Adolph Cluss's Smithsonian Gate in Blountville, TN
Posted by: 
vhasler
N 36° 31.992 W 082° 19.531
17S E 381340 N 4043907
A metal gate, originally design for the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC, has been relocated in Blountville, TN since the 1940's.
Waymark Code: WM5PWA
Location: Tennessee, United States
Date Posted: 01/31/2009
Views: 15
Per the plaque to the left of the gate: "These original gates, designed by Adolph Cluss, hung at the Smithsonian Institute from 1879-1910. They were brought to Blountville by Virginia Caldwell in the 1940's." The sign to the right states: "Gate restoration funded by: King Pharmaceutical Company and Wayne G. Basler."
The Wikipedia entry for Adolph Cluss states that his a prominent Washington, D.C. architect who was responsible for designing scores of major public buildings, including at least eleven schools, as well as markets, government buildings, museums, residences and churches. By 1872, he had become City Engineer and a member of the Board of Public Works, overseeing some of the civic improvements that transformed Washington in the 1870s: street paving, sewer construction, and the planting of thousands of street trees. He designed four major buildings on the National Mall, including the still-standing Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building.