Downtown Memphis, Tennessee

Downtown Memphis 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 Interstate 240 to the east, where it abuts Midtown Memphis.

The downtown area is home to the Memphis Redbirds, the AAA affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, as well as the Memphis Grizzlies NBA team.

History

Downtown Memphis 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 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. The explosion of the steamboat ''Sultana'' in 1865 near Memphis was one of the worst maritime disasters in history.

There are several historic residences downtown, particularly in the Victorian Village neighborhood. Other historic homes include the Hunt-Phelan House (1830), the Magevney House (c. 1835), and the Burkle Estate (1849). The Burkle home and the Hunt-Phelan House (533 Beale Street) were reputed to have been part of the Underground Railroad by which escaped slaves made their way to freedom prior to the Civil War.

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. It was replaced in the 1990s by the new urbanist Harbor Town development.

Overview

Buildings

The Downtown Memphis skyline contains the tallest buildings in the city. The tallest building in Memphis, 100 North Main, is located at the heart of downtown along Main Street at Adams Ave and rises to 430 ft (131m). Some notable and/or historic downtown buildings are:

* 100 North Main
* One Commerce Square
* Sterick Building
* Exchange Building, Memphis
* Morgan Keegan Tower
* First Horizon Bank Tower
* Memphis Pyramid
* Peabody Hotel
* Madison Hotel
* Scimitar Building
* FedExForum
* Central Station
* 201 Poplar

Downtown Memphis includes 4.5 million square feet (418,000 square meters) of office space, around 1 million square feet (93,000 square meters) of retail space, 3,456 hotel rooms, and 13,400 housing units.

The administrative core of Memphis and of Shelby County, Tennessee is also located in Downtown Memphis. These include the Memphis City Hall and the Federal Building, located on North Main Street, in the Civic Center Plaza (corner of Main Street and Washington). Downtown Memphis also contains the Memphis branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

Districts and neighborhoods

Downtown Core

Downtown Core is the heart of the central business district and includes the majority of the office space, retail, entertainment, and dining spaces. It is a popular regional destination for entertainment, dining, and tourism and includes attractions such as Beale Street, FedExForum, AutoZone Park, and the Peabody Hotel.

Districts & neighborhoods

* South Main Arts District
* Medical District
* Pinch District
* Peabody Place
* Beale Street
* South Forum (SoFo)
* Uptown
* Greenlaw
* Harbor Town
* The Edge
* Victorian Village
* South Bluffs
* Fort Pickering

Memphis Riverfront

Downtown Memphis is located on the banks of the Mississippi River. The Memphis Riverfront stretches from the Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park in the north to T. O. Fuller State Park in the south.

The River Walk is a park system along the Mississippi River that connects the Mississippi River Greenbelt Park in the north to Tom Lee Park in the south.

Points of interest along the riverfront include:
* Chickasaw Bluff at Beale Street Landing
* Riverfront Trolley
* Mud Island
* Harbor Town
* Pinch District
* Steamboats
* Ashburn-Coppock Park
* President's Island

Image:Riverwalk sign Memphis TN 010.jpg, Memphis River Walk
Image:4th Bluff Mounds Memphis TN 06 main mound Mississippi River view.jpg, 4th Bluff Mounds at Chickasaw Heritage Park
Image:Harahan Bridge from Martyrs Park Memphis TN 012.jpg, Harahan Bridge from Martyrs Park
File:Martyrs Park Memphis TN 06.jpg, Yellow Fever Memorial in Martyrs Park
Image:Confederate Park Front St Memphis TN 06.jpg, Memphis Park
Image:Jefferson Davis Park Riverside Dr Memphis TN 03.jpg, Mississippi River Park
Image:2011-01-08 Downtown Memphis TN 06.jpg, Tom Lee Park
Image:Vance Park Memphis TN 001.jpg, Vance Park
Image:Beale Street Landing Memphis TN 006.jpg, Beale Street Landing
Image:Memphis Queen Memphis TN 2012-07-22 003.jpg, Memphis Queen
Image:Mississippi River Greenbelt Park Memphis TN 2013-05-12 010.jpg, Mississippi River Greenbelt Park
Image:Wolf-River-Harbor-Memphis.jpg, Wolf River Harbor
Image:Desoto bridge memphis.JPG, Hernando de Soto Bridge
Image:Dr Martin Luther King Jr Park I-55 Exit 9 W Mallory Ave Memphis TN 16.jpg, McKellar Lake
Image:Dr Martin Luther King Jr Park I-55 Exit 9 W Mallory Ave Memphis TN 11.jpg, Martin Luther King Jr Park
Image:T O Fuller State Park Memphis TN 2013-06-15 003.jpg, T. O. Fuller State Park
Image:Presidents Island Memphis TN 05.jpg, President's Island

Economy

Companies headquartered in Downtown Memphis include:
* AutoZone
* First Horizon
* Southern Airways Express ( One Commerce Square)
* ServiceMaster ( Peabody Place)

Downtown Memphis is also the former headquarters of Pinnacle Airlines Corp. (One Commerce Square).

Schools

Downtown Memphis is zoned to the following Shelby County Schools (formerly Memphis City Schools) campuses:

Downtown Elementary School


* Booker T. Washington High School

Transportation

Downtown is served by major highways and interstates, public bus and trolley service by MATA, commercial bus service by Greyhound, and passenger train service by Amtrak.

Interstates I-40, I-55, I-69 and I-240 all run directly through Downtown, providing direct access to the area from adjacent areas as well as the region as a whole. The new Interstate 22 is about 10 miles away from Downtown. Downtown also serves as the western terminus of U.S. Route 78 as well as U.S. Route 72, and is directly located along U.S. Route 51, U.S. Route 61, U.S. Route 64, U.S. Route 70, and U.S. Route 79.

MATA operates the North End Terminal, its primary hub for Memphis public bus service, at the corner of Main Street and A.W. Willis Avenue. The majority of fixed bus routes operated by MATA terminate at the North End Terminal, therefore bus accessibility in the area is very high.

The MATA Trolley is a heritage streetcar system that operates three lines in Downtown along Main Street, Riverside Drive, and Madison Avenue. These three lines serve twenty-four stations and, in 2021, had a daily ridership of approximately 650. Connections between MATA public bus and Main Street trolley line can be made at the North End Terminal.

Amtrak's '' City of New Orleans'' passenger train runs through Downtown Memphis three days a week, stopping at Central Station.

Gallery

Image:Beale Street 060523.jpg, Beale Street
Image:PyramidArena.jpg, Pyramid Arena
Image:St Judes grass.jpg, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Image:Court_Square_Downtown_Memphis_TN_04.jpg, Court Square
Image:Lebonheur Nov2010 003.JPG, Le Bonheur Children's Medical Center
Image:AutoZone Park outside.jpg, AutoZone Park
Image:Peabody Hotel, Memphis, TN.jpg, Peabody Hotel
Image:St Marys Episcopal Cathedral Memphis.JPG, St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral in Memphis
Image:South_Main_Street_Historic_District_2010-09-19_Memphis_TN_09.jpg, South Main Arts District
Image:Federal_Building_Main_St_Memphis_TN_05.jpg, Civic Center Plaza
Image:Memphis TN Main Street Trolley.jpg, MATA Trolley on Main Street.
Image:James Lee House.JPG, James Lee House (1869), one of the last houses in Downtown.

Historic views

Image:Memphis_154228pv.jpg, Beale Street in 1974
Image:Madison_avenue_1920.JPG, View of downtown Memphis, looking west on Madison Ave.
Image:Downtown Memphis 1909.jpg, Downtown Memphis in 1909, overlooking Court Square.
Image:River view Memphis 1907.jpg, View of downtown Memphis in 1907 from the Mississippi River.
Image:Memphis Madison Ave 1907.jpg, View of Madison Avenue, and Customs House and Post Office in 1907.
Image:Tennessee Club in Memphis 1906.jpg, The Tennessee Club on Court Square, 1906.
Image: Napoleon_Hill_mansion,_Memphis,_Tennessee.png, The former Napoleon Hill mansion in Memphis, Tennessee, constructed in 1881 at the corner of 3rd and Madison. The mansion was torn down by 1930 to build the Sterick Building.
Image:Nylon_Net_building%2C_South_Main_Street_%26_Pontotoc_Ave%3B_Memphis_Tennesee.png, Nylon Net Building circa 1960

References

External links

Center City Commission

Memphis Downtowner Magazine

{{Portal bar, United States

Neighborhoods in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis
Yellow fever monuments and memorials