The Overton Park Shell (formerly ''Levitt Shell,'' ''Shell Theater, and Memphis Open Air Theater'') is an open-air amphitheater located in

Overton Park :''Overton Park may also refer to the U.S. Supreme Court case, Citizens to Preserve Overton Park v. Volpe'' Overton Park is a large, public park in Midtown Memphis, Tennessee. The park grounds contain the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Memphis Z ...

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 36th-largest by ...

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

gave his first paid concert there on July 30, 1954. The Overton Park Shell was built in 1936 by the City of Memphis and the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

for $11,935, as part of the

New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Con ...

. Designed by architect Max Furbringer, it was modeled after similar shells in Chicago, New York, and St. Louis. The WPA built 27 band shells, the Overton Park Shell is one of only a few that still remain. During the 1930s and 1940s, the Shell was the site of Memphis Open Air Theater orchestral shows, along with various light opera and musicals. However, on July 30, 1954,

opened for headliner

Slim Whitman Ottis Dewey Whitman Jr. (January 20, 1923 – June 19, 2013), known as Slim Whitman, was an American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist known for his yodeling abilities and his use of falsetto. He claimed he had sold in excess of ...

, and performed what music historians call the first-ever rock and roll show. Musicians at Levitt Shell 06-18-2011

In the mid-1960s, the Shell was turned over to the Memphis Arts Center, who planned to raze it in order to build a $2 million theater. However, a campaign led by Noel Gilbert, long-time conductor of the Memphis Concert Orchestra, gathered 6,000 signatures in order to prevent its destruction. Later, in 1972, the Shell was nearly removed in order to build a parking garage, but was again saved by the outcry from the community. In 1982, the

National Conference of Christians and Jews The National Conference for Community and Justice is an American social justice organization focused on fighting biases and promoting understanding between people of different races and cultures. The organization was founded in 1927 as the Natio ...

proposed a restoration, and the Shell was renamed in honor of

Raoul Wallenberg Raoul Gustaf Wallenberg (4 August 1912 – disappeared 17 January 1945)He is presumed to have died in 1947, although the circumstances of his death are not clear and this date has been disputed. Some reports claim he was alive years later. 31 J ...

. However, they could not raise the necessary funds, so by 1984, the previous plan for a parking lot began once again. This time, the Shell was saved by Mayor

Richard Hackett Richard Cecil "Dick" Hackett (born July 21, 1949) was mayor of the city of Memphis, Tennessee from 1982 to 1991. He also served as Shelby County (Tennessee) Clerk from 1978 to 1982. At the time that he took office as mayor, he was 33 years old ...

. He pledged to fund a renovation if a private group would spearhead an arts program. In 1985, the Shell lay dormant for the first time in its history. In 1986, a corporation was formed by private citizens named Save Our Shell, Inc. For the following 20 years, Save Our Shell presented hundreds of free programs there. In 2007, the Shell was renamed Levitt Shell at Overton Park and a large-scale renovation funded by the Levitt Foundation took place. The renovation was conducted by Memphis firm Askew Nixon Ferguson Architects with state-of-the-art audio and visual design. With the completion of the renovations on September 8, 2008, free concerts are now once again held in the Shell. The Shell offers concerts on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights during its spring and fall seasons. In the summer of 2011, Indie Memphis debuted The Concert Film Series, presenting free concert films for the public on weekends during the summer months. On March 3, 2022, the Levitt Shell was renamed back to its historic name of the Overton Park Shell, continuing its mission of free music under the stars for the entire community.

References

{{coord, 35.1457, -89.9948, type:landmark, display=title Amphitheaters in the United States Culture of Memphis, Tennessee Buildings and structures in Memphis, Tennessee Music venues Historic sites

See also

References