Krutch Park

Krutch Park was begun through a $1.3 donation in 1981 by the estate of Charles Krutch, TVA's chief of photography for many years, and was originally maintained by money generated from this private trust fund. It was the pride of downtown Knoxville - a little bit of paradise featuring a small stream, a variety of native plants, and lots of outdoor seating for relaxing in the cool peace of nature. Mr. Krutch wanted the park to remind people of the mountains as he saw them: untouched and natural; as a premier photographer of mountains and the valleys, he understood their beauty. The trees planted in 1983 were mature for a reason: he wanted it that way. The park contains 29 Willow Oaks, 18 Bradford Pears, 5 Red Maples, 10 Washington Hawthorns, 4 Southern Magnolias, 13 Dogwoods, 6 White Pines, 5 Saucer Magnolias, 36 Foster Hollies, 2 Japanese Red Maples, 3 River Birch, one Ohio Buckeye, 7 Honey Locusts, 4 Scarlet Oaks, 3 Redbuds, one Blue Spruce, 39 Nellie R. Stevens Hollies and a prominent Weeping Willow next to the creek.

Charles Krutch was the last surviving member of his family and this park was the Krutch family legacy. In his nine page will (WB 60, pp. 961-969), his bequest specified that "the nature park" "not be designed as a play ground" "but as a quite retreat with trees, shrubs, flowers, and other plantings". A contest was implemented to allow architects to interpret Krutch’s park plan based on the contents of his will and other facts known about the photographer. The best interpretation of the passion of Mr. Krutch was selected by the Executor of the will. The winner was Alan Ray, employed by the Nashville company Gresham Smith & Partners.

Joe M. Hodgson, a partner with Hodgson & Douglas LLC in Nashville, has this to say about the design and implementation of the original Krutch Park:

"Alan had entered the design competition by himself with our (Gresham Smith & Partners) blessing. After he won we brought the project in house as I was the licensed Landscape Architect and head of the department. We completed the project at the firm just before starting our own firm Hodgson & Douglas LLC. I did the planting design based on Alan's original concepts. It's interesting to hear about so much of the planting being removed. I would agree with taking our the Bradfords but it looks like the streetscape has also been removed. The reason the planting did so well is that the park was built on and old parking lot which was built on old building foundations. When we excavated the building foundations the contractor brought in 8' of wonderful topsoil."

Click on the two pictures below to see larger views (courtesy of Hodgson & Douglas LLC):


An aerial view of the original Krutch Park after it first opened.	The original Krutch Park a little while later.

Some speculate that Mr. Krutch already knew the Smoky Mountains were in danger from the constant tourism traffic. This may be the underlying reason he did not want a "children’s playground" in his park; but instead, an adult park to enjoy quiet, natural beauty and an opportunity for meditation. This is likely the reason the original architects designed a boundary with the wrought iron fence.

In the early 1980s, there used to be Sycamores in Krutch Park. At that time, it was becoming very popular to plant Bradford Pears, because people enjoyed their nice spherical shapes, which appealed to a desire for symmetry. It was not common knowledge back then about the limited lifespan of Bradford Pears (generally 15-25 years) due to problems with splitting branches as they mature. It was at this time that the Sycamores were removed in order to plant the trendy Bradford Pears. (For an interesting look at landscaping trends, click here.)

A year before Kinsey-Probasco & Associates proposed to redesign the park, much discussion took place over the now-unfashionable Bradford Pears that dominated the park. In February 2001, it was rumored that the city was planning to take out all of the Bradford Pears due to perceived problems with the maturity of the trees (causing breaking limbs and "overabundance" of shade), the public health risk and maintenance problems caused by the trees' attraction to starlings and their droppings, and the interference of the Bradford Pears with the thriving Willow Oaks along Market Street (the same oaks that were eventually removed during the redesign of Krutch Park in 2003).


The yellow "x's" indicate the Bradford Pears that used to reside in Krutch Park; they have all been removed for the 2003 renovation.

At the February 2001 tree board meeting, Jim Cortese (then the chair of the board) recommended alternatives to the wholesale destruction of the Bradford Pears. He suggested that since it was the presence of the starlings that precipitated this proposal, this problem could be dealt with by thinning the trees' branches, which removes part of the tree canopy that the starlings seek. This would be accomplished by removing 30-40% of the limbs in order to raise the branch level, to create a more "open" feeling. Cables and braces could easily be employed to remedy some of the tendency for the splitting of branches in older Bradford Pears. However, these ideas were tabled as talk began in earnest of completely redesigning Krutch Park in 2003.

As part of the Kinsey-Probasco Market Square redevelopment in February 2003, many of the original trees and plantings were removed and replaced. Krutch Park has been extended east to South Gay Street, to include an open grassy area.

The before photos were taken in February, 2003, just after the iron fence had been removed. The after photos show the work in progress in August, 2003 while leaves were still on the trees. We will provide the current pictures of Krutch Park, shortly. Click on each photo for a larger view.

Northward, 2-03, looking up the former sidewalk.

Northward, 8-03. This is perhaps the most dramatic photo showing the changes that have taken place. The ten willow oaks lining the sidewalk are gone, as are the berms, shrubs and all of the original mature trees along the western side of the park. (Citizens were allowed into the park to salvage smaller plants before it was graded.) Landscaping was installed around the new trees in November, after this picture was taken.


Northeastern view, 2-03	Northeastern view on 8-03. Many of the shrubs and trees bordering the eastern side (against a parking lot) were retained. All of the trees amidst the hardscape are new, replacing the mature trees shown in the 2-03 photograph.


Southeastern view, 2-03.	Southeastern view, 8-03. Note that many of the original trees on the eastern side of the original park remain.


More of a southernly view, 2-03.	Same view on 8-03, showing new trees amidst the new hardscape.

The fence was donated to the Botanical Garden and Arboretum 1.5 miles east of Gay Street. This botanical garden project is being led by by Jim McDonough and Jim Cortese.

Note from the webmaster: Much of the information on this page was provided by Don Ault through an article published in the Fountain City Focus. Jim Cortese of Cortese Tree Specialists, Inc. also contributed background information.