A house important to Knoxville's history is set to be demolished on the University of Tennessee campus, but one woman is fighting to preserve the place both her family and General Robert Neyland called home.
A walk around 2111 Terrace Ave. is a step back into Cathy Briscoe's family history.
"That's where he did all of his little painting," Briscoe said, pointing to a back window of the house.
Her tour brought back memories.
"That was my grandparents' bedroom, and I used to move around to the different bedrooms," she said.
Her grandfather, Russell Briscoe, captured dozens of scenes through his paintings, many right in the sunroom on Terrace Avenue.
"About 10 years of painting he did in this house," Cathy Briscoe said.
Russell Briscoe and his family lived there in the late 1950s until 1965.
"He realized that Knoxville in the late 50s and early 60s was really tearing down a lot of the old, historical buildings in Knoxville and he just decided for his project that he was going to paint a lot of these," Cathy Briscoe said.
Russell Briscoe painted history—and General Robert Neyland is a big part of that.
He painted his own masterpiece on the university's football field, all while living his white brick home in the late 1920s.
"The three years that he lived in this house, Neyland didn't lose a single game," Jack Neely said.
Neely is the executive director of the Knoxville History Project, and also lectures at UT.
"Most Knoxvillians didn't have any reason to come on campus, there wasn't anything to appeal to them. But then the Vols started winning games," Neely said.
The university plans to demolish the home later this year.
UT told 10News in a statement, "The excessive cost to renovate this structure is not a prudent use of funds when the end result does not meet or provide the program needs of the campus."
However, Briscoe is determined to hold on to her family's history.
She's working to add it to Knox Heritage's Fragile 15 list to make sure it stays standing.
"I've been a member of Knoxville Heritage for many years, and so when I found out this home was going to possibly be razed, I would have really felt guilty if I hadn't been able to at least made some effort to utilize the contacts I have here in Knoxville," Briscoe said.
She thinks the building could be re-purposed.
"I'd love to donate any paintings or prints of my grandfather's paintings to the house," Briscoe said. "Maybe we could get some General Neyland memorabilia in there."
Neely says it could be a place of honor.
"A special place for coaching staff or players to live," Neely said. "You know, kind of an honored place. This is where General Neyland lived when he became famous."
There isn't a timetable just yet for demolition.
UT has owned the building since 1965, and it's been vacant for more than 19 months.