Title
Drish House, 2300 17th Street, circa 1907
Subject
Houses and homes
Wrecking
Description
This historic house was built in 1837 by Dr. John R. Drish, a prominent early settler, as the focal point for a plantation that bordered the city limits of Tuscaloosa. It once stood in the center of a 350 acre plantation. William Nichols, the Alabama state architect, is usually credited as influencing the architecture. The exterior of the house, as completed in 1837, featured full width, monumental Doric porticoes to the front and rear, with two-story pilasters dividing each bay on all four sides.
The house was classified as an Italian villa in style and was originally surrounded by formal gardens. Drish remodeled the mansion in the 1850s with the addition of massive columns and then added the three story Italianate tower in the 1860’s in order to compete with Robert Jemison who was building his own mansion in town. Mr. Drish died in the home in 1867 and Sarah Drish passed away in 1884.
Judge W.G. Cochrane lived in the home in the 1880's. The house remained one of the finest residences in the city until 1906 when the City Board of Education purchased the house and established the Jemison School.
In later years, it deteriorated and was bought in 1925 by Charles Turner, who operated an auto wrecking business. Walker Evans, one of America’s most famous photographers, photographed the once grand mansion in the 1930s. His “Tuscaloosa Wrecking Company” is one of his best known photographs and is housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
In the 1940s, the Southside Baptist Church purchased the house as a meeting site, and, over the years, built a large sanctuary abutting the house and a free standing Sunday school building on the property. In this configuration, the house remained until 1995, when the church, with a dwindling and aging population, closed its doors.
The structure was leased for several years to the Heritage Commission of Tuscaloosa County and then deeded to the Tuscaloosa County Preservation Society in July of 2007. The Preservation Society is currently working to stabilize the home and develop a plan for an adaptive reuse of this important area landmark.
The house was classified as an Italian villa in style and was originally surrounded by formal gardens. Drish remodeled the mansion in the 1850s with the addition of massive columns and then added the three story Italianate tower in the 1860’s in order to compete with Robert Jemison who was building his own mansion in town. Mr. Drish died in the home in 1867 and Sarah Drish passed away in 1884.
Judge W.G. Cochrane lived in the home in the 1880's. The house remained one of the finest residences in the city until 1906 when the City Board of Education purchased the house and established the Jemison School.
In later years, it deteriorated and was bought in 1925 by Charles Turner, who operated an auto wrecking business. Walker Evans, one of America’s most famous photographers, photographed the once grand mansion in the 1930s. His “Tuscaloosa Wrecking Company” is one of his best known photographs and is housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
In the 1940s, the Southside Baptist Church purchased the house as a meeting site, and, over the years, built a large sanctuary abutting the house and a free standing Sunday school building on the property. In this configuration, the house remained until 1995, when the church, with a dwindling and aging population, closed its doors.
The structure was leased for several years to the Heritage Commission of Tuscaloosa County and then deeded to the Tuscaloosa County Preservation Society in July of 2007. The Preservation Society is currently working to stabilize the home and develop a plan for an adaptive reuse of this important area landmark.
Source
Tuscaloosa News Archive
Date
circa 1907
Contributor
Betty Slowe (Description)
Type
Postcard
Identifier
167
Coverage
Tuscaloosa (AL)