Slippery Rock Gazette

Bob Murrell 

M3 Technologies

Photos by Bob Murrell

The bottom floor and basement of the historic Hamilton National Bank Building, located in downtown Knoxville, Tennessee, are being restored to showcase new businesses.

I recently wrote an article on The Historic Candoro Office Building restoration and have been promising a follow-up with the final results from that project. However, as many of you probably know, working for a General Contractor on a major restoration of a historic project, with many subcontractors, can be somewhat hectic and lengthy. There are plumbers, electricians, HVAC, sheetrock and/or plaster crews, painters (including mural artists), fabricators and installers, a concrete refinishing crew, and of course the marble restoration team.

This particular project has been going on for over 14 months now.  You not only work when you can, but there must be a strategy to your work as well. There is usually a plan in place by the GC so that things are done in a logical sequence, in order that one contractor’s work does not inhibit or compromise another’s. Oh, and by the way, during this year’s COVID pandemic, each day when contractors arrive, the foreman takes every contractor’s temperature with a digital thermometer device. All jobsite workers are required to wear a mask.  

What this translates into is uncertainty. You show up to the jobsite to work on the project one morning only to discover that the GC now has the ceiling re-plaster team scheduled for the day, and possibly even for the week. It is an ever-evolving dynamic, for sure. Now, you basically have to turn around and go check something else off of your list, whether it’s on that jobsite or somewhere else. This can be very frustrating, but believe me, it happens quite frequently on big projects like this. Hopefully, the schedule is discussed at weekly on-site progress meetings, which helps to avoid these types of irritating surprises.

So, this is the time when you’re thankful that you have jobs scheduled out for 45-60 days. Yes, even during this pandemic, business in many areas is very good. When you are forced off your big commercial project, you call to see if the homeowner down the street is available for their countertop refinishing project. And that is what you go stay busy with. Be sure to take your face mask with you, regardless of where you go. Some people and places are more stringent than others, but be on the safe side and have a box with you at all times. Also have plenty of hand sanitizer, as well.

Julie of Knoxville Marble Polish also has another large commercial project that will be starting soon. This one will be a new very upscale restaurant in downtown Knoxville, at the old Holston National Bank building. The building was started in 1913 and finally completed in 1928 when the thirteenth and fourteenth floors were added. It became the Hamilton National Bank Building after the Holston-Union Bank failed (due to the Wall Street Stock Market Crash of 1929) in 1931. It became Knoxville’s largest bank for over 40 years. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

Above, left: Julie of Knoxville Marble Polish meets with (left) Jim Klonaris the owner, and (r) sculptor Bill Cook Jr.  Above, right: The once-grand Tennessee marble knee wall is in dire need of repair and restoration. The aluminum and brass balustrade will also be restored.

The building was designed by architect John Kevan Peebles, built by George A. Fuller Company of New York, and opened in 1913. The marblework was installed by Fenton Construction and was composed of mostly “Pink Tennessee,” most likely from the local quarries owned by the Tennessee Producers Marble Company (just prior to the opening of Candoro Marble Works in 1914), or one of several others.   

In 1974, a bidding war over Hamilton National Bank ensued between Dean Moses, president of Memphis-based Transcom and Financial, and Jake Butcher, the president of United American Bank. In February of 1975, Butcher won the bidding war by offering $307 per share, and the two banks merged. The Butcher banking empire collapsed in 1983 after he was charged with bank fraud. This was in large part because he was overextended due to the hype around the 1982 World’s Fair in Knoxville. Trapped with bad loans estimated at more than $50 million dollars, United American Bank was declared insolvent in the fourth largest bank failure in U.S. history. The shareholders all got zilch, zero, nada.

The upper floors (2-14) of the building as it stands  were converted to upscale luxury condominiums by Dewhirst Properties. In 2008, one of these condos became the first in Knoxville to sell for over $1 million. 

The bottom floor and basement will now become Vida and The Vault, respectively. The two new upscale restaurants are the vision of restaurateurs Jim and Lori Klonaris. They will be adding these new jewels to their existing portfolio of successful restaurants: Kefi, Café Four, The Square Room, The Press Room, and City Catering. 

The couple says that Vida will offer pan-Latin cuisine featuring fine dishes from seven Latin American countries, while incorporating an Asian influence. If mixing Latin American with Asian cuisine sounds odd, you should know that Brazil has the largest Japanese population outside of Japan.

Following the marble staircase down to the basement will lead to The Vault, which will be a retro cocktail bar. Patrons will enter and walk past the original safe door, which is a mechanical marvel.  

Knoxville Marble Polish will be restoring the first floor entry and lobby of Vida, the stairwell and intermediate landing, a knee wall with brass and aluminum balustrade, and the lower level floor, which will be the entry to The Vault. 

Above, left: This graceful, curving Pink Tennessee stairwell and landing will also be restored. Above, right: : The original bank vault mechanism has been preserved, and will grace the entrance to “The Vault.”

They will also be partnering with local artist Bill Cook Jr.. Cook is doing an original sculpture for the entryway to Vida of an Incan or Mayan princess. The sculpture will be atop a marble base that Julie will give assistance with in design and fabrication. Of course, this latest project will also be shared by multiple contractors who will be vying for the work schedule as logically as possible. The marble restoration will not begin until sometime in mid-December, at least that is the current plan!

In a not-too-distant future article, I hope to have the final results of both The Candoro Office Building and Vida and The Vault projects. Stay tuned…

As always, I recommend submitting a test area to confirm both the results and the procedure prior to starting a stone or hard surface restoration or maintenance project. Also the best way to help ensure success is by partnering with a good distributor, like BB Industries, who knows the business. They can help with technical support, product purchase decisions, logistics, and other pertinent project information.

I pray you all stay safe and healthy.

Bob Murrell has worked in the natural stone industry for over 40 years and is well known for his expertise in natural stone, tile and decorative concrete restoration and maintenance. He helped develop some of the main products and processes which revolutionized the industry, and is currently the Director of Operations for M3 Technologies.