The Toof Building is a commercial brick structure with exterior

terra cotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terracotta ...

elements, built in the architectural style of the ''Chicago School''. It is located on Madison Ave in downtown

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 state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, adjacent to

AutoZone Park AutoZone Park is a Minor League Baseball stadium located in downtown Memphis, Tennessee, and is home to the Memphis Redbirds of the International League and Memphis 901 FC of the USL Championship. The Redbirds are the Triple-A affiliate of Ma ...

, a minor league baseball stadium.

Architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

G. M. Shaw designed the structure for S. C. Toof & Co., the oldest printing company in Memphis, it was built in 1913 to serve as a production and administrative facility for the company. On six stories, the building offers of production and office space. In 2008, the building is vacant. In the Summer of 2014, construction began on the building for the creation of The Press Box Lofts. The first residents moved in November, 2014.

History

The S. C. Toof & Co. printing business was founded in 1864. To accommodate for the expanding business after the turn of the 20th century, the Toof Building was planned by

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

G. M. Shaw to serve as the new production and administrative site for the company in

downtown Memphis Downtown Memphis, Tennessee is the central business district of Memphis, Tennessee and is located along 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. It ...

. The building was designed in the architectural style of the ''Chicago School''. The ''Chicago School'' utilized new technologies of steel-frame construction with masonry cladding and plate-glass window areas. Focusing on the function of the building rather than its appearance, the style also limited the amounts of ornament on the exterior. Construction of the building was completed in 1913. S. C. Toof & Co. is the oldest printing company in the Memphis area and is still in existence in 2008 under the name Toof Commercial Printing Co., with a business address on S Cooper St in Memphis. In 1982, the building was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. The Toof Building is located west of and adjacent to

, a minor league baseball stadium and home of the

Memphis Redbirds The Memphis Redbirds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in Memphis, Tennessee, and are named for their Major League Baseball affiliate. The Redbir ...

. In the mid-1990s, plans emerged to establish a minor league baseball

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

in the vacant building. Lack of financial support for the museum let the supporters abandon the plans. The privately owned structure is still vacant in 2008, windows and doors are boarded. Since August 2008, the eastern side of the building, facing the AutoZone Park baseball stadium, was prepared for a large-scale

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...

. The mural was completed in April 2009.

References

{{Memphis, Tennessee Buildings and structures in Memphis, Tennessee Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Tennessee Commercial buildings completed in 1912 1912 establishments in Tennessee National Register of Historic Places in Memphis, Tennessee Chicago school architecture in the United States

History

See also

References