page_title: Polk Place
section_title: History and description
hierarchical_section_title: Polk Place / History and description
caption_attribution_description: English: Drawing of Grundy Hill by unknown artist.
context_page_description: Polk Place was the home of 11th President of the United States James K. Polk and his wife Sarah Childress Polk, originally on Vine Street in Nashville, Tennessee before it was demolished in 1901.
context_section_description: The home originally called "Grundy Place" was constructed for Attorney General Felix Grundy between 1815 and 1820 in the Palladian style of architecture, Grundy lived in the home till his death in 1840.  President Polk purchased the home while living in the White House in 1847 renaming it "Polk Place". Polk contracted Nashville architect J. M. Hughes to renovate the home for when he and Sarah returned to Tennessee after the end of his presidency. 
  In the processes of modifying and renovating the home the back portion was destroyed by an accidental gunpowder explosion in 1847.  With repairs underway the President wanted a more modern style, and requested Hughes to redesign the home in the Greek Revival style of architecture.  Sarah went to inspect the construction and repairs of the home in early 1848 for their return.
  Upon returning to Tennessee in 1849, Polk Place was not yet completed, so he and Sarah returned to Columbia to his mother's home before returning to Nashville two weeks later when it was finished.   It was the President's final residence where he died of cholera in 1849 at the age of 53. He had lived in the home for a little over thirty days. After his death his wife continued to reside there for 42 years until her death in 1891. The home was demolished in 1901, a decade after her death.
caption: Original Shown as Grundy Place
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