plans changed, and owner John Davenport applied to demolish the residence instead. The state eventually pulled out, and the Courtland Group bought the mansion. It was purchased by River & Rail for $1,650,000 last year.
How will the mansion become a performance venue?
You won't even have to set foot inside the historic building to see some of the changes coming to the Sterchi-Audigier House. A parking lot will be added, creating about 100 parking spots outside the venue in addition to existing street parking along Magnolia − an improvement over River & Rail's previous home at the Old City Performing Arts Center. Behind the theater, an artist house and scenic shop will host visiting performers and provide workshop space respectively.
Inside, theatergoers will be able to gather in the lobby, the site of the grand fireplace and wood beams. "There's just something that you can't buy about a building that's been here for so long," Peterson said as he walked us through the soon-to-be-renovated space. The plan is to start breaking things down inside around the end of the year, with renovation starting around February 2027.
In the future lobby, River & Rail will add a seating area and a lending library of plays and musicals that can be checked out by community members. Off that area will be a bar that serves coffee during the day and beer, wine and liquor for shows. Peterson told Knox News he's looking for a partner to run it.
The upstairs space will be turned into offices, and the Masonic addition will become the performances space. Just down from the main level is a large room that will be turned into a rehearsal studio with a green room and dressing rooms. The primary theater space will be upstairs and is planned to seat up to 250 patrons.
Hayden Dunbar Evans is the storyteller reporter. Email: hayden.dunbar@knoxnews.com. Instagram: @knoxstoryteller.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Sterchi-Audigier House is gorgeous inside - see it before River & Rail makeover
