This large, handsome residence sits atop a hill just outside Chickasaw Gardens. Dating to 1926 and classified as an American Tudor, its stucco, stone, and wood façade is truly unique among Memphis homes.
Photographs by Chip Pankey.
This month’s great home is a large, handsome 5,000-square-foot house dating back to 1926. Classified as an American Tudor, this beautiful residence sits atop a hill just outside Chickasaw Gardens; architecturally, the exterior is a mix of stucco, stone, and wood. With five bedrooms and four-and-a-half baths, Alan and Allison Crone have lived in the house for 13 years with their three children, James, Charlie, and Maggie.
While the homes we feature here are almost always filled with interesting people, never was this truer than in the Crone household. Allison grew up in Hughes, Arkansas, although with family in Memphis she “was here all the time”; Alan is a proud fifth-generation Memphian. The couple has known each other since high school, having met in West Memphis Community Theatre when both were starring in the musical Li’l Abner. This commonality of interests continued into their married life, as they both graduated from the University of Memphis law school in the same class.
The large book-filled family room is adjacent to the former sunroom, now the dining room, located at the front of the house.
Alan is the founder and CEO of The Crone Law Firm, specializing in employment law. I should add that his professionalism was honored this year in the Memphis Business Journal’s “Best of the Bar” awards. He is delighted also that son James is a recent hire at the firm, serving as a marketing specialist and overseeing the firm’s communications efforts. Allison Crone is an equally distinguished lawyer, serving as Assistant General Counsel with Raymond James & Associates, Inc.
Way back when, the Crones looked at a number of houses before settling on this one, always taking their then-young children along. Under the category of “out of the mouths of babes,” when looking at their present huge kitchen, young Charlie remarked, “Wow, who’s gonna cook in here?” It gets plenty of use these days; while Allison does travel a good deal in her job, she loves to bake every chance she gets.
The kitchen is where Allison loves to bake in her limited free time as a busy mother and lawyer.
The Crones each come from large families, so consequently “family” is very important to them. Speaking of family, I have to add that Allison’s family tree is on display, and it goes back to Charlemagne! I was told that this comfortable and spacious home is often the scene of big parties for family, friends, and colleagues, including a famous annualMardi Gras event.
As with all old houses, over the years the Crone home has needed serious exterior work, including a new roof, the result of a tree falling on the tile roof, which had four earlier roofs beneath it. Beyond the large entrance hall, the house opens up into a tremendous, high-ceilinged and beamed living room with a stained-glass medallion in the center, which the Crones have been told is by Tiffany. The light-filled dining room was formerly a sunroom. All the floors in the home are original, and the solid walls are of rough plaster. The late designer Jimmy Beck helped them originally choose paint colors and fabrics to complement their many inherited pieces of furniture, and Rhonda Garvey of Jill Hertz Interior Design has stepped in more recently to help with interior décor.
The living room, with its Tiffany window in the ceiling, is the magnificent heart of this historic home.
Alan’s tastes lean toward the traditional, while Allison’s are a bit more contemporary. The family owns six David Johnson modernist paintings, which Allison characterizes as fabulous and surprising. There are books everywhere, and Alan is sworn to dispose of one whenever a new volume comes into the house (I doubt he complies!). Alan is a history buff and went through a phase of reading naval novels by Patrick O’Brian set during the Napoleonic Wars. A portrait of Admiral Nelson hangs on the wall in the room dubbed, of course, “the Nelson Room.” Alan claims he doesn’t have many hobbies, but one idiosyncrasy is that he collects Drake Hotel (Chicago) memorabilia, which is on display. For her part, Allison loves baseball and is a big fan of the St. Louis Cardinals.
The term “Renaissance man” is so overused, but truly, Alan Crone is exactly that. In his youth he went to seminary school, and in 2016 he was ordained a deacon. He is a member of the order of St. John of Jerusalem, Knights of Malta, which is one of the oldest institutions of Western and Christian civilization dedicated to protecting the faith and serving the poor and sick. On the other end of the spectrum, as a lawyer, he has tinkered in the very earthly world of politics and serves now as senior policy advisor to Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland.
As is clearly evident, I thoroughly loved my afternoon with the Crone family. My only problem was backing down that huge hill without taking out some of their holly trees. Fortunately, photographer Chip Pankey jumped into the driver’s seat and helped me on my way.
Homeowners Alan and Allison Crone.
