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By Gary Nelson | Senior Staff Writer | Crossville Chronicle
Lee Houston has had a lifelong dream of opening and operating a flower shop in Crossville. Next month that dream will become a reality with the opening of Lee’s Flowers & Gifts at 386 Thurman Ave. in the historic McGuire Building behind the Cumberland County Courthouse.
“I honestly can’t think of a more perfect location for this shop. I am so excited and looking forward to opening,” Houston said.
After spending 30 years teaching in the Cumberland County School System, Lee began searching for the right location to open her flower and gift shop and was having a hard time finding the right spot.
“We’d find something and it would sell right away, or be leased. I knew I wanted to be in the downtown area,” she said.
Lee and her husband Jeff, finally found the right spot and purchased the McGuire Building.
“We knew it needed work and have done extensive construction renovations on it not only for safety, but to save it,” she said.
From the building, to the sign and her family’s roots, Lee’s Flowers & Gifts is a perfect combination of history, dreams, love and hope for the future.
Recently, the old restored Lee’s Flowers & Gifts sign was installed on the historic building. For decades the sign adorned a floral shop owned by William and Lillian Lee, original Homesteaders, on Main St. on Water Tank Hill.
Wil Flynn of Flynn Sign Company said, “There’s a really sweet story behind it. You should ask Lee Houston.”
Lee explained her grandfather, Henry Gentry, worked for William “Bill” Lee in his greenhouses, and her grandmother Lorene was close friends with Lillian Lee. As a child Lee and her granny would play “flower shop” with the many blooms they grew and her grandfather “Henny” brought home.
When Lee and her husband Jeff were married, their wedding cake topper and flowers for their wedding were provided by Lee’s Flowers and Gifts.
Decades later, after the Lee family flower shop closed, Houston’s father Lane McAnally saw the sign being taken down and managed to purchase the original illuminated, vertical store sign because he knew how much it meant to his daughter.
Lane was secretly having it restored by Flynn Sign Company for a Christmas gift to Lee in December 2021 to help bring some joy to his daughter after the loss of Lee’s mother just a few months prior in September.
Sadly, Lane passed away unexpectedly Dec. 13, before the sign was finished and before he could give it her.
A few weeks after her father’s passing, she was contacted by Flynn, telling her the sign was completed. She then learned of her father’s priceless gift. The sign was delivered and has been waiting for its time to shine once again.
Houston, a lifelong Crossville resident, knew of the McGuire Building. Andy McGuire, the first Cumberland County surveyor, is credited with saving many land records and deeds in the vault he had delivered by rail. It was through his safeguarding that valuable documents survived the 1905 courthouse fire. The building dates to the 1890s and has been the home of several businesses over the past 130 years, most recently an art and frame shop.
Through much planning, hard work, and meticulous attention to details, several features of the original Thurman Ave. McGuire building have been preserved, including much of the woodwork, flooring, doors, window transoms, and front decorative gable. The iconic white and red-lettered “Lee’s Flowers & Gifts” sign is proudly mounted on the front left of the building.
“I talked with the Lee family and asked them if they minded if I used the name and they were fine and didn’t mind at all,” Houston said.
The three-story building has undergone extensive repairs inside and out, and is now ADA compliant, making it easily accessible for everyone. The building required a new roof, guttering, plumbing, lighting, drywall, and painting. The exterior was in desperate need of repair and landscaping. Rotting boards were replaced, and new siding was put in place. Fortunately, the original ornamental front gable remains intact.
The basement, which has a bathroom and storage area, was completely renovated, and a water heater was installed for the first time. The main floor, with the showroom and workroom, maintains the original resurfaced flooring. The staircase leading to the second-floor private office space was also preserved as built.
Although the original vault was beyond repair and disintegrating, the floor of it was salvaged and serves as the check-out space on the main floor. The 7-by-15-foot area pays homage to the historical significance of the building, with pictures of the original vault, where county maps, deeds and other documents were saved. The exterior vault walls have been restored and repurposed as countertops in the shop. The vault door was recovered and is in use offsite.
Houston said in addition to fresh-cut flowers, the shop will offer potted plants, seasonal favorites and faux foliage. Gift items will include candles and unique hand-crafted fused glass pieces for home and garden.
“I plan on creating a lot of local partnerships in the products we carry and what we will use,” Houston said.
Houston will be creating floral arrangements for special events, including weddings, showers, celebrations of life, and funerals. She has other services to be revealed eventually when the planning is complete.
Flowers, plants, and gifts can be purchased in person in the shop, or ordered by phone beginning in June at 931-261-9109, or online at leesflowers.com.