Crews work to renovate the exterior of the Ashe Street Courthouse building, 401 Ashe St. The renovation will create a new pedestrian-friendly entrance accessible from Earnest and West Walnut streets.
Crews work to renovate the exterior of the Ashe Street Courthouse building, 401 Ashe St. Plans call for the city to restore the original 1910 building and demolish a 1,600-square-foot addition facing Earnest Street that was added in 1965.
Artist’s renderings show two views of how the Ashe Street Courthouse will look when renovations are complete. At left is the courthouse as seen from the intersection of Ashe and Earnest streets. At right is the view of the entrance to the building as seen from West Walnut Street.
Crews work to renovate the exterior of the Ashe Street Courthouse building, 401 Ashe St. The renovation will create a new pedestrian-friendly entrance accessible from Earnest and West Walnut streets.
Crews work to renovate the exterior of the Ashe Street Courthouse building, 401 Ashe St. Plans call for the city to restore the original 1910 building and demolish a 1,600-square-foot addition facing Earnest Street that was added in 1965.
Another view of the courthouse from Walnut Street.
Artist’s renderings show two views of how the Ashe Street Courthouse will look when renovations are complete. At left is the courthouse as seen from the intersection of Ashe and Earnest streets. At right is the view of the entrance to the building as seen from West Walnut Street.
Crews are at work to renovate the exterior of the Ashe Street Courthouse building at 401 Ashe St. in Johnson City.
It is part of a major restoration of the “Beaux-Arts” style building. Officials hope to complete most of the work by the fall.
Plans call for the city to restore the original 1910 building and demolish a 1,600-square-foot addition facing Earnest Street that was added in 1965.
The renovation will create a new pedestrian-friendly entrance accessible from Earnest and West Walnut streets.
Portions of Ashe Street have also been closed as contractors continue work to install street light and communications conduit along the street. Crews are also working on the roadway excavation, stone base and curb and gutter along Ashe and Campbell streets.
Washington County commissioners voted in June to transfer ownership of the historic Ashe Street Courthouse to the city of Johnson City.
The agreement includes a commitment for the Ashe Street property to be transferred from the county to the city in such a way that it meets a public use clause mandated by the federal government in the original deed.
Johnson City officials promised to reimburse the county $120,000 for re-roofing work it paid for at the courthouse in 2021.
The terms of the property transfer also meet the conditions under which the city has committed to use funds from a $5 million state grant approved by Gov. Bill Lee to refurbish and develop the property for the economic good of the region.
The Ashe Street Courthouse, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, has been vacant since the Washington County 911 Emergency Communications District moved to its current location in Boones Creek in late 2017.
During the Washington County Commission’s debate on the property transfer, Commissioner Jodi Jones commended the work of county and city leaders in hammering out an agreement on transferring the courthouse’s deed.
Jones also noted she was pleased to see public meetings held to discuss the particulars of the conveyance.
The Ashe Street Courthouse was constructed more than a century ago as a United States post office for Johnson City on land donated by industrialist George L. Carter. When a new post office opened on East Main Street in 1940, the Ashe Street building was purchased by the county and converted to house court offices.
Both Johnson City Law Court and Chancery Court cases were heard on Ashe Street until 1986, when those offices moved to the newly opened Downtown Center and parking garage on Market Street.
After that, the Ashe Street building housed the offices of the county’s 911 service until it moved to its new location.
Robert Houk has served as a journalist and photographer at the Press since 1987. He is a recipient of the Associated Press Managing Editors Malcom Law Award for investigative reporting.
