Downtown Memphis, Tennessee
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Downtown Memphis, Tennessee is located on the Mississippi River between Interstate 40 to the north, Interstate 55 to the south and I-240 to the east, where it abuts Midtown Memphis.
Downtown Memphis is the home of Beale Street, The Lorraine Motel (now the National Civil Rights Museum) where Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968, the FedExForum, the Pyramid, the Peabody Hotel, and AutoZone Park. It includes the medical district on Dunlap St.
It is home to the Memphis Redbirds, the AAA affliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, and the Memphis Grizzlies NBA team.
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[edit] Skyline
The downtown Memphis skyline consists of several tall buildings. There have been several new proposals for Memphis. These buildings include One Beale[1][2][3], and The Horizon (consisting of two high rise structures).[4][5][6][7]
Below is a list of the tallest current high rises in Memphis.
| Name | Stories | Height | Date of completion |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 North Main | 37 | 430 ft (131.1 m) | 1965 |
| One Commerce Square | 31 | 396 ft (120.7 m) | 1973 |
| Sterick Building | 31 | 365 ft (111.3 m) | 1930 |
| Clark Tower Executive Suites | 32 | 365 ft (111.3 m) | 1972 |
| Morgan Keegan Tower | 23 | 341 ft (103.9 m)* | 1985 |
| First Tennessee Bank Building | 25 | 332 ft (101.2 m) | 1964 |
| Pyramid Arena | n/a** | 321 ft (97.8 m) | 1991 |
| One Beale | 30 | 435 ft (132.4 m) | 2010 (future building) |
| The Horizon | 16 | 201 ft (61.3 m) | 2009 and 2010*** (future buildings) |
| Notes: * Including the spire, the Morgan Keegan Tower stands 403 ft (122.8 m). |
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[edit] Downtown Restaurant District
Some of the city's best-known downtown restaurants are clustered along Madison and Monroe between Front Street and AutoZone Park. McEwan's, Grill 83, Lolos, Conte's, Flight and Felicia Suzanne are just a few of the small and creative establishments that have come to define the area.
The area is anchored on the southwest by the Madison Hotel, the city's high-end luxury hotel that is cited among the top 100 hotels in the country.[8]
[edit] Peabody Place
Peabody Place, a redevelopment project covering eight city blocks[9] is known as the cornerstone of renaissance for the downtown area.
Surrounded by The Peabody Hotel, Beale Street, FedEx Forum (home of the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies), the Orpheum Theatre and AutoZone Park (home of the AAA Memphis Redbirds), Peabody Place is a mixed-use development encompassing retail, residential, and office space. The project's new and restored historic buildings include a 15-story modern office tower, two apartment projects, two museums, an enclosed mall, a movie theater, and numerous restaurants.[9]
The enclosed mall isn't doing too well. Initially it was anchored by a Muvico cinema, Jillian's, and Tower Records. Other chain stores like Ann Taylor and Gap joined. In early 2009, a large portion of the mall was bought by the Peabody Hotel for expansion of the hotel. This resulted in a number of closings in the mall, including the Muvico Theater, Dan McGuinness Pub, and Jillian's.
It is noted for a dense variety of spaces, ranging from the grandeur of the restored historic[10] Peabody Hotel to the quirky Center for Southern Folklore to the nationally recognized[11] and ultramodern street-level offices of the Red Deluxe Brand Development advertising agency. More than two million square feet is connected by skywalks, corridors and trolley stations make Peabody Place the largest mixed-use urban development in the South.[9]
[edit] South Main Arts District
The South Main Arts District makes up the southern portion of Downtown Memphis along South Main Street.
Two great points of interest in Memphis reside in this area. One is the National Civil Rights Museum, built around the former Lorraine Motel, where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968. The other is the historic restaurant The Arcade. It is one of the oldest family owned restaurants in Memphis.
The South Main Arts District has been featured or used as background scenery in many films, including The Firm, 21 Grams and Walk the Line.
On the last Friday of each summer month, an event called "Trolley Night" is put on by the owners of the South Main Street businesses and art galleries. This includes free trolley service up and down Main Street, open art galleries, and longer hours for most businesses.
[edit] Medical district
The medical district is generally on the east side of Downtown on Dunlap St. It includes the following
- Le Bonheur Children's Medical Center
- University of Tennessee Health Science Center
- University of Tennessee College of Dentistry
- Children's Foundation Research Center
[edit] Schools
Downtown Memphis is zoned to the following Memphis City Schools campuses:
[edit] History
Downtown is the oldest part of the city and includes the riverfront and the bluffs overlooking the Mississippi river. The founders of Memphis dedicated the riverfront to the public "now and forever" as long as the public use continued. The land overlooking the riverfront was originally planned to become a "public promenade" to be called Mississippi Row. The upper riverfront became the site of the river landing where steamboats were loaded with cotton and other goods in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Between 1844 and 1886 the river landing was paved with limestone and granite cobblestones brought in from the upper Midwest. This created what is today the largest intact Mississippi River landing still in existence, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[12] The explosion of the SS Sultana in 1865 near Memphis is one of the worst marine disasters in history.
[edit] Downtown Airport
In 1959, the Memphis Downtown Airport was opened on Mud Island, which at that time was called City Island. The one-runway airport could be reached by a pontoon-boat ferry and was used mostly by businessmen and shoppers. The Downtown Airport was closed in 1970.[13]
[edit] Gallery
 St. Jude Children's Hospital |
 Autozone Park |
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Madison Hotel |
 St. Marys Cathedral |
[edit] References
- ^ One Beale
- ^ http://www.downtownmemphis.com/domain/develop/develop_currentprojects_detail.asp?varprojectid=318
- ^ Commercial Appeal : Memphis News, Business, Homes, Jobs, Cars, & Information
- ^ http://www.downtownmemphis.com/domain/develop/develop_currentprojects_detail.asp?varprojectid=286
- ^ The Bryan Company - THE HORIZON - Memphis, TN
- ^ The Horizon - 717 Riverside Drive
- ^ The Horizon, Memphis
- ^ The Conde Nast Traveler Gold List: Madison Hotel
- ^ a b c http://www.belz.com/shopping/peabodyplace.aspx Web Site of Developer (Belz Enterprises, Inc)
- ^ http://www.peabodymemphis.com/peabody_memphis/hotel_history.cfm Peabody Hotel History at Hotel Web Site
- ^ "Red Deluxe Office Space Wins AIA Recognition"
- ^ http://river.freshbits.com/library/2000/05/on-memphis-waterfront-master-plan-must.html Clubb, Deborah M. On the Memphis Waterfront: Master Plan Must Account for What the Founders Wanted: A Public Promenade Commercial Appeal, Sunday, May 21, 2000.
- ^ Bond, Beverly G.; Sherman, Janann (2003). Memphis: In Black & White. Memphis: Arcadia Publishing. p. 160. ISBN 0738524417. http://history.memphis.edu/faculty_books.html.
[edit] External links
- Center City Commission-Downtown Memphis
- MyDowntownMemphis.com - Downtown Memphis's Community Newsletter
MEMPHIS DOWNTOWNER Magazine http://www.memphisdowntowner.com
Coordinates: 35°08′20″N 90°03′27″W / 35.1389°N 90.0575°W
