Candoro Marble Works
Encyclopedia
The Candoro Marble Works is a marble cutting and polishing facility located in Knoxville, Tennessee
, USA. Established as a subsidiary of the John J. Craig Company in 1914, the facility's marble products were used in the construction of numerous monumental buildings across the United States during the 1930s and 1940s. Although Candoro closed in 1982, independent marble fabricators continued using the facility until the early 21st century, when it was purchased by the preservation group, South Knox Heritage. In 1996, several of the facility's buildings were added to the National Register of Historic Places
.
By the beginning of the 20th century, East Tennessee
had become one of the nation's major suppliers of finished marble. The John J. Craig Company, which operated several quarries in the vicinity of Knoxville
, was one of the region's top marble suppliers during this period. John J. Craig III, grandson of the company's founder, and three co-investors— F.C. Anderson, W.J. Donaldson, and S.A. Rodgers— established Candoro to cut and polish the company's quarried and imported marble. The name "Candoro" is a combination of the first letters of each cofounder's last name. The company's showroom and garage, completed in 1923, was designed by noted Knoxville architect Charles I. Barber
(1887–1962).
A marble scrap yard lies across the street from the cutting facility. Behind the scrap yard lies one of the so-called Witherspoon sites, where radioactive materials from the K-25
plant in Oak Ridge
were recycled in the 1960s and 1970s. The Witherspoon sites were at the heart an environmental controversy in the 1980s that led to a multi-million dollar cleanup effort by the Department of Energy.
, East Tennessee experienced a quarrying boom that focused on a type of pinkish Holston Formation
limestone known as "East Tennessee marble." By 1900, nearly a dozen companies were operating quarries or finishing facilities in and around Knoxville
, giving the city the nickname, "The Marble City." The John J. Craig Company, one of the most successful of these companies, operated quarries near Friendsville
in Blount County
and near Concord
in Knox County.
To convert his company's quarried marble into finished products, John J. Craig III established a subsidiary, the Candoro Marble Company, which built the Candoro Marble Works complex. The site in South Knoxville was chosen for its proximity to both the railroad and Goose Creek, the latter of which provided water for the complex's steam boiler, which powered the complex's massive cutting machinery in the years before cheap electricity was available. While the company initially used its own locally-quarried stone, it gradually began to rely more and more on marble imported from Europe and South America.
In 1927, Candoro hired Carrara, Italy-born stone carver Albert Milani (1892–1972) as its chief carver. During Milani's 40-year tenure, Candoro provided marble for buildings such as the Smithsonian Museum of History and Technology
and the National Gallery of Art
in Washington, as well as local buildings such as the Knoxville Post Office building. Notable hand-carvings by Milani include the History of the World relief at the Pennsylvania State Capitol
and the four eagle sculptures flanking the entrances of the Knoxville Post Office
. Milani's carvings were shipped to customers as far away as Pakistan
and Japan
.
The use of marble in building construction declined after World War II, and Candoro shut down operations in 1982. Independent marble fabricators used the company's facilities until the early 21st century, when the preservation group South Knox Heritage purchased the complex and initiated efforts to restore the Candoro showroom. The group currently uses the showroom to house various art exhibitions. Since 2001, the Candoro grounds have hosted the Vestival, a festival held annually in May that features live music and craft vendors.
of the firm Barber & McMurry designed the building primarily in the Beaux-Arts style, and Albert Milani executed the marble detailing. The building's facade features a hand-carved cartouche and floral motif and a wrought-iron door crafted by Philadelphia master blacksmith Samuel Yellin
(1885–1940). The showroom's interior includes an entrance hall with polished travertine and frescoed plaster walls and a hand-carved marble rosette. Adjacent to the entrance hall is a room with East Tennessee pink marble walls. The building's floor consists of black-and-white marble tile. A second-story penthouse sits atop the showroom building.
The garage, also designed by Barber, consists of four arched bays separated by four marble Tuscan columns
carved by Milani. The lower half of the garage's exterior consists of the same marble veneer as the showroom, while the upper half is covered with stucco. The roof of the garage is covered with Roman tiles. A non-structural wall connects the showroom and garage.
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
, USA. Established as a subsidiary of the John J. Craig Company in 1914, the facility's marble products were used in the construction of numerous monumental buildings across the United States during the 1930s and 1940s. Although Candoro closed in 1982, independent marble fabricators continued using the facility until the early 21st century, when it was purchased by the preservation group, South Knox Heritage. In 1996, several of the facility's buildings were added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
By the beginning of the 20th century, East Tennessee
East Tennessee
East Tennessee is a name given to approximately the eastern third of the U.S. state of Tennessee, one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee defined in state law. East Tennessee consists of 33 counties, 30 located within the Eastern Time Zone and three counties in the Central Time Zone, namely...
had become one of the nation's major suppliers of finished marble. The John J. Craig Company, which operated several quarries in the vicinity of Knoxville
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
, was one of the region's top marble suppliers during this period. John J. Craig III, grandson of the company's founder, and three co-investors— F.C. Anderson, W.J. Donaldson, and S.A. Rodgers— established Candoro to cut and polish the company's quarried and imported marble. The name "Candoro" is a combination of the first letters of each cofounder's last name. The company's showroom and garage, completed in 1923, was designed by noted Knoxville architect Charles I. Barber
Charles I. Barber
Charles Irving Barber was an American architect, active primarily in Knoxville, Tennessee, and vicinity, during the first half of the 20th century...
(1887–1962).
Location
The Candoro Marble Works is located in South Knoxville's Vestal community along Candora Road, spanning most of the north side of the road between its Maryville Pike (State Route 33) and Spruce Road intersections. The showroom is the easternmost building, lying adjacent to Maryville Pike, and is connected to Candora Road by an oft-photographed tree-lined allée. The large cutting facility lies to the west of the showroom and garage, and the finishing building lies immediately west of the cutting facility. A smaller building housing the boilers and company offices stands in front of the finishing building.A marble scrap yard lies across the street from the cutting facility. Behind the scrap yard lies one of the so-called Witherspoon sites, where radioactive materials from the K-25
K-25
K-25 is a former uranium enrichment facility of the Manhattan Project which used the gaseous diffusion method. The plant is located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, on the southwestern end of the Oak Ridge Reservation.-History:...
plant in Oak Ridge
Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Oak Ridge is a city in Anderson and Roane counties in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Tennessee, about west of Knoxville. Oak Ridge's population was 27,387 at the 2000 census...
were recycled in the 1960s and 1970s. The Witherspoon sites were at the heart an environmental controversy in the 1980s that led to a multi-million dollar cleanup effort by the Department of Energy.
History
In the years after the Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, East Tennessee experienced a quarrying boom that focused on a type of pinkish Holston Formation
Holston Formation
The Holston Formation, alternately known as the Holston Limestone, is a stratigraphic unit of Ordovician age within the Chickamauga Group in the Ridge-and-Valley physiographic province of the southeastern United States...
limestone known as "East Tennessee marble." By 1900, nearly a dozen companies were operating quarries or finishing facilities in and around Knoxville
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
, giving the city the nickname, "The Marble City." The John J. Craig Company, one of the most successful of these companies, operated quarries near Friendsville
Friendsville, Tennessee
Friendsville is a city in Blount County, Tennessee, United States. Its population was 890 at the 2000 U.S. census. It is included in the Knoxville, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
in Blount County
Blount County, Tennessee
Blount County is a U.S. county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Its population was 123,010 at the United States Census, 2010. The county seat is at Maryville, which is also the county's largest city....
and near Concord
Concord, Knox County, Tennessee
Concord is an unincorporated community in Knox County, Tennessee, United States and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as an historic district. The United States Geographic Names System classifies Concord as a populated place...
in Knox County.
To convert his company's quarried marble into finished products, John J. Craig III established a subsidiary, the Candoro Marble Company, which built the Candoro Marble Works complex. The site in South Knoxville was chosen for its proximity to both the railroad and Goose Creek, the latter of which provided water for the complex's steam boiler, which powered the complex's massive cutting machinery in the years before cheap electricity was available. While the company initially used its own locally-quarried stone, it gradually began to rely more and more on marble imported from Europe and South America.
In 1927, Candoro hired Carrara, Italy-born stone carver Albert Milani (1892–1972) as its chief carver. During Milani's 40-year tenure, Candoro provided marble for buildings such as the Smithsonian Museum of History and Technology
National Museum of American History
The National Museum of American History: Kenneth E. Behring Center collects, preserves and displays the heritage of the United States in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific and military history. Among the items on display are the original Star-Spangled Banner and Archie Bunker's...
and the National Gallery of Art
National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden is a national art museum, located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, in Washington, DC...
in Washington, as well as local buildings such as the Knoxville Post Office building. Notable hand-carvings by Milani include the History of the World relief at the Pennsylvania State Capitol
Pennsylvania State Capitol
The Pennsylvania State Capitol is the seat of government for the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and is in downtown Harrisburg. It was designed in 1902 in a Beaux-Arts style with Renaissance themes throughout...
and the four eagle sculptures flanking the entrances of the Knoxville Post Office
United States Post Office and Courthouse (Knoxville, Tennessee)
The United States Post Office and Courthouse, commonly called the Knoxville Post Office, is a federal building located at 501 Main Street in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. Constructed in the early 1930s for use as a post office and federal courthouse, the building contains numerous Art Deco and...
. Milani's carvings were shipped to customers as far away as Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
The use of marble in building construction declined after World War II, and Candoro shut down operations in 1982. Independent marble fabricators used the company's facilities until the early 21st century, when the preservation group South Knox Heritage purchased the complex and initiated efforts to restore the Candoro showroom. The group currently uses the showroom to house various art exhibitions. Since 2001, the Candoro grounds have hosted the Vestival, a festival held annually in May that features live music and craft vendors.
Candoro Marble Works historic district
The Candoro Marble Works complex was initially added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996 for its role in Knoxville's early 20th century marble industry. In 2005, the complex's showroom and garage were relisted to include architecture in their area of importance. The complex's four water towers are listed as contributing structures, and a now-vacant marble yard behind the showroom is listed as a contributing site.Showroom and garage
The Candoro Marble Works showroom is a two-story building with a marble veneer exterior completed in 1923. Architect Charles I. BarberCharles I. Barber
Charles Irving Barber was an American architect, active primarily in Knoxville, Tennessee, and vicinity, during the first half of the 20th century...
of the firm Barber & McMurry designed the building primarily in the Beaux-Arts style, and Albert Milani executed the marble detailing. The building's facade features a hand-carved cartouche and floral motif and a wrought-iron door crafted by Philadelphia master blacksmith Samuel Yellin
Samuel Yellin
Samuel Yellin , American master blacksmith, was born in Galicia Poland where at the age of eleven he was apprenticed to an iron master. By the age of sixteen he had completed his apprenticeship. During that period he gained the nickname of "Devil," both for his work habits and his sense of humor...
(1885–1940). The showroom's interior includes an entrance hall with polished travertine and frescoed plaster walls and a hand-carved marble rosette. Adjacent to the entrance hall is a room with East Tennessee pink marble walls. The building's floor consists of black-and-white marble tile. A second-story penthouse sits atop the showroom building.
The garage, also designed by Barber, consists of four arched bays separated by four marble Tuscan columns
Tuscan order
Among canon of classical orders of classical architecture, the Tuscan order's place is due to the influence of the Italian Sebastiano Serlio, who meticulously described the five orders including a "Tuscan order", "the solidest and least ornate", in his fourth book of Regole generalii di...
carved by Milani. The lower half of the garage's exterior consists of the same marble veneer as the showroom, while the upper half is covered with stucco. The roof of the garage is covered with Roman tiles. A non-structural wall connects the showroom and garage.
Other contributing buildings
- The cutting facility, built in 1914, is a large steel-frame warehouse-style building.
- The polishing and shipping/receiving building, built in 1914, is a concrete-and-steel structure with angular roofs covering each individual bay. This building once housed the complex's polishing machinery and shipping bay.
- The boiler room and office, constructed in 1914, consists of a one-story front section that contained the complex's offices and a two-story back section that contained the complex's boiler. The interior of the office section contains East Tennessee marble floors, wainscoting, and railing.