South Main Street Historic District (Memphis, Tennessee)

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Coordinates: 35°08′07″N 90°03′30″W / 35.135323°N 90.058352°W / 35.135323; -90.058352
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South Street Historic District
Photo of several three-story brick buildings
South Main, looking north from Longshot, in 2010
South Main Street Historic District (Memphis, Tennessee) is located in Tennessee
South Main Street Historic District (Memphis, Tennessee)
South Main Street Historic District (Memphis, Tennessee) is located in the United States
South Main Street Historic District (Memphis, Tennessee)
LocationRoughly S. Main St. between Webster and Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Avenues, and Mulberry between Calhoun and Vance Avenues, Memphis, Tennessee
Area20 acres (8.1 ha)
ArchitectMultiple
NRHP reference No.82004054[1] (original)
97000224[2] (increase 1)
99000756[3] (increase 2)
13000503[4] (increase 3)
Significant dates
Added to NRHPSeptember 2, 1982
Boundary increasesMarch 8, 1997
July 9, 1998
August 13, 2013

The South Main Street Historic District in

Lorraine Motel, constructed in 1925, where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968.[1] The South Main Arts District is a smaller area within the historic district.[5]
The district is also a City of Memphis local historic district or Historic Overlay District.[6]

Rail expansion

The first station in the district was on Calhoun Street, built c. 1855 by the

New Orleans, Louisiana. This station was a main anchor of the rail business in Memphis, especially for north–south traffic, along with Memphis Union Station, built a few blocks away on Calhoun Street in 1910–1912 by other railroads primarily as a hub for east–west traffic.[7]

Original district

When added to the register in 1982, the district contained 105 structures and a few vacant lots. Of these, only six were considered to be "non-contributing" with either little or no "historic or architectural significance", or significantly altered from their original appearance or otherwise out of character with the district.[8]

The district includes South Main Street between Linden and Webster; and Mulberry Street, which parallels Main, between Vance and Butler. There are also buildings fronting Butler, Calhoun, Huling, Pontotoc, and Vance near their intersections with Main and Mulberry. Most buildings are one to three stories, with a few taller. Almost all buildings in the district are

terra-cotta, or cast stone. Most buildings on South Main Street were built right at the sidewalk, the only grass in the district is at the fire station which was set back farther from the street and at one hotel.[8]

The most prominent building in the district is Memphis Central Station, which opened in 1916 and is not the only remaining passenger station in the city. Many of the other buildings in the district were built to serve railroad travelers. They included hotels, restaurants, bars, and similar places. Also located in the district were businesses that made heavy items and which were shipped by rail and located there to reduce transportation costs. The area had previously been a "fashionable residential area of Memphis", but most residences were replaced with commercial buildings. A few large houses survived as hotels.[8]

Increases

An increase in 1997 added the 1914 Railway Express Agency Building at 663 S. Main St as significant to the history of rail-related transportation in Memphis and a good example of a freight-handling business.[2]

An increase in 1999 added 384 Mulberry and 129 Talbot, two identical buildings built as examples of African-American tenement housing in Memphis, both built c. 1905.[3]

A third increase occurred in 2013 when 124–125, 136–137, 148, 153, 154, 158, and 161 G.E. Patterson Ave., and 138 St. Paul Ave. were added to the district as additional good examples of freight-handling businesses significant to the rail history of Memphis.[4]

Redevelopment

The area, which declined with the rail industry after World War II, gained national notoriety after King's assassination at the

Lorraine Motel. It has more recently become trendy with restaurants, bars, and shops operating in the historic buildings.[9] In 2017, developers announced a plan to convert Memphis Central Station, a service stop for Amtrak's City of New Orleans route and the MATA Trolley system, into "a hotel like none other". The station's old powerhouse building was converted into a seven-screen theater in 2019. Memphis has also approved tax breaks to spur other development in the area.[6]

The National Civil Rights Museum, originally the Lorraine Motel, opened in 1991.[10] The Orpheum Theatre, located on South Main just a block outside the district, is also individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[11]

References

  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System – (#82004054)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  2. ^ a b "National Register Information System – (#97000224)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  3. ^ a b "National Register Information System – (#99000756)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  4. ^ a b "National Register of Historic Places Program, South Main Street Historic District (Boundary Increase)". nps.gov. National Park Service. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
  5. ^ "Go South Main".
  6. ^ a b "Home What We Do Get Involved Membership/Join Now Historic Memphis The Keystone Contact Us MHI Store Newman's Memphis Photos South Main Street Historic District". memphisheritage.org. April 4, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  7. ^ "Memphis, TN – Central Station (MEM)". The Great American Stations. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  8. ^ a b c "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: South Main Street Historic District". National Park Service. Retrieved December 27, 2020. With accompanying pictures
  9. ^ "Before & After: Memphis' South Main Historic District". thejaxsonmag.com. December 6, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  10. ^ Cornish, Audie (December 16, 2007). "Mission of National Civil Rights Museum Questioned". NPR. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
  11. ^ "National Register Information System – (#77001289)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.

35°08′07″N 90°03′30″W / 35.135323°N 90.058352°W / 35.135323; -90.058352

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