The Pinch District is a historical district of

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

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 * Mem ...

roughly bordered by the Wolf River lagoon on the west, Market Street on the south, Danny Thomas Boulevard on the east, and A.W. Willis Avenue on the north.

History

The area known as the Pinch District was part of the original plan of Memphis, and emerged as the city's first commercial area. It was originally located north of Market Street and south of the Bayou Gayoso, a stream that ran through (now under) downtown Memphis. The name "Pinch" was originally a derisive term, referring to emaciated Irish immigrants who fled the Great Famine in the 1840s. The area was known as Pinch-Gut, in reference to the starving look of many of its impoverished residents. It was home to the earliest immigrant communities in Memphis, mainly Irish,

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

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, and

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

. From the 1890s to the 1930s, it was the center of Memphis' Jewish community, with many synagogues and Jewish-owned businesses. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

many of the area's residents moved to the eastern suburbs, and businesses began closing. The area became predominantly

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

, and remains so today. During the 1970s, the Pinch was a target of

slum clearance Slum clearance, slum eviction or slum removal is an urban renewal strategy used to transform low-income settlements with poor reputation into another type of development or housing. This has long been a strategy for redeveloping urban communities; ...

and urban renewal. The Barry Homes housing project was constructed in the Pinch in 1970, and the neighborhood was bisected by

Interstate 40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west transcontinental Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the Southeastern United States, southeastern and Southwestern United States, southwestern portions of the United States. At a leng ...

as part of the construction of the

Hernando de Soto Bridge The Hernando de Soto Bridge is a tied-arch bridge carrying Interstate 40 across the Mississippi River between West Memphis, Arkansas, and Memphis, Tennessee. The design is a continuous cantilevered cable-stayed steel through arch, with beds ...

in 1973.

Growth

In 1991, the City of Memphis constructed the

Pyramid Arena The Memphis Pyramid, formerly known as the Great American Pyramid and the Pyramid Arena, and colloquially known as the Bass Pro Shops Pyramid, is a pyramid-shaped building located in downtown Memphis, Tennessee, United States, at the bank of t ...

along the Wolf River lagoon. Initial prospects of turning the area into a new entertainment district diminished by the late 1990s. With the arrival of an

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

franchise, the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division of the ...

, the fate of the Pyramid became grim as a new arena was constructed near

Beale Street Beale Street is a street in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee, which runs from the Mississippi River to East Street, a distance of approximately . It is a significant location in the city's history, as well as in the history of blues music. Today, ...

on the southern side of downtown. Both the Grizzlies and the

University of Memphis The University of Memphis (Memphis) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 20,000 students. The university maintains the Herff Col ...

moved their home games to the

FedEx Forum FedExForum is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee. It is the home of the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the NCAA Division I men's basketball program of the University of Memph ...

in 2004, and the Pyramid closed as an arena. Several proposals for new development were devised in the mid-2000s, though many never materialized. Recent development has centered on MATA's North End Terminal, which operates as the city's main bus terminal. The Pyramid now has been converted into a

Bass Pro Shops BPS Direct, LLC, trade name, doing business as Bass Pro Shops, is an American privately held sporting goods retailer that offers hunting, fishing, camping, and other related outdoor recreation equipment, marine manufacturing and sales, and outd ...

megastore opened in May 2015, a hint that gentrification may be returning to the struggling neighborhood. In 2016, conceptual plans for revitalizing the Pinch District were announced. The design calls for a mixed-used district that would complement a $1 billion expansion of St. Jude. New research and office buildings will be located outside the existing St. Jude gates and will have public-facing retail and restaurant tenants at ground level. Additional mixed-use buildings would provide a mix of office, residential, and hotel space. A long-awaited pedestrian bridge to connect the Pyramid to the greater Pinch District is also planned.

Gallery

File:PyramidArena.jpg, Pyramid Arena File:MATA_North_End_Terminal_Memphis_TN_01.jpg, MATA North End Terminal File:Downtown_N_Main_St_Memphis_TN_2012_07_17_012.jpg, Abandoned storefronts, North Main St. File:N_Main_St_Memphis_TN_2012-07-01_006.jpg, Redeveloped shops along North Main St.

References

{{coord, 35.1366, -90.0147, region:US-TN, format=dms, display=title Historic Jewish communities in the United States Jews and Judaism in Memphis, Tennessee Neighborhoods in Memphis, Tennessee

History

Growth

Gallery

See also

References