Stop 0: The Beck Home/Beck Cultural Exchange Center
1927 Dandridge Ave, Knoxville, TN 37915
Welcome to the Beck Cultural Exchange Center Cultural Corridor. You are currently located at Stop 0 of the Corridor Trail: The Beck House. Located here is the Beck Cultural Exchange Center which is comprised of the original Beck home established in 1912 and additional extensions of the Margaret Carson Library, the Gallery Room, and the Avon Rollins Exhibit Hall.
Built
Circa 1912
Location
1927 Dandridge Avenue
Opened As Beck
May 15, 1975
Today
Museum · Archive · Community
01 / The Story
More than a house.
A century of perseverance.
Built in 1912, the house on Dandridge Avenue that stands today as Beck Cultural Exchange Center has witnessed neighborhood change, racial resistance, Urban Renewal, and an extraordinary act of community preservation. Its history is the story of the people who lived here and those who refused to let their history disappear.
1912
01
The Cowans
James H. Cowan commissioned the English-style home on Dandridge Pike as a gift to his wife, Alice Maud Saxton Cowan. The house rose within the area once known as Mabry Addition.
Image: The Journal and Tribune
Knoxville, Tennessee · Saturday, August 18, 1906
1946
02
The Lennons
Dr. E. F. Lennon and Helen Mae Lennon became among the first Black residents of this formerly all-white neighborhood. They remained despite threats and a cross-burning intended to force them away.
Image: Dr. Edgar F. Lennon. Photo from the Beck Archival Collection.
1968
03
The Becks
James Garfield Beck and Ethel Benson Beck purchased the Cowan-Lennon home. The prominent Knoxville couple would become its final private residents and its lasting namesakes.
Image: Ethel B. Beck and James G. Beck. Photo from the Beck Archival Collection.
1970–74
04
Urban Renewal & Community Action
As the Morningside Urban Renewal Project reshaped East Knoxville, residents called for a cultural center that would preserve their history and reflect their community.
Image: View of East Church Avenue in the 1930s. Photo from the Beck Archival Collection.
1975
05
The People’s Project Opens
Community leaders, advocates, and volunteers secured the house, transformed the space, and opened the Beck Cultural Exchange Center on May 15, 1975.
Image: Photo from the Beck Archival Collection.
02 / Legacy
Two families.
One Enduring Legacy.
Following the residency of the Cowans, the home on Dandridge Avenue became home to two prominent Black families.
WHERE RESIDENCE BECAME RESISTANCE
The Lennons
In 1946, Dr. E. F. Lennon and his wife Helen Mae Lennon purchased the Cowan estate and became the first Black family to live in the home. Their arrival challenged the racial boundaries of the historically white Dandridge neighborhood. Despite threats and an act of racial intimidation intended to force them away, the Lennons remained in their home.
Image: Dr. Edgar F. Lennon. Photo from the Beck Archival Collection.
Our namesakes
The Becks
James Garfield Beck and Ethel Benson Beck purchased the home in 1968, becoming its second Black family and third family overall. Prominent in Knoxville’s Black community, the Becks built their success through business and real estate. Although their time in the home was brief, their names and community legacy remain inseparable from its history.
Image: Ethel B. Beck and James G. Beck. Photo from the Beck Archival Collection.
03 / preserving history
The People’s
Project
When Urban Renewal threatened to erase the physical record of Black life in East Knoxville, the community imagined something that would stand the test of time.
Residents called for a cultural center of their own. Leaders and advocates secured the historic Beck home, while the community contributed labor, resources, and care. Every contribution helped create what Beck remains today: a living testament to collective purpose.
“A place to preserve our history and carry it forward.”
04 / The House Today
History lives
here.
The original home now anchors a growing center for exhibitions, research, education, and community connection.
The Historic Home
Built circa 1912, the English-style residence was home to three generations of families: the Cowans, the Lennons, and the Becks. Today, its preserved rooms feature artwork, photographs, artifacts, and exhibitions that explore Knoxville’s Black history and culture.
Margaret Carson Library
Named in honor of archivist, historian, and Beck founding member Margaret Helen Singleton Carson, the library connects visitors with books, yearbooks, original artwork, and historical objects. Its cataloged books are available for reading during museum visits.
Gallery Room
The Gallery offers more than 2,000 square feet for rotating exhibitions, locally created artwork, and community programs. Its intimate setting also accommodates receptions, retreats, and other special gatherings.
Exhibit Hall & Dr. Robert J. Booker Archive Studio
The Exhibit Hall hosts exhibitions, programs, and community gatherings, while the Archive Studio preserves more than 50,000 objects documenting over 200 years of local Black history and culture.
Putting History
Back in Place
The Beck Cultural Corridor is part of Beck’s mission to return Black history to the places and spaces disrupted, displaced, and destroyed by Urban Renewal. By reconnecting these stories with the communities where they unfolded, we help preserve the past, teach its significance, nurture its legacy, and continue Knoxville’s Black history for generations to come.
If you would like to learn more about Beck’s work to preserve and share local Black history, we invite you to explore our mission and ongoing efforts.
