Residential WorkAcross four decades, Mah used residential work as a testing ground for ideas about light, site, and enclosure. The houses — some still standing, some severely altered, some demolished — represent his most personal body of work.
"I hate losing things. So many things have been torn down in the name of progress. We used to have some fine old houses down along the river and now there's no trace of their history. It's kind of sad."
— Francis Mah, Memphis Press-Scimitar, July 27, 1973
Residential/ 1956-1992
Single-Family Houses
Seagle Residence
2073 Poplar Avenue, Memphis
1956
Client: Mr. and Mrs. William Seagle
Architect: Francis Mah
Firm: Robert T. Martin
Collaborator: Charles Jen
Renovated 2001 by Jim Lutz
Source: American Home, May 1970
Kopald Residence
4880 Lake Drive, Memphis
1957
Client: Mr. and Mrs. S. L. Kopald
Architect: Francis Mah
Firm: Robert T. Martin
Source: A Survey of Modern Houses in Memphis, Tennessee, 1940–1980
Hoehn Residence (Demolished)
South of Shady Grove Road and East of Shady Woods Cove, Memphis
1958
Client: Mr. and Mrs. T. W. Hoehn, Jr.
Architect: Francis Mah
Firm: Office of Walk C. Jones, Jr.
Source: A Survey of Modern Houses in Memphis, Tennessee, 1940–1980
Archer Residence
4500 Minden Road, Memphis
1958
Client: Mr. and Mrs. Ward Archer
Architect: Francis Mah
Firm: Robert T. Martin
Renovated 2008 by Graham Reese
Source: At Home Tennessee, October 2007
Markell Residence (Altered)
6307 Witmar Place North, Memphis
1966
Client: Mr. and Mrs. Herman Markell
Architect: Francis Mah
Firm: Walk Jones–Mah & Jones Architects, Inc.
Award: Architectural Record Record House (1969)
Source: Architectural Record, Mid-May 1969
Fisher Residence
4796 Fleetgrove, Memphis
1968
Client: Mrs. William H. Fisher
Architect: Francis Mah
Firm: Walk Jones–Mah & Jones Architects, Inc.
Source: A Survey of Modern Houses in Memphis, Tennessee, 1940–1980
Jones III Residence
360 Tara Lane, Memphis
1970
Client: Mr. and Mrs. Walk C. Jones, III
Architect: Francis Mah
Firm: Walk Jones–Mah & Jones Architects, Inc.
Award: Architectural Record Record House (1971)
Source: Architectural Record, Mid-May 1971
Nesbit House (Altered)
Bridgetown subdivision, Nesbit, DeSoto County, Mississippi
1971
Developer: Ray Turman, Diversified Development Corp.
Builder: Reeves-Williams Builders
Architect: Francis Mah
Firm: Walk Jones–Mah & Jones Architects, Inc.
Award: American Wood Council / Southern Living Honor (1971)
Source: Commercial Appeal, October 10, 1971
Seabrook Home
East Memphis, Tennessee
1974
Client: Elias Seabrook
Architect: Francis Mah
Firm: Walk Jones & Francis Mah, Inc.
Source: Commercial Appeal, June 7, 1987
Sapinsley Residence (Demolished)
487 Yates Road, Memphis
1975
Client: Mr. and Mrs. Edward Sapinsley
Architect: Francis Mah
Firm: Walk Jones & Francis Mah, Inc.
Award: AIA Award of Excellence (1978); TSA Award (1978)
Source: A Survey of Modern Houses in Memphis, Tennessee, 1940–1980
Mah Residence
6890 Corsica, Memphis
1977
Client: Mr. and Mrs. Francis Mah
Architect: Francis Mah
Firm: Walk Jones & Francis Mah, Inc.
Awards: TSA (1978); TSA Design Award of Excellence (1984)
Source: Architectural Record, June 1979
Cybill Shepherd Residence
South Bluff, Memphis
1992
Client: Cybill Shepherd
Architect: Francis Mah
Interior designer: Nancy Mah
Source: Commercial Appeal, October 9, 1991
Multi-Unit Residential
Hickory Ridge
Southeast Memphis, Tennessee
1971
Client: Boyle Investment Co.
Architect: Francis Mah
Firm: Walk Jones & Francis Mah, Inc.
Collaborator: Martin Gorman
Source: Commercial Appeal, November 14, 1971
The Zodiac
Graceland and Finley, Memphis
1971
Client: T. David Goodwin Management Co.
Architect: Francis Mah
Firm: Walk Jones & Francis Mah, Inc.
Source: Commercial Appeal, December 5, 1971
Ridgeway Farms
Lynnfield Road, between Park and Quince, Memphis
1972–1974
Client: Jerome Makowsky, Ronald Harkavy, Michael Weiss, and Morris Kriger
Architect: Francis Mah
Firm: Walk Jones & Francis Mah, Inc.
Source: Commercial Appeal, June 25, 1972
The Village of Sycamore Ridge
Sycamore View Road, Memphis
1973
Client: Boyle Investment Co.
Architect: Francis Mah
Firm: Walk Jones & Francis Mah, Inc.
Source: Commercial Appeal, July 29, 1973
Memphis Towers
Court and Interstate 240, Memphis
1977
Client: Lawler-Wood Associates, Inc.
Architect: Francis Mah
Firm: Walk Jones & Francis Mah, Inc.
Source: Commercial Appeal, March 12, 1977
NOTE: Full documentation of each house — photographs, plans, and descriptions — will soon be available in the Francis Mah archive at USModernist.