R. F. Graf

Richard Franklin Graf (1863–1940) was an American architect active primarily in Knoxville, Tennessee and the vicinity in the early 20th century. His works include Stratford Mansion, Sterchi Building (1921), St. John's Lutheran Church (1913), and the Journal Arcade (1924). Several buildings designed by Graf have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Biography

Graf was born in Nashville, Tennessee in 1863. His grandfather was one of several families to immigrate from Switzerland to Morgan County in the late 1840s (Morgan County's Swiss immigrants also included the grandparents of one of Graf's future clients, James G. Sterchi).

In 1887, Graf cofounded a contracting firm, Vinson and Graf, which operated in Knoxville until 1891.

Graf eventually formed an architectural firm with his two sons, John R. Graf and Herbert Graf, as supervising architect. In 1910, the firm designed an elaborate Neoclassical mansion, Stratford, for James G. Sterchi, Three years later, Graf designed the Gothic-style St. John's Lutheran Church, which still stands across from Old Gray Cemetery on Broadway. The Graf House, the design of which was inspired by the Prairie School movement, was completed in 1923.

NRHP (#09000536); designed for furniture magnate James G. Sterchi