In a stunning rediscovery nearly a century in the making, a commanding brick warehouse at 900 E. Fifth Avenue in Knoxville has been identified as the work of Albert Kahn. Long admired but never fully understood, the structure was revealed to be a 1929 Chevrolet Motor Company facility during a routine blueprint review by the East Tennessee Community Design Center’s 2025–2026 Community Collaborative. The revelation, confirmed by University of Tennessee architecture faculty and students, marks the identification of only the third known Kahn building in Tennessee.
Set amid Knoxville’s historic rail corridors and factory districts, the building’s elegant proportions and daylight-rich fenestration now stand as a testament to Kahn’s enduring design ethos. This discovery reinforces the vital role of architectural research and the power of adaptive reuse to reawaken civic memory. The citizens of Tennessee and Knoxville own the building and will determine its fate and future use.
The Albert Kahn Legacy Foundation congratulates the East Tennessee Community Design Center and the City of Knoxville for their extraordinary find and their commitment to preserving and reimagining legacy structures. We especially commend the University of Tennessee’s faculty and students for their scholarship and stewardship in bringing this hidden chapter of Kahn’s legacy to light.
Read the Knoxville News Sentinel report on the people and research behind this remarkable architectural discovery.
Knoxville-warehouse-is-the-work-of-famous-architect-Albert-Kahn