About
Arts & Heritage Association in Vestal
The success of Vestival is thanks to strong community support. In 2000, a group of community volunteers banded together to form a South Knoxville heritage group to save the historic Candoro Marble Building located in the Vestal neighborhood. The office building and the workshop across the street was occupied by Bruce Bennett Design, a marble artist and fabricator. The marble building, without heat or a working bathroom, was used as the office for Bennett’s marble business and occupied by employee Trudy Monaco. The building formerly served as the showroom and offices for the Candoro Marble Company, which had been the nation’s largest producer of Tennessee pink marble.
In 2003, a group of benefactors purchased the building from the Witherspoon family, who were long-time industrialists in the community. The benefactors, who were active preservationists, were Lindsay Young, Victor Ashe, Thom McAdams, Ceasar Stair, and an anonymous donor. The benefactor-owners placed the building in the hands of the community volunteers who eventually incorporated as a 501(c)(3) named the Candoro Arts and Heritage Center. This group spent 11 years building community and creating awareness of Vestal’s national contribution to the industrial arts, and re-branding the Candoro name which was dormant for decades. The group’s biggest contribution was stabilizing the historic building with a new clay-tile roof, adding heat and air, and a working bathroom. Renovations also included adding a kitchen, honing the marble floors, restoring the marble exterior sign, and getting the building placed on the list of the National Register of Historic Places thanks in part to starting Vestival to raise money and preserve the heritage of the area.
The group also collected the history of the Vestal Lumber Company and gathered marble artifacts from master marble carver Alberto Milani and other marble workers. These archives and artifacts are on display in Vestal United Methodist Church and photos are included in this article by Inside of Knoxville.
In 2014, the benefactors were able to sell the building to the Aslan Foundation which was created by Lindsay Young. A complete restoration took place over several years which included landscaping the property, restoring an interior iron door, and installing two handicapped accessible bathrooms. The building is currently occupied by Tri-Star Arts.
Vestal Neighborhood Resources
South Knoxville Community Center