East Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee

East Memphis is a region of Memphis, Tennessee, that includes several defined and informal subdivisions/neighborhoods such as Colonial Acres, White Station-Yates, Sherwood Forest, Normal Station, High Point Terrace, Belle Meade, Normandy Meadows, St. Nick, Pleasant Acres, Balmoral, and Ridgeway. The general boundaries are informal:

On the West: Midtown (this boundary is in some dispute and is described variously as East Parkway, the CN RR line (just past East Parkway), or Highland Street.
On The South: Hickory Hill, Orange Mound (usually Park Ave. is given as a boundary east of Getwell, and Rhodes-Quince west of Getwell)
On the East: Traditionally, the Eastern border was anything inside the I-240 loop, however, many extend this to Germantown and Cordova city limits.
On the North: Often Summer Avenue or Sam Cooper Blvd. just south of Berclair

The primary zip codes in this area are 38111, 38117 & 38157. Also included are 38120 and 38119 ^[1] In 1950, the eastern boundary of Memphis was essentially the western boundary of what is today East Memphis.^[2] By the mid-1960s most of East Memphis inside the I-240 loop had been annexed into the city of Memphis. ^[3]

Region Overview

East Memphis is a commercial and residential powerhouse. Poplar Avenue provides the central east-west thoroughfare of the area, and there are many thriving businesses on and around it. East Memphis is the location of the some of the largest Memphis homes, specifically those in the Walnut Grove area. It is also home to the looming Clark Tower, as there are no legal restrictions on the height of buildings outside of the downtown area. The area also has developed into a home for many businesses and law firms. Walnut Grove Rd. has a high concentration of churches and schools. Poplar Plaza Shopping center at the corner of Poplar and Highland St. could be the beginning of the East Memphis commercial district. Highland St. is mostly commercial, with a collection of high-rise low-to-moderate residential buildings, as well as Crichton College. The University of Memphis sits south of Central Ave. and north of Southern Ave, with the Highland strip bordering it on its western side. Further east on Poplar Ave., Laurelwood Shopping Center and Oak Court Mall, can be found. East Memphis covers areas outside of the I-240 Loop including the residential areas around Quince Road and Kirby Parkway, and River Oaks subdivision. A commercial center has developed around the intersection of Poplar and Ridgeway Road which includes the Hilton Memphis, the largest hotel in the city. The eastern border of the neighborhood is the Germantown city limits at Kirby Parkway.

The major shopping venues in East Memphis are Eastgate Shopping Center, Poplar Plaza Shopping Center, Oak Court Mall, Laurelwood Collection, Regalia, and Park Place Center.

Parks & Places

Museums, Parks, Gardens:

Pink Palace Museum
Children's Museum of Memphis
Memphis Botanic Garden @ Audubon Park
Dixon Gallery and Gardens
Lichterman Nature Center
Shelby Farms
Avon Park
Davis Park
Sea Isle Park
Willow Rd. Park
Pauline "Pep" Marquette Park
Memphis Country Club
Chickasaw Country Club

Other places of note include:

St. Francis Hospital
Baptist Memorial Hospital
Memorial Park Cemetery & Gardens
Theatre Memphis
Ma$hDownMuzik (an independent recording label), and Frank White aka The Don of the Town.

Religion

East Memphis is home to many churches of various denominations. The largest churches are Christ United Methodist Church with 6,000 members [2], St. Louis Catholic Church with about 5,000 members[3], and Second Presbyterian Church with more than 4,800 members [4]. The area is also home to all of the city's Jewish congregations, including Baron Hirsch Synagogue, Anshei Sphard Beth El Emeth Congregation, Young Israel of Memphis, Beth Sholom, and Temple Israel. Other places of worship include Robinhood Lane Baptist Church, Cherry Road Baptist Church and New Philadelphia Church.

Secondary Schools

Public schools include:

East High School
Willow Oaks Elementary
Sea Isle Elementary
Colonial Middle
Overton High
Ridgeway Elementary, Middle and High
South Park Elementary
Sharpe Elementary
Sherwood Elementary and Middle
White Station Elementary, Middle and High

East Memphis is also home to numerous religiously-affiliated schools:

Catholic: Christian Brothers High School (All-boys, 9-12), St. Agnes Academy (All-girls, 9-12), Holy Rosary School (Co-ed, Pre K-8), St. Anne School (Co-ed, K-8), St. Dominic School (All boys, Pre K-8), St. Louis School (Co-ed, Pre K-8), St. Michael School (Co-ed, Pre K-8)
Church of Christ: Harding Academy (Co-ed, Pre K-12)
Episcopal: St. Mary's Episcopal School (All-girls, Pre K-12)
Lutheran: Christ The King Lutheran School (Co-ed, K-8)
Jewish: Bornblum Solomon Schechter School (Co-ed, 1-8), Margolin Hebrew Academy (Co-ed, Pre K-12), Memphis Jewish High School (Co-ed, 9-12)
Methodist: Christ Methodist Day School (Co-ed, Pre K-6)
Non-denominational Christian: Briarcrest Christian School (Co-ed, Pre K-8), Evangelical Christian School (Co-ed Pre K-5), Hutchison School (All-girls, Pre K-12), Memphis University School (All-boys, 7-12)
Presbyterian: Presbyterian Day School (All-boys, Pre K-6), Woodland Presbyterian School (Co-ed, Pre K-8)

Restaurants

East Memphis is host to a plethora of dining establishments ranging from inexpensive barbecue/sandwich shops to four-star restaurants. These include Three Little Pigs BBQ, Corky's, Pete & Sam's, Houston's, Buckley's Restaurant, and the award-winning Huey's and Folk's Folly, (both owned by Memphian Thomas Boggs). Urbanspoon denotes the area restaurants in this manner: East Memphis Restaurants