{"id":78239,"date":"2026-08-31T07:52:44","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T11:52:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/?p=78239"},"modified":"2026-08-31T07:52:45","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T11:52:45","slug":"if-these-walls-could-talk-alumni-house-551-oak-street-isbester-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/2026\/08\/if-these-walls-could-talk-alumni-house-551-oak-street-isbester-house\/","title":{"rendered":"If these walls could talk: Alumni House\/551 Oak Street (Isbester House)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Graphic

Alumni House photo by Angela Foster.<\/p><\/div>\n

In his role as University archivist, UC Foundation Associate Professor Noah Lasley works to acquire, arrange and describe official University of Tennessee at Chattanooga records and other valuable materials that document the University\u2019s history and functions. His research interests include digital humanities, digital curation and archival instruction.<\/em><\/p>\n

Lasley received a bachelor\u2019s degree in history and a master\u2019s degree in information science from UT Knoxville. Before joining UTC Special Collections in July 2016, he worked for several library units at UT Knoxville, including Modern Political Archives, Great Smoky Mountains Regional Project and Digital Production Area.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Black-and-white

Portrait of Caleb B. Isbester (1828-1899). Courtesy of the Chattanooga Public Library.<\/p><\/div>\n

With its distinctive Queen Anne Revival design and connections to Chattanooga\u2019s late-19th-century growth, the structure at 551 Oak St. is unlike any other on UTC\u2019s campus. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 as the Isbester House, it was completed in 1896 as the residence of Caleb B. Isbester (1828-1899), his wife Virginia (1833-1901), and their two children.<\/p>\n

Caleb B. Isbester was born in Scotland, immigrated to Pennsylvania with his family as a child, and moved to Chattanooga in 1877\u2014by way of Nashville\u2014to enter the foundry business. With a business partner, he established the Chattanooga Foundry and Pipe Company (later known as United States Pipe and Foundry Company).<\/p>\n

Described as a \u201cpalatial home\u201d by the Chattanooga Daily Times while under construction, the Isbester House reflects the prosperity and civic influence of local industrialists of the era. In fact, several years after Isbester died in 1899, the newspaper noted that there were \u201cpoints of resemblance\u201d between his career and that of Andrew Carnegie, writing that they were \u201cboth Scotch lads who … achieved marked success in the iron business and who did not consider money made merely for personal use.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Early

Oak Street and Isbester House, 1908. Courtesy of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Special Collections.<\/p><\/div>\n

The Isbester House was further distinguished when it served as the residence for Chattanooga Mayor William Riley Crabtree (1867-1920). Crabtree, who married the Isbesters\u2019 daughter, Virginia \u201cGinny\u201d Isbester (1868-1926) in 1900, held the office from 1907 to 1909.<\/p>\n

The property changed hands several times in the first half of the 20th century. From the mid-1930s through the mid-1940s, it was owned by the University of Chattanooga (UTC\u2019s predecessor institution) and used as a men\u2019s dormitory. It returned to private ownership for nearly four decades before being purchased in the 1980s and renovated for use as professional offices.<\/p>\n

In 2011, UTC re-acquired the Isbester House. Following substantial restoration and preservation, it served as the office for Alumni Affairs beginning in 2016, becoming known as \u201cAlumni House.\u201d Today, the building is an administrative headquarters for campus, housing the offices of the chancellor, provost, and director of economic and workforce development.<\/p>\n

\"Historic

Chattanooga Spring Festival Parade on Douglas Street in front of Isbester House, 1902. Courtesy of the Chattanooga Public Library.<\/p><\/div>\n

Learn more<\/h4>\n

Visit UTC<\/a><\/p>\n

If These Walls Could Talk<\/a><\/p>\n

UTC Special Collections<\/a><\/p>\n

UTC Digital Collections<\/a><\/p>\n

How to apply<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Bronze

A National Register of Historic Places plaque marks the historic significance of Alumni House, also known as the Isbester House.<\/p><\/div>\n

Bibliography<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

\u201cBuilding Notes.\u201d Chattanooga Daily Times.<\/em> July 26, 1896.<\/p>\n

Caleb B. Isbester portrait, circa 1870s. Chattanooga Times collection, 1870-1991. Chattanooga Public Library. Identifier ACC 295-01-093. https:\/\/collections.chattlibrary.org\/s\/localhistory\/item\/25342<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cCaleb B. Isbester.\u201d Chattanooga Daily Times<\/em>. July 1, 1903.<\/p>\n

Chattanooga City Directories, 1933-1945.<\/p>\n

\u201cDr. Wunschow buys Pitner Home for $20,000.\u201d Chattanooga News<\/em>. November 6, 1920.<\/p>\n

Ezell, Timothy P. \u201cUnited States Pipe and Foundry Company.\u201d In Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture<\/em>. Tennessee Historical Society, 2017. https:\/\/tennesseeencyclopedia.net\/entries\/united-states-pipe-and-foundry-company\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIsbester Home Sold to Dr. O.B. Wunschow.\u201d Chattanooga Daily Times<\/em>. November 8, 1920.<\/p>\n

\u201cIsbester House.\u201d National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form. United States Department of the Interior. https:\/\/npgallery.nps.gov\/AssetDetail\/NRIS\/82003975<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Oak Street, a residence street of Chattanooga, postcard, 1908. Chattanooga Area Historical Association collection of postcards and photographs. MS-008-01-16. University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Special Collections. https:\/\/digital-collections.library.utc.edu\/digital\/collection\/p16877coll12\/id\/467\/rec\/6<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Spring Festival Parade photograph, 1902. Paul A. Hiener Collection. Chattanooga Public Library. Identifier 00001974. https:\/\/collections.chattlibrary.org\/s\/localhistory\/item\/5922<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Wilson, Michelle. \u201cUniversity\u2019s Old Varsity Hall has Become Local, National Landmark.\u201d University Echo<\/em>, February 20, 1992. https:\/\/digital-collections.library.utc.edu\/digital\/collection\/p16877coll9\/id\/16090\/rec\/1<\/a>.<\/p>\n

W.R. Crabtree portrait, undated. Chattanooga Albums. Chattanooga Public Library. Identifier 00003645. https:\/\/collections.chattlibrary.org\/s\/localhistory\/item\/9273.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Portrait

William Riley Crabtree (1867\u20131920), Chattanooga mayor and later resident of the Isbester House. Courtesy of the Chattanooga Public Library.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With its distinctive Queen Anne Revival design and connections to Chattanooga\u2019s late-19th-century growth, the structure at 551 Oak St. is unlike any other on UTC\u2019s campus. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 as the Isbester House, it was completed in 1896 as the residence of Caleb B. Isbester (1828-1899), his wife Virginia (1833-1901), and their two children.<\/p>\n

Continue Reading <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1493,"featured_media":78241,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_slider":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_featurette":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[119404,70,123864,15,3,7712,58,64,8293,48007],"tags":[127357,125281,127359,127361,127074,126267,127358,119399,4922,48462,127360],"class_list":{"0":"post-78239","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-academics","8":"category-advancement-and-alumni","9":"category-campus","10":"category-community","11":"category-faculty-and-staff","12":"category-lead-story","13":"category-library","14":"category-news","15":"category-office-of-the-chancellor","16":"category-research-academics","17":"tag-551-oak-street","18":"tag-alumni-house","19":"tag-caleb-b-isbester","20":"tag-chattanooga-foundry-and-pipe-company","21":"tag-goal-4-2-responsible-resource-management-strategic-plan-2030","22":"tag-if-these-walls-could-talk","23":"tag-isbester-house","24":"tag-noah-lasley","25":"tag-special-collections","26":"tag-utc-library","27":"tag-william-riley-crabtree","28":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\nIf these walls could talk: Alumni House\/551 Oak Street (Isbester House) | UTC News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"With its distinctive Queen Anne Revival design and connections to Chattanooga\u2019s late-19th-century growth, the structure at 551 Oak St. is unlike any other on UTC\u2019s campus. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 as the Isbester House, it was completed in 1896 as the residence of Caleb B. Isbester (1828-1899), his wife Virginia (1833-1901), and their two children.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/2026\/08\/if-these-walls-could-talk-alumni-house-551-oak-street-isbester-house\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"If these walls could talk: Alumni House\/551 Oak Street (Isbester House) | UTC News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"With its distinctive Queen Anne Revival design and connections to Chattanooga\u2019s late-19th-century growth, the structure at 551 Oak St. is unlike any other on UTC\u2019s campus. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 as the Isbester House, it was completed in 1896 as the residence of Caleb B. Isbester (1828-1899), his wife Virginia (1833-1901), and their two children.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/2026\/08\/if-these-walls-could-talk-alumni-house-551-oak-street-isbester-house\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"UTC News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UTChattanooga\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-31T11:52:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-31T11:52:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/app\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/07\/Alumni-Affairs-20-01-600.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"398\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Chuck Wasserstrom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@UTChattanooga\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@UTChattanooga\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Noah Lasley\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/if-these-walls-could-talk-alumni-house-551-oak-street-isbester-house\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/if-these-walls-could-talk-alumni-house-551-oak-street-isbester-house\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Chuck Wasserstrom\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/028a71bd6215de86078a717b45430622\"},\"headline\":\"If these walls could talk: Alumni House\\\/551 Oak Street (Isbester House)\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-31T11:52:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-31T11:52:45+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/if-these-walls-could-talk-alumni-house-551-oak-street-isbester-house\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":804,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/if-these-walls-could-talk-alumni-house-551-oak-street-isbester-house\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/app\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/9\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/Alumni-Affairs-20-01-600.jpg?fit=600%2C398&ssl=1\",\"keywords\":[\"551 Oak Street\",\"Alumni House\",\"Caleb B. Isbester\",\"Chattanooga Foundry and Pipe Company\",\"Goal 4.2 - Responsible Resource Management - Strategic Plan 2030\",\"If These Walls Could Talk\",\"Isbester House\",\"Noah Lasley\",\"Special Collections\",\"UTC library\",\"William Riley Crabtree\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Academics\",\"Advancement and Alumni\",\"Campus\",\"Community\",\"Faculty and Staff\",\"Lead Story\",\"Library\",\"News\",\"Office of the Chancellor\",\"Research\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/if-these-walls-could-talk-alumni-house-551-oak-street-isbester-house\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/if-these-walls-could-talk-alumni-house-551-oak-street-isbester-house\\\/\",\"name\":\"If these walls could talk: Alumni House\\\/551 Oak Street (Isbester House) | UTC News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/if-these-walls-could-talk-alumni-house-551-oak-street-isbester-house\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/if-these-walls-could-talk-alumni-house-551-oak-street-isbester-house\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/app\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/9\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/Alumni-Affairs-20-01-600.jpg?fit=600%2C398&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-31T11:52:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-31T11:52:45+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/028a71bd6215de86078a717b45430622\"},\"description\":\"With its distinctive Queen Anne Revival design and connections to Chattanooga\u2019s late-19th-century growth, the structure at 551 Oak St. is unlike any other on UTC\u2019s campus. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 as the Isbester House, it was completed in 1896 as the residence of Caleb B. Isbester (1828-1899), his wife Virginia (1833-1901), and their two children.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/if-these-walls-could-talk-alumni-house-551-oak-street-isbester-house\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/if-these-walls-could-talk-alumni-house-551-oak-street-isbester-house\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/if-these-walls-could-talk-alumni-house-551-oak-street-isbester-house\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/app\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/9\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/Alumni-Affairs-20-01-600.jpg?fit=600%2C398&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/app\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/9\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/Alumni-Affairs-20-01-600.jpg?fit=600%2C398&ssl=1\",\"width\":600,\"height\":398,\"caption\":\"Upward view of Alumni House showing its round turret, fish-scale shingles, cream-colored wraparound porch, and red-brick exterior against a blue sky.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/if-these-walls-could-talk-alumni-house-551-oak-street-isbester-house\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"If these walls could talk: Alumni House\\\/551 Oak Street (Isbester House)\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/\",\"name\":\"UTC News\",\"description\":\"Official news releases of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/028a71bd6215de86078a717b45430622\",\"name\":\"Chuck Wasserstrom\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/adff2964e628ba03f65fe21e0b0b94ca0667bdce5def0433d41884758501f284?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/adff2964e628ba03f65fe21e0b0b94ca0667bdce5def0433d41884758501f284?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/adff2964e628ba03f65fe21e0b0b94ca0667bdce5def0433d41884758501f284?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Chuck Wasserstrom\"},\"description\":\"Chuck Wasserstrom is the director of communications in the UTC Division of Communications and Marketing.\",\"url\":\"\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"If these walls could talk: Alumni House\/551 Oak Street (Isbester House) | UTC News","description":"With its distinctive Queen Anne Revival design and connections to Chattanooga\u2019s late-19th-century growth, the structure at 551 Oak St. is unlike any other on UTC\u2019s campus. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 as the Isbester House, it was completed in 1896 as the residence of Caleb B. Isbester (1828-1899), his wife Virginia (1833-1901), and their two children.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/2026\/08\/if-these-walls-could-talk-alumni-house-551-oak-street-isbester-house\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"If these walls could talk: Alumni House\/551 Oak Street (Isbester House) | UTC News","og_description":"With its distinctive Queen Anne Revival design and connections to Chattanooga\u2019s late-19th-century growth, the structure at 551 Oak St. is unlike any other on UTC\u2019s campus. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 as the Isbester House, it was completed in 1896 as the residence of Caleb B. Isbester (1828-1899), his wife Virginia (1833-1901), and their two children.","og_url":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/2026\/08\/if-these-walls-could-talk-alumni-house-551-oak-street-isbester-house\/","og_site_name":"UTC News","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UTChattanooga","article_published_time":"2026-08-31T11:52:44+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-31T11:52:45+00:00","og_image":[{"width":600,"height":398,"url":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/app\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/07\/Alumni-Affairs-20-01-600.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Chuck Wasserstrom","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@UTChattanooga","twitter_site":"@UTChattanooga","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Noah Lasley","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/2026\/08\/if-these-walls-could-talk-alumni-house-551-oak-street-isbester-house\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/2026\/08\/if-these-walls-could-talk-alumni-house-551-oak-street-isbester-house\/"},"author":{"name":"Chuck Wasserstrom","@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/028a71bd6215de86078a717b45430622"},"headline":"If these walls could talk: Alumni House\/551 Oak Street (Isbester House)","datePublished":"2026-08-31T11:52:44+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-31T11:52:45+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/2026\/08\/if-these-walls-could-talk-alumni-house-551-oak-street-isbester-house\/"},"wordCount":804,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/2026\/08\/if-these-walls-could-talk-alumni-house-551-oak-street-isbester-house\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.utc.edu\/app\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/07\/Alumni-Affairs-20-01-600.jpg?fit=600%2C398&ssl=1","keywords":["551 Oak Street","Alumni House","Caleb B. Isbester","Chattanooga Foundry and Pipe Company","Goal 4.2 - Responsible Resource Management - Strategic Plan 2030","If These Walls Could Talk","Isbester House","Noah Lasley","Special Collections","UTC library","William Riley Crabtree"],"articleSection":["Academics","Advancement and Alumni","Campus","Community","Faculty and Staff","Lead Story","Library","News","Office of the Chancellor","Research"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/2026\/08\/if-these-walls-could-talk-alumni-house-551-oak-street-isbester-house\/","url":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/2026\/08\/if-these-walls-could-talk-alumni-house-551-oak-street-isbester-house\/","name":"If these walls could talk: Alumni House\/551 Oak Street (Isbester House) | UTC News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/2026\/08\/if-these-walls-could-talk-alumni-house-551-oak-street-isbester-house\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/2026\/08\/if-these-walls-could-talk-alumni-house-551-oak-street-isbester-house\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.utc.edu\/app\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/07\/Alumni-Affairs-20-01-600.jpg?fit=600%2C398&ssl=1","datePublished":"2026-08-31T11:52:44+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-31T11:52:45+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/028a71bd6215de86078a717b45430622"},"description":"With its distinctive Queen Anne Revival design and connections to Chattanooga\u2019s late-19th-century growth, the structure at 551 Oak St. is unlike any other on UTC\u2019s campus. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 as the Isbester House, it was completed in 1896 as the residence of Caleb B. Isbester (1828-1899), his wife Virginia (1833-1901), and their two children.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/2026\/08\/if-these-walls-could-talk-alumni-house-551-oak-street-isbester-house\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/2026\/08\/if-these-walls-could-talk-alumni-house-551-oak-street-isbester-house\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/2026\/08\/if-these-walls-could-talk-alumni-house-551-oak-street-isbester-house\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.utc.edu\/app\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/07\/Alumni-Affairs-20-01-600.jpg?fit=600%2C398&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.utc.edu\/app\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/07\/Alumni-Affairs-20-01-600.jpg?fit=600%2C398&ssl=1","width":600,"height":398,"caption":"Upward view of Alumni House showing its round turret, fish-scale shingles, cream-colored wraparound porch, and red-brick exterior against a blue sky."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/2026\/08\/if-these-walls-could-talk-alumni-house-551-oak-street-isbester-house\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"If these walls could talk: Alumni House\/551 Oak Street (Isbester House)"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/","name":"UTC News","description":"Official news releases of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/028a71bd6215de86078a717b45430622","name":"Chuck Wasserstrom","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/adff2964e628ba03f65fe21e0b0b94ca0667bdce5def0433d41884758501f284?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/adff2964e628ba03f65fe21e0b0b94ca0667bdce5def0433d41884758501f284?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/adff2964e628ba03f65fe21e0b0b94ca0667bdce5def0433d41884758501f284?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Chuck Wasserstrom"},"description":"Chuck Wasserstrom is the director of communications in the UTC Division of Communications and Marketing.","url":""}]}},"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.utc.edu\/app\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/07\/Alumni-Affairs-20-01-600.jpg?resize=600%2C398&ssl=1","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.utc.edu\/app\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/07\/Alumni-Affairs-20-01-600.jpg?resize=600%2C398&ssl=1","author_info":{"display_name":"Noah Lasley","author_link":""},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.utc.edu\/app\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/07\/Alumni-Affairs-20-01-600.jpg?fit=600%2C398&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1493"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78239"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78239\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":78256,"href":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78239\/revisions\/78256"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/78241"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}