Santa Tracker

Click Here for the Official NORAD Santa Tracker

Source: Internet

History Of The Song: "White Christmas"

White Christmas was written by Irving Berlin for the Movie "Holiday Inn" and recorded by Bing Crosby in 1942, and received the Academy Award in that year. Crosby recorded it again in 1947, and that recording has become the standard. It was also featured in the 1954 movie White Christmas with Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera-Ellen. White Christmas is the biggest selling Christmas song of all time.

Click Here for the White Christmas cartoon song.

Source: Internet

Shanghai Mahjong Solitaire - The Mahjong Dragon

Shanghai Mahjong Solitaire - The Mahjong Dragon

Holiday Cookie Recipes

Chocolate Coconut Balls

Total Time: 1 hr 15 min

Prep: 10 min

Inactive: 1 hr 0 min

Cook: 5 min

Yield: 30 pieces

Level: Easy

Ingredients

1 cup toasted chopped Macadamia nuts
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
One 7-ounce bag sweetened shredded coconut
One 12-ounce bag semisweet chocolate morsels, melted
1 tablespoon shortening

Directions

In a bowl mix together the nuts, condensed milk, almond extract and coconut. Using your fingers, press the mixture into balls about 3/4-inch round. Place onto sheet trays and let rest at room temperature for 4 hours or in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

After the balls have set up, melt the chocolate and shortening until smooth. Dip into the chocolate to coat evenly and lightly. Place onto a parchment or foil lined sheet pan to dry.



Peanut Butter Brownie Cookies

Total Time: 10 min

Cook: 10 min

Yield: 24 Cookies

Level: Easy

Ingredients

1 (19.5 oz.) pkg. Pillsbury® Family Size Chocolate Fudge Brownie Mix
1/4 cup butter, melted
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 large egg
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup Jif® Creamy Peanut Butter
1/2 can Pillsbury® Creamy Supreme® Chocolate Fudge Flavored Frosting

Directions

HEAT oven to 350 degrees F. Beat brownie mix, melted butter, cream cheese and egg in medium bowl 50 strokes with spoon until well blended (dough will be sticky).

DROP dough by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets to make 24 cookies; smooth edge of each to form round cookie.

MIX powdered sugar and peanut butter in small bowl with spoon until mixture forms a ball. With hands, roll rounded teaspoonfuls peanut butter mixture into 24 balls. Lightly press 1 ball into center of each ball of dough.

BAKE 10 to 14 minutes or until edges are set. Cool on cookie sheets at least 30 minutes.

SPREAD thin layer of frosting over peanut butter portion of each cooled cookie.

High Altitude (above 3500 ft.):

FLATTEN cookies slightly before baking. Bake at 350 degrees F for 11 to 15 minutes.

Blessed In Aging

Blessed are they who understand
My faltering step and shaking hand
Blessed, who know my ears today
Must strain to hear the things they say.

Blessed are those who seem to know
My eyes are dim and my mind is slow
Blessed are those who look away
When I spilled tea that weary day.

Blessed are they who, with cheery smile
Stopped to chat for a little while
Blessed are they who know the way
To bring back memories of yesterday.

Blessed are those who never say
"You've told that story twice today"
Blessed are they who make it known
That I am loved, respected and not alone.

And blessed are they who will ease the days
Of my journey home, in loving ways.

(written by Esther Mary Walker )

Source: Internet

Your Shoe Size Tells Your Age

Your shoes can tell you your age, this is mind boggling-the flipping thing worked-if anyone can figure out the secret kindly let me know

Your shoes can tell you your age, try this and see:

· 1. Take your shoe size. (only whole sizes)

· 2. Multiply it by 5.

· 3. Add 50.

· 4. Multiply by 20 ...

· 5. Add 1012.

· 6. Subtract the year u were born…

The first digit is your shoe size while

the last 2 digits are your age..

Source: Internet
TRY IT…YOU WILL BE SURPRISED!

Abe Plough

Born: 1892

Died: 1984

Within a year of his birth in 1892 in Tupelo, Mississippi, Abe Plough moved with his family to Memphis, where his father Moses operated a clothing and furnishings store. Abe Plough attended Market Street School where a teacher taught him to calculate figures without pencil or paper. He said this "mental arithmetic" served him well in his business career since he never needed a pencil to calculate his acquisition of thirty companies for the Schering-Plough Corporation at a cost of over $1 billion.

Plough received his only other formal education at St. Paul Street Grammar School, from which he graduated. After school and on weekends he worked at the George V. Francis drug store without pay because he wanted to learn the drug business, determined that it would be his future. Moses Plough lent his son $125 to start his own business, Plough Chemical Company, in 1908. At age sixteen Abe Plough was owner, manager, and only employee of the new business, located in one small room above his father's store. Using dishpans for mixing the chemicals, his first formula was for Plough's Antiseptic Healing Oil, a "sure cure for any ill of man or beast." On days when he was not bottling his healing oil, Plough set out in his father's horse-drawn buggy to sell his product to drug stores and country merchants.

Success came almost immediately for the new enterprise. Within two years it doubled in size, entered the patent drug business, and branched out into cosmetics. Adding aspirin to his line of products in 1920, Plough bought the St. Joseph Company, a step he called his "first on the road to the big time."

Despite the worldwide depression in 1929, Plough raised his employees' salaries and added one hundred others to his drug store and factory labor forces. Plough, Incorporated, moved in 1951 to 3022 Jackson Avenue, a $2 million plant encompassing 250,000 square feet on six acres of land. The business reported net sales of $254.5 million by 1954, a figure that doubled by 1962. It merged in 1971 with Schering Corporation, primarily a manufacturer of prescription pharmaceuticals. Plough was Chairman of both Plough, Incorporated, and Schering-Plough.

Plough retired from business in 1976 to devote his talents and energies to his other chief interest, philanthropy. His generosity to the community is legendary. His many gifts were often made as "challenge grants," his stated goal "to help the greatest number of people in order to do the most good." His legacy lives on not only in the business he created, which bears his name, but also in his deeds of generosity and leadership. The Plough Foundation continues to be devoted to the welfare of the community and is administered in his name by his heirs.

Source: TennesseeEncyclopedia.net

The Goldsmiths

In 1867 the Goldsmith brothers, Isaac and Jacob came to America to work for their uncle's dry goods business. The uncle, Louis Ottenheimer was a German immigrant who moved to Memphis from Arkansas to start the business with partner Moses Schwartz. When the two brothers managed to save $500 they opened their own store which was an immediate success. The Goldsmith Brothers soon expanded to a larger building on Beale Street and rode out the Yellow Fever epidemics, opening the store every day for at least three hours.

In 1881 the brothers bought their uncle's store and rebranded it “I. Goldsmith and Brother“, located at 348 Main Street. Goldsmith's catered to the customer and was the first store in the midsouth to arrange merchandise by department and the first to have escalators and air conditioning. The Goldsmith's organized a Christmas parade a decade before Macy's did the same and in 1960 instituted “The Enchanted Forest“ which has been a beloved tradition ever since.

Elias and Fred Goldsmith assumed ownership of the store when Jacob died in 1939. In 1959 the store became an affiliate of Federated Department Stores. The 1970's saw a shift to mall affiliation, competing primarily with Dillard's department stores. Today the Goldsmith's stores have been re-christened “Macy's“ by Federated. The beautiful downtown Goldsmith's building was restored and christened “Peabody Place“, a large collection of stores, arcades, restaurants and theatres.

What follows is a contemporary account of the Goldsmith's written in 1888:

I. Goldsmith Brothers, dry goods merchants at 348 Main Street, Memphis, began business at 81 and 83 Beale Street in 1870, where they still have a branch store, which is the largest dry goods house on the street. When they began business in Memphis their capital was limited, but by judicious management and honest dealing they have secured and retained the confidence of their patrons and built up an extensive business. When the yellow fever raged in Memphis they opened a branch house in Helena, Ark., where they were very successful. In 1881 they commenced business at 348 Main Street, and are now enjoying an extensive trade upon a cash basis. Isaac Goldsmith, the senior member of the firm, died in June, 1885, and Elias and J. Goldsmith, the two remaining brothers, who constitute the firm, purchased his interest in the business and continued it under the old firm name. The brothers immigrated to America from Germany in 1867, and since then have been residents of Memphis. Elias Goldsmith was married. in 1880 to Miss Belle Stein, daughter of L. Stein, of St. Louis, Mo., and J. Goldsmith was married in 1875 to Miss Dora Ottenheim, daughter of L. Ottenheim, a merchant of Memphis. The brothers are members of several benevolent and relief societies of Memphis, and are among the city's most enterprising and liberal citizens.

Source: Internet

Robert R. Church

Born: 1839

Died: 1912

Robert R. Church, Sr. was one of America's most profound “rags to riches“ stories. Church not only became the South's first African American millionaire, he did it after having been born a slave.

Although born a slave in Holly Springs, MS, Church was able to go to work for his white father after the death of his mother in 1851. Rising to the position of steward (the highest position a slave could hold) Church also managed to escape the chaos surrounding the Battle of Memphis in 1862. This battle brought the city into Union hands.

Church escaped capture by the Union troups and went on to be a highly respected businessman in 19th century Memphis. Buying land and opening parks for local blacks, Church mixed business with social expansion. Church built the 2,000 seat Church Park and auditorium.

Robert Church Sr. was to succeed in many businesses during his lifetime. Beginning as a saloon owner Church went on to succeed as an owner of hotels, restaurants and real estate. Shot during the Memphis race riots of 1866, Church refused to be run out of town. Not only did he stay to prosper, he supported the community in myriad ways. Church rode out the yellow fever epidemic of 1878 and purchased a number of real estate tracts at bargain prices. He was the first citizen to buy a $1,000 bond to restore the city's charter after it was reduced to a taxing district of the state by the various yellow fever epidemics.

Church twice ran unsuccessfully for a position on the Memphis Board of Public Works in 1882. His business ventures never suffered the same reversals as his political amibitions however. Six years before his death Church founded the Solvent Savings Bank and Trust Company. That institution, of which he was also president went on to become the largest African-American bank in the country.

Fifteen years before his death the Memphis Press-Scimitar proclaimed, "It may be said of Robert Church that his word is as good as his bond. No appeal to him for the aid of any charity or public enterprise for the benefit of Memphis has ever been made in vain. He is for Memphis first, last and all the time."

Robert R. Church Jr.

Born: 1885

Died: 1952

Here is the story of Robert R. Church, Jr. in the words of his daughter Roberta:

Robert R. Church, Jr., a political leader of color in Memphis and the nation, was born on October 26, 1885, at the family home, 384 South Lauderdale Street, in Memphis. He was one of the two children of Robert R. and Anna (Wright) Church. His sister was Annette E. Church. He was educated at Mrs. Julia Hooks's kindergarten, by private tutors, and at parochial schools in Memphis. Further education was obtained at Morgan Park Military Academy, Morgan Park,Illinois, and Berlin and the Parkard School of Business, New York.

He completed his education by spending two years learning banking on Wall Street.

Robert Church, Jr., returned to Memphis, where he became the manager of Church's Park and Auditorium. He later became cashier of the Solvent Savings Bank and Trust Company, founded by his father, succeeding him as president after his death. Within a few years, he resigned this position to manage the family's extensive real estate holdings. On July 26,1911, Robert Church, Jr., married Sara P. Johnson of Washington, D. C., in that city. They became the parents of one child, Sara Roberta

In 1916, Robert Church, Jr., founded and financed the Lincoln League in Memphis, which was established to organize the masses of black citizens to register and vote. It was his conviction that the ballot was the medium through which citizens of color could obtain civil rights. The Lincoln League organized voter registration drives, voting schools, and paid poll taxes for voters. Within a few months, the League had registered 10,000 voters. A Lincoln League Ticket was entered in the 1916 election, which included a black candidate for the Congress. The ticket lost, but it established the Lincoln League as a viable and respected political force in Memphis; the League later expanded into a statewide and national organization.

In 1917, Church organized the Memphis Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the first branch in Tennessee. In 1919, he was elected to the national board of directors for the NAACP, representing fourteen southern states.

There were two factions of the Republican party in Memphis during Church's lifetime: one labeled by the daily press as the "Lily-White" (all white) wing of the party, and the other led by Church and called by the daily newspaper the "Black and Tans" (Negro and white). Robert Church, Jr., was a delegate from Memphis to eight successive Republican National Conventions from 1912-1940, having to battle each time with the white faction opposed to black participation in the party. Since Church's organization supplied the votes which carried the Republicans to victory in Memphis and Shelby County, he, as leader, was consulted by national party officials about federal patronage. Because the political climate in the South during his lifetime had not reached the point where he could recommend qualified black candidates for U. S. Postmaster, federal judge, U. S. Attorney, etc., he very carefully selected and recommended for those positions white candidates whom he thought were qualified men and who would perform their duties fairly and justly in the best interests of all segments of the population. He was requested frequently to recommend individuals for federal jobs in other southern states. He was consulted about political strategy by Republican Presidents and other high party officials so often that Time magazine referred to Church as the "roving dictator of the Lincoln Belt."

In the 1920's, when Robert Church, Jr., was at the height of his political influence, E. H. Crump, the Memphis Democratic leader, had not reached his political zenith. Church and Crump had totally disparate political philosophies and maintained autonomous political organizations. When it became necessary to discuss political procedures with the city administration, such as primary or general elections, county conventions, etc., Church was represented by attorneys from his group, usually Josiah T. Settle, Jr., a Negro, and George Klepper and Baily Walsh, both of whom were white. Since it was not possible for a Republican to be elected mayor of Memphis, Church occasionally supported Democratic candidates he thought would be fair to Negroes, such as Watkins Overton, a family friend.

In 1940, when it appeared that Wendell Wilkie, the Republican candidate for President, might defeat incumbent President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in order to prevent Church's return to power (should the Republicans win the election), the city administration moved to destroy Church's political base by seizing his real estate holdings, allegedly for back taxes. At the same time, the city administration moved against two prominent Church associates: Dr. J. B. Martin, owner of the South Memphis Drug Store on south Florida Street, and Elmer Atkinson, proprietor of a cafe on Beale Street. City policemen, stationed at the front entrances of the men's establishments, searched all customers who entered, causing Martin and Atkinson to sustain tremendous financial losses. Atkinson had to close his cafe. Martin and Atkinson moved to Chicago, and Church established himself in Washington, D. C. Church Park and Auditorium was renamed "Beale Avenue Auditorium," and the family home was burned, ostensibly to test some of the City's new fire-fighting equipment.

At the invitation of his friend, A. Philip Randolph, the distinguished Negro labor leader, Church accepted membership on the board of directors of the National Council For A Permanent Fair Employment Practices Committee (now known as Equal Employment Opportunity) and worked tirelessly for the enactment of such legislation. In 1944, he organized and was elected chairman of the Republican American Committee, a group of 200 Negro Republican leaders from thirty-two states, who united to pressure Republican senators and congressmen to enact fair employment and other civil rights' legislation.

Church visited Memphis in 1952, after attending the Republican State Convention in Nashville, to promote General Dwight D. Eisenhower as the Republican candidate for President. He was talking Republican politics when he died of a fatal heart attack on April 17, 1952.

Roberta Church and Ronald Walter

Source: Internet

The Loeb Family

For almost 120 years now the Loeb family has owned and operated businesses in Memphis. Although the name stays the same the businesses have changed dramatically.

In 1887 Henry Loeb Sr. was in business making and selling both hats and shirts. Ladies taking delivery of the shirts often suggested that he launder the shirts as well as selling them. The market for shirt laundering was considerable and Henry Sr. found his business growing. By 1910 he was expanding his business into a 3 story cleaning plant on Madison Avenue. As this was two full blocks east of Main Street, Loeb's horse-drawn delivery service was welcomed by the community.

When Henry Loeb Sr. died in 1936 his son William took over the family the family business, but only lived another five years. Upon William's death the family business came under a trust until William's two sons, Henry and Bill (William Jr.) could complete their education.

The two brothers did not get along particularly well, and in the end Bill bought Henry out and Henry entered politics. Both brothers hit the ground running with Henry Loeb being twice elected Mayor of Memphis and Bill growing the business into a large and diverse portfolio.

As a former mayor of Memphis Henry Loeb III is given his own article on the site. After buying his brothe out Bill Loeb's laundry operations once reached the 500 employee mark. During the 1960's and 70's, Bill aggressively built the laundry business to a peak of 500 employees, 80 delivery trucks, 50 branches and 45 coin-operated launderettes. He also founded a chain of 100 barbeque restaurants spanning 7 states and a chain of 30 convenience stores. while building dozens of strip center buildings to house his retail businesses Loeb still found time to involve himself in real estate, industrial linen, barbecue, fried chicken, convenience stores and outdoor advertising businesses.

In the 1980’s the fourth generation of Loebs took over the family business. Bill’s sons Louis and Bob became general partners in the now consolidated, Loeb Properties. Bill's other children remained limited partners with assets managed by Bob and Lou. The two brothers chose to phase out the retail businesses and focus on real estate investment and management.

In the 1980’s the fourth generation of Loebs took over the family business. Bill’s sons Louis and Bob became general partners in the now consolidated, Loeb Properties. Bill's other children remained limited partners with assets managed by Bob and Lou. The two brothers chose to phase out the retail businesses and focus on real estate investment and management.

The Loeb's barbecue business was hurting badly in the 1980s due to increased competition and an inability to standardize the product throughout locations. Bob and Lou began early on to divest the family business of some of the seemingly unrelated ventures. The large outdoor advertising was sold to Naegele (later sold to Clear Channel), the advertising budget was slashed and the self-service laundromats were down-sized and limited to pre-defined areas of town.

All of the retail business locations including barber shops and a large string of convenience stores were sold or leased to a variety of small businesses. Needing to lease or sell this much property taught the two brothers a lot about real estate. Today the plan is to continue to acquire and centralize real estate holdings.

Note: Both brothers, Bill Jr. and Henry III died in 1992.

Source: Internet

Billy Graham's Prayer For Our Nation

THIS MAN SURE HAS A GOOD VIEW OF WHAT'S HAPPENING TO OUR COUNTRY!

'Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your Forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word Says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have Done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We Have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded Laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it Choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable... We have Neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem. We Have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor's Possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity And pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the Time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search Us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from sin and Set us free.

In Jesus name, amen!' With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep over our nation and Wholeheartedly become our desire so that we once again can be called 'One Nation under God!'

Source: Internet

Strawberry Santas

1 lb large strawberries

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

3-4 Tablespoons powdered sugar (or sugar substitute - to taste)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Rinse strawberries and cut around the top of the strawberry. Remove the top, (enough for a hat). Clean out the whole strawberry with a paring knife, if necessary (some of them are hollow already. Prep all of the strawberries and set aside.

2. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla until creamy. Add cream cheese mix to a piping bag or Ziploc with the corner snipped off. Fill the strawberries with cheesecake mixture.
3. Once strawberries are filled, top with the 'hats.' Decorate according to photo.
4. If not serving immediately, refrigerate until serving.

Keedoozle

Keedoozle automated grocery store in Memphis, Tennessee. Photo taken by Paul Robert Alvey Family in 1948.

Keedoozle was the first fully automated grocery store, a vending machine concept developed by Clarence Saunders in 1937. "Keedoozle" is a word coined by Saunders for a Key Does All for the grocery shopper. The Keedoozle concept was intended to be a grocery shopper labor saving and cost saving device. These groceries were offered at a cost of 10% - 15% below the going rate. The Keedoozle store sold mostly dry goods at a half a penny to three cents over cost. Saunders developed this concept from his self-service Piggly Wiggly grocery store concept.


Clarence Saunders' first self-service grocery store, concept developed in 1949 into the first fully automated grocery store, "Keedoozle" - Key Does All.

Saunders' Keedoozle was a prototype for a store for automatic dispensing of groceries and registering the total cost at the pick up counter. Sample merchandise was displayed behind rows of little display cabinets of glass boxes. Shoppers selected their merchandise with a key given to them initially. Customers then put the key in labeled keyholes at the merchandise display and selected the quantity.


Clarence Saunders' first self-service Keedoozle grocery store supply room

Electric circuits caused perforations to be cut in a ticker tape attached to the face of the customer's key. The customers then took the punched out tape to the cashier for processing. The cashier would insert the tape into a reading mechanism that would electronically read it. That set off electrical and electronic circuits which started the goods sliding down conveyor belts and did the cost tallying in the process.

The key-activated mechanism was not completely automated, however. Their groceries were hidden behind stockroom walls and refrigeration units. Stock personnel had put their selected items onto conveyor belts physically that in turn moved to the cashier for check out. A mechanism added up the tally for the customer’s total bill. The shoppers picked up their groceries all wrapped up or boxed accordingly when they paid.

Technology

The Keedoozle idea was too complicated, which led to its demise. Technology was not available to handle the concept. Circuits got mixed up easily and shoppers got the wrong merchandise. The conveyor belt system was not capable of handling such a high traffic load, especially at peak times.

Barcelona Spain 2006 - automated grocery store.

Another reason given for these failures was, It's too far ahead of the buying habits of the public. It was just too much for the average mind to grasp, too far in advance of the public thinking. Saunders received posthumously the 1958 U.S. Patent 2,820,591 for the Keedoozle technology concept.

The concept instead has evolved today into the self checkout shopping environment. Historians say Saunders' concept was fifty years ahead of its time. Some say the concept could likely return: The technology exists, and the mood in America is ripe for this concept.

Stores

Three Keedoozle stores total were built. The first Keedoozle store was opened in Memphis, Tennessee, on May 15, 1937, by the Keedoozle Corporation of which Saunders was president. This first store closed after a few months because the mechanical technology was not capable of handling the high traffic loads. This store reopened in 1939 in the same location but failed again for the same reason.

The third store built in 1948 was at the corner of Poplar and Union Extended in Memphis. It was open for a little over a year and also failed for the same reason as the first two attempts. This third and final store has since been torn down.

Links

Keedoozle, Tine Magazine

Keedoozle Youtube

Source: Internet

Memphis Historic Buildings

Tennessee Club . 130 N. Court Avenue

This is one of the most distinctive buildings in Memphis. It was designed by Edward Terrell and built in 1890 for the Tennessee Club. The style is a mixture of Victorian, Romanesque, and Moorish. The Tennessee Club was founded by a group of men , mostly Confederate Officers, who were determined to restore social graces to the city after the Civil War. They established a library and art gallery and fostered civic and scientific debates. Many social events were presented in their 4th floor ballroom. In 1970, the building was purchased by the law firm of Burch, Porter & Johnson, who renovated the building.

S. C. Toof Company . 295 Madison Avenue - next to AutoZone Park

Architect G. M. Shaw designed this "Chicago School" style building for the S. C. Toof & Company in 1913. The impressive building with Egyptian Revival influences, has terra cotta elements. The Toof company is the oldest printing company in Memphis, and still in business as "Toof Commercial Printing". The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. In the mid 1990's there were plans to establish a minor league baseball museum in the vacant building, but as of 2008 the building is still vacant and boarded up. This building is in danger!

Dixie Greyhound Bus Lines Complex on Main St.

Clayborn Temple ... 280 Hernando at Pontotoc

This building housed the Second Presbyterian Church until it was sold to the African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1949 and the name was changed to Clayborn Temple. After the name change, the church became an important center for the black community during the Civil Rights Movement. Martin Luther King spoke at Clayborn several times and the sanitation worker marches started and ended there.


First Beale Street Baptist ... 379 Beale

This is the first brick church in the south built by and for former slaves to serve their community. The congregation originated in 1849 in the home of a white Baptist minister. A city ordinance at the time prohibited blacks from preaching to a congregation and required a white man to be present during all services. After Memphis fell to Union forces in 1862, these regulations were dropped, but the church continued under the leadership of a white minister until 1864.

In 1865 the church raised enough money to purchase their lot on Beale. It then took them more than 22 years to raise enough money to build the magnificent church designed by Edward Culliatt Jones and Mathias Baldwin. The cornerstone was laid in 1871 and the building finished in 1885. The twin towers were originally much taller and more ornate. One tower was damaged during a windstorm in the 1880s and the other was struck by lightning a number of times. But it remains a graceful and imposing structure. Ida Wells published her newspaper from here and W. C. Handy's memorial service was held here in 1958. The church is now on the "endangered" list and is in need of restoration.


Sears Building . 495 N. Watkins

The grand opening of Sears Crosstown was in 1927. At that time it was the South's only Sears, Roebuck and Company catalog order plant. There were 11 floors and 650,000 square feet of floor space. It was also a Gothic architectural gem. The building was expanded over the years, but in 1983 it closed, and the building has been vacant sine 1996. Today there are broken windows and rusty fire escapes, but there is a bright future. In 2007, the property was purchased and the new owner is expected to renovate the building as a retail facility.

Business Men's Club . Chamber of Commerce . 81 Monroe

The Memphis Business Men's Club was founded in 1899. Their purpose was simply to promote the interests of Memphis. Their building was designed by Shaw and Pfeil in 1919 and inspired by the designs of architect Louis Sullivan. In 1913 the Business Men's Club changed their name to the Memphis Chamber of Commerce. In 1980 the building was converted to office space. The Chamber of Commerce moved to the Falls Building on Front Street.

The various names of the Chamber of Commerce since 1838: Memphis Businessmen’s Club (1838) . Memphis Businessmen's Club Chamber of Commerce (1916) . Memphis Chamber of Commerce (1917) . Memphis Area Chamber of Commerce (1975) . The Chamber – Memphis Area Chamber of Commerce (1982) . Memphis Regional Chamber of Commerce (2002) . Greater Memphis Chamber (2007).

Memphis Historic Houses

Ashlar Hall



Status: Preserved

Address: 1397 Central Ave

Date Built: 1896

Ashler Hall - 1896: On Central Avenue. Designed by Brinkley Snowden who graduated from Princeton in 1890. The name comes from the term 'ashler' used to describe squared, hewn stone. The house came to be owned by Holiday Inn Corporation. Next it became a fine restaurant. And then it was sold to Prince Mongo, an eccentric Memphis Millionaire. He has moved on. Now the property is for sale again, sitting vacant, in a sad state of decay.

Austin, John Alexander, House

Status: Preserved

Address: 290 South Front St

Date Built: 1876


The James Lee/ Goyer house

The James Lee House is a historic home at 690 Adams Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee. It used to house the Memphis Academy of Art. It is 8,100-square-foot home was constructed by William Harsson in 1848. Harsson's daughter Laura married Charles Wesley Goyer, who bought the house in 1852. Goyer who had it expanded by the architecture firm of Edward Culliatt Jones and Matthias H. Baldwin in 1871 after seeing their work in designing the neighboring Woodruff-Fontaine House. A Princeton University educated riverboat captain bought the house in 1890 and in 1925 it became the James Lee Memorial Art Academy a predecessor of the Memphis Academy of Art. The home was used by Canadian indie rock group the Tokyo Police Club a music video for their 2008 song In a Cave.

Circa 1900. Gypsy Cotillion Ball at the James Lee Home. The women are dressed as gypsies

Links:

Sara Patterson James Lee House April 2011 Abandoned Memphis The Commercial Appeal

Photo of James Lee House (Flikr)

Abandoned Memphis James Lee House photo gallery The Commercial Appeal

Allen, Walter Granville, House

Status: Preserved

Address: 8504 Macon Road

Date Built: C. 1913

Mollie Fontaine Taylor House



The Mollie Fontaine Taylor House is a historic Victorian architecture residence at 679 Adams Avenue converted into a bar an restaurant in the Victorian Village section of Memphis, Tennessee. Built circa 1886 it was a wedding present for a wealthy daughter of Nolan Fontaine. The father's home where she grew up, the Woodruff-Fontaine House, is across the street and is now a museum.

Mollie Fontaine Taylor House: Built in 1890 on Adams Avenue. The home was built as a wedding present for a daughter. It certainly belongs to the Victorian style that states 'If one kind of decoration is good, then two or three kinds would be better'. and could easily be compared to a wedding cake. Mollie's father lived across the street and Mollie lived in this house until her death in 1936. Currently the house is a bar/restaurant and is said to be haunted by Mollie's ghost.

External links

Memphis Historic Homes

photos of house (Flikr)

Mollie Fontaine Lounge website

Barton, Pauline Cheek, House

Status: Preserved

Address: 6562 Green Shadows

Date Built: 1937

Woodruff-Fontaine House

WOODRUFF-FONTAINE HOUSE: Adams Avenue. Dating from 1871, this is one of the most elegant of the city's old Victorians. Unlike most of the homes in the area, this was built all at one time. It has a steep mansard roof, showing the French influence. The home was built by Amos Woodruff - a carriage maker who had become president of two banks, a railroad company, etc. etc. In 1883 Noland Fontaine purchased the home and his family lived here for the next 46 years, becoming famous for their lavish parties - often more than 2000 guests. Tennessee governors and President Grover Cleveland attended parties here. In 1930 Rosa Lee purchased the house for the expansion of her art academy next door. After the art school moved to Overton Park in 1959, the house was vacant until 1961. Purchased by the Association for Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities, it is now open for tours.



The Woodruff-Fontaine House is a historic building constructed in 1871 on what was once "Millionaire's Row" on Memphis, Tennessee's Adams Avenue. It is located at 680 Adams Avenue and operated for tours, luncheons, weddings, and as a gift shop. It was designed by the Jones and Baldwin firm of Edward C. Jones and Matthias H. Baldwin. Impressed by its construction, the neighbors had their home, the Goyer Lee House, expanded by the same firm.

External Links:

Historic Properties in Memphis/Endangered

Woodruff-Fontaine House website

Anderson-Coward House (Justine´s Restaurant)

Status: Preserved

Address: 919 Coward Place

Date Built: 1854

Anderson-Coward House. Coward Place. Built in 1840. For 37 years this building housed 'Justine's', which was considered the city's finest restaurant. This elegant building survived a shirmish on the property during the Civil War, but it can't seem to escape the vacancy and vandalish of today. The property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and on another list - the 'endangered list.'

Annesdale House

Address: 1325 Lamar

Date Built: 1850

Annesdale: Built in 1850 on Lamar Avenue. The home was Originally built by Dr. Samuel Mansfield, a wholesale druggist from Maryland, on 200 acres on the outskirts of Memphis. Nineteen years later, Colonel Robert Brinkley bought the estate as a wedding gift to his daughter Annie and at that time, it was named Annesdale, for Annie's Dale. Since 1869, Annesdale has been home to the same family for at leat 7 generations. It is Italian Villa in style, built with bricks made on the site. The four-story tower overlooks the present seven and a half acre park-like setting.

Robert S. Bowles, Houses

Status: Preserved

Address: 544-548 Vance Avenue

Removed From National Registrar 7/22/1980

Maxwelton

Maxwelton, currently a private residence, is a single story Victorian Piano Box House located on Southern Avenue near Buntyn's Station along what was the Memphis and Charleston Railroad.

In Middle and West Tennessee, Piano Box Houses were erected from the mid-19th century into the early part of the 20th century. The name for these one-story houses derives from their similarity to box-shaped pianos.

Maxwelton was built around 1860 of Tennessee native Poplar and Cypress woods and features a long recessed central porch between two flanking parlors. The interior of the home has fourteen foot ceilings and four inch pine board floors. There are five fireplaces with wooden mantels and some have ornately tiled hearths. It is named after the famed estate in Scotland whose stories are chronicled through story and song. Maxwelton was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

Judge John Louis Taylor Sneed purchased the home in 1874 and the home has been in the Sneed - Ewell family for four generations. Upon his death, his wife inherited Maxwelton and since there were no children from their union the home was passed to her nephew, John Sneed Webb and then to Webb's daughter, Kathleen. In 1918 Kathleen was married in the home to Arthur Peyton Ewell and they had two sons, Arthur Webb Ewell and John Sneed Ewell both of whom were born in Mawelton's west bedroom.

Location: 3105 Southern Ave., Memphis, Tennessee

Coordinates: 35°6′53″N 89°57′27″WCoordinates: 35°6′53″N 89°57′27″W

Area: 1.5 acres (0.61 ha)

Architectural style: Late Victorian, Pianobox

Governing body: Private

NRHP Reference#: 80003866

Added to NRHP: March 10, 1980

Boyce-Gregg House

Status: Preserved

Address: 317 South Highland

Date Built: 1920-21

Bradford-Maydwell House

Status: Preserved

Address: 648 Poplar Avenue

Date Built: C. 1859

Capt. Harris House

Status: Preserved

Address: 2106 Young Avenue

Date Built: 1898

Robert M. Carrier House

Status: Preserved

Address: 642 South Willett St

Date Built: 1926

Cornelius Lawrence Clancy House

Status: Preserved

Address: 911 Kerr

Date Built: 1900

E.H. Crump House



The E.H.Crump House. Circa 1908. 1962 Peabody Avenue. "Boss" Crump is said to have picked every mayor the city had from his own term starting in 1909 til his death in 1954. Doric columns support the Greek Revival front porch.

Status: Preserved

Address: 1962 Peabody Avenue

Date Built: 1909

E. H. CRUMP HOUSE. Peabody Avenue. Circa 1908. Doric columns support the Greek Revival front porch. Ed Crump was the 'Boss' of Memphis and is said to have picked every mayor the city had from his own term starting in 1909 until his death in 1954. A second story is now being added to the rear of the house to blend in seamlessly with an earlier addition.

Rowland J. Darnell, House (Nineteenth Century Club)

Address: 1433 Union Avenue

Date Built: 1907

ROLAND DARNELL HOUSE - 19th CENTURY CLUB - On Union . Built in 1909 by lumberman Roland Darnell. It was one of many fine mansions that lined this street. Now it is the only one. Currently owned by the 19th Century Club for the last 85 years, it is currently in grave danger. The club cannot afford the price to renovate and has already auctioned off the original antiques. Now the property, with its original interior details, is up for sale. Since Union is lined with fast food joints, the fate of this elegant mansion should not surprise anyone.

Elam Homestead

Status: Preserved

Address: 1428 Fox

Date Built: 1854

Source: Internet

Memphis Historic Houses Page 2

Elias Lowenstein was a leader in the Memphis Jewish community. He served as president of Temple Isreal for 15 years. He contributed liberally to rebuilding the city after the disastrous 1870's yellow fever epidemics. In 1891 Elias Lowenstein built a mansion which was Memphis' most important Victorian Romanesque residence and one of the finest of its styles in the South. After his death in 1919, his family donated it to the Nineteenth Century Club for use as a residence for young working women who did not have family in the city and, therefore, under social customs of the day were expected to live in a protected environment. A porch with cupola was removed in 1929 for construction of an annex.

Elias Lowenstein House - 1891: Elias Lowenstein, born in Germany, emigrated to Memphis in 1854. In Memphis he headed, B. Lowenstein and Bros. a Department Store, which was prominent in the city for 125 years. Lowenstein was a leader in the Jewish community and served as president of Temple Isreal for 15 years. He also contributed liberally to rebuilding the city after the disastrous 1870's yellow fever epidemics. In 1891 he built this mansion which is the cities most important Victorian Romanesque residence and one of the finest of its styles in the South. After his death in 1919, his family donated it to the Nineteenth Century Club for use as a residence for young working women who didn't have family in the city and, under social customs of the day, were expected to live in a protected environment.

Fowlkes-Boyle House

Status: Preserved

Address: 208 Adams Avenue

Date Built: 1853

Patrick Hayley, House

Status: Preserved

Address: 604 Vance Avenue

Removed From National Registrar 7/21/1980

Hunt-Phelan House

Status: Preserved

Address: 533 Beale Street

Date Built: 1830, 1855

Hunt-Phelan House - 1828: On Beale Street. Built for George Wyatt, a land surveyor, in the Federal brick style. Purchased in 1835 by Eli Driver who left it to his daughter Elizabeth Phelan who made additions in 1851, changing the style to Greek Revival. By the Civil War in 1862 the home was owned by William Hunt. His family was chased out and the building was occupied by Union Generals, including Ulysses S. Grant. During the Yellow Fever outbreaks, the home became a hospital. And after the Civil War, it even became a school for newly freed slaves. This antebellum mansion is now a Bed and Breakfast and a restaurant.

Mosby-Bennett House (Hunter-Lane House)

Status: Preserved

Address: 6256 Poplar Avenue

Date Built: 1852

Newburger, Joseph, House (Memphis Theological Seminary)

Status: Preserved

Address: 168 East Parkway

Date Built: 1912

JOSEPH NEWBERGER HOME: Corner of Union and Parkway. Newberger was president of the Newberger Cotton Co. In the 1970's the house was occupied by the Memphis Theological Seminary.

Paisley Hall (Galloway House)

Status: Preserved

Address: 1822 Overton Park Ave

Date Built: 1908-1910

GALLOWAY MANSION . Overton Park Avenue . Built 1910 . The Galloway is considered to be one of the best examples of early 20th century Greek Revival architecture in Memphis. Four massive limestone Ionic columns support a two-story front portico. Much of the interior was imported from Europe, including a marble fireplace with an elaborately carved French walnut mantle in the drawing room featuring life-sized figures. It sits on 1.15 acres of well-manicured grounds with glorious azaleas more than six feet tall. Elvis Presley was interested in Galloway prior to buying Graceland. The home was built by Robert Galloway, who was instrumental in getting the Memphis Zoo built. The Galloway mansion was sold at auction in 2003 and is now considered 'in danger'.

Links

Interview With Jan Coleman Present Owner

Landmarkhunter

Mallory–Neely House

MALLORY-NEELY HOUSE: Adams Avenue. Built as a one story in 1852 by Isaac Kirtland, president of an Insurance Co. Benjamin Babb purchased it in 1864 and added a second story. In 1883 he sold to James Neely who restyled the house and added a third story, as well as heightening the central tower. He also added window screens - the first in Memphis. After Neely's death, the 25 room home passed to his children. The surviving owner gave the house and its entire contents to the DAR to be preserved as a museum. It is now owned by the City of Memphis and was scheduled to reopen in 2011.



The Mallory–Neely House is a historic residence on 652 Adams Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. It is located in the Victorian Village district of Memphis.

History

Around 1852, the mansion was built in the Italianate style as an early Victorian villa . From 1852 until 1969, the mansion was home to the families of Isaac Kirtland, Benjamin Babb, James C. Neely, Daniel Grant and Barton Lee Mallory.

In the 1880's and 1890's, the house was extensively renovated. During the renovation, the original two and one half stories of the building were extended to three full stories and the tower of the building was enlarged. After the renovation, the house consisted of 25 rooms. The Neely family decorated the mansion in the Victorian style, with parquet flooring, ornamental plasterwork and ceiling stenceling.

In 1969, the last resident of the mansion, Daisy Neely-Mallory, died at age 98. According to her wish, the house was deeded to the Daughters, Sons, and Children of the American Revolution.

Museum

In 1972, the Victorian Village district of Memphis was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. And in 1973, the mansion was turned into a museum. The museum is operated by the City of Memphis and Museums Inc. since 1987 and part of the Pink Palace Family of Museums.

In 2005, the Mallory–Neely House was closed to the public due to funding problems of the City of Memphis.

"Mallory-Neely House in Memphis to Welcome Tourists Again". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved 2012-11-02.

The Mallory-Neely House was reopened to VIPs with a special ceremony on Saturday November 4, 2012 It reopens to the general public on November 11, 2012. The house has been stabilized and re-roofed with slate tiles and full copper trim. The house has had numerous additions to make it accessible under ADA rules. As of November 4, 2012, the public will be admitted on Fridays and Saturdays only. A ramp now allows entry to the first floor. The second floor is accessible via a twenty minute video which can be seen in the carriage house which is also the ticket office.

W.B. Mallory Home

W. B. MALLORY HOME. Lamar Avenue. Built in 1890's. Mallory was a Confederate veteran from North Carolina, who moved to Memphis in 1869 and engaged in the insurance business.

Pink Palace Mansion



Clarence Saunders Home. Circa 1918. 1561 Peabody Avenue. It is said that this home had the first central vacuum system in Memphis and that many of the plan features were enlarged and used in the more famous Saunders home, now the Pink Palace Museum on Central. This home was also once the home of the Binswanger family of local stained glass fame.

The headquarters for the Pink Palace Family of Museums is covered in pink Georgian marble, and was given to the city of Memphis in the late 1920's because of financial troubles of its owner, Clarence Saunders, the founder of Piggly Wiggly. Saunders built the Pink Palace mansion as his own residence in 1923, but lost the home because of financial reversals on Wall Street. The Pink Palace Mansion opened as the Memphis Museum of Natural History and Industrial Arts in March 1930. The original exhibits featured stuffed animals and birds, dolls, anthropological items from local wealthy collectors and items related to Memphis' history, such as Confederate military uniforms and memorabilia.

CLARENCE SAUNDERS 'PINK PALACE' . On Central Avenue. Built 1922. Clarence Saunders started construction of this building for his grand home. It was incomplete when he lost his fortune and he never lived here. Developers gave the building to Memphis and it became the Municipal Museum in 1930.

Porter-Leath Home

Status: Preserved

Address: 850 Manassas Street

Date Built: 1856, 1875

Richards, Newton Copeland, House

Status: Preserved

Address: 975 Peabody Avenue

Date Built: C. 1890

Roulhac, Dr. Christopher M., House

Status: Preserved

Address: 810 Mclemore

Date Built: 1926-1953

Steele Hall

Status: Preserved

Address: Lemoyne-Owen College Campus

Date Built: 1914

Stephens-Cochran House

Status: Preserved

Address: 784 Poplar Avenue

Removed From National Registrar 1/17/1985

Toof, John S., House

Status: Preserved

Address: 246 Adams Avenue

Date Built: 1875

Magevney House



The Magevney House is a historic residence on 198 Adams Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. It is located in the Victorian Village of Memphis. It is one of the oldest residences remaining in Memphis.

History

In the 1830's, the Magevney House was built by Eugene Magevney as a clapboard cottage. Eugene Magevney was born in Ireland in 1798, immigrated to the United States in 1828 and settled in Memphis in 1833. He was a pioneer teacher and civic leader and died of Yellow Fever in 1873.

During the late 1830's and early 1840's, three important events in Memphis religious history took place in the cottage. In 1839, the first Catholic mass in Memphis was celebrated in the house. In 1840, the first Catholic marriage in Memphis was officiated at the residence. And in 1841, the first Catholic baptism was performed in Memphis at the Magevney homestead.

In 1941, the family of Eugene Magevney gave the property to the City of Memphis.

In 1973, the Magevney House was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Since 2005, the house and museum are closed to the public. A sign installed at the museum informs visitors that the property is closed to the public temporarily, due to the budget situation of the City of Memphis and that the house will re-open upon the availability of funding. The Magevney House is part of the Pink Palace Family of Museums.

Magevney House at 198 Adams, built in 1830s is one of the oldest residences in Memphis. Magevney was a pioneer teacher and civic leader and died of Yellow Fever in 1873. Three important events took place in this house: The first Catholic Mass ... the first Catholic Marriage in Memphis ... the first Catholic baptism performed in Memphis

Davies Manor



Davies Manor is the oldest extant home in Shelby County, Tennessee, and possibly in West Tennessee. It is a two-story log and chink home made using white oak logs on what was once a plantation with a total of approximately 2,000 acres (8.1 km2).

Origins

The original maker of the Davies Manor is unknown although some sources note it as having been built by Native Americans in 1807. This legend likely came from the fact that a Native American trail did run nearby, and Dr. Julius Augustus Davies, one of the men who lived in the home, was an avid collector of Native American artifacts. In 1821, North Carolina granted 600 acres of land to Thomas Henderson in return for his Revolutionary War Service. In 1832, Henderson sold 320 acres of this land to Emmanuel Young, who allowed the taxes to lapse. It is likely that either Henderson or Young built the original one-room log cabin, which is now the parlor of the manor house.

Shelby County tax collector Joel W. Royster purchased the home in 1831 and, from that time until 1837, expanded the house from one room to two stories. A locater's deed shows the purchase of Shelby County land by William E. Davies in 1838, but the 1850 census lists Davies living with his family in Fayette County. It is generally accepted that William's two sons, Logan Early Davies (age 14) and James Baxter Davies (age 12), came to and from Fayette County on Stage Road (now part of Highway 64) to farm the land. In 1851, Logan and James bought the land with the house on it from Royster, creating what became known as Davies Plantation. At its heyday, the plantation was approximately 2,000 acres (8.1 km2). As many as 23 enslaved African-Americans lived on the property prior to the Civil War, during the days of American slavery.

Davies Family History

William Early Davies was the father of Logan and James Davies. His wife was Sarah Hadley, an accomplished quilter whose work is on display in the museum. Davies was a Methodist minister and grist mill operator. On November 11, 1824, Logan was born in Maury County, Tennessee. James was then born on June 9, 1826.

In 1854, James Baxter Davies (age 28) married Penelope Almeda Little (age 21). One year later, in 1855, Julius Augustus Davies was born. Two years later, in 1857, William Little Davies was born. In 1859, Penelope died at the age of 26, after five years of marriage. Logan Early Davies (age 36) married Frances Ina Vaughn Davies (age 19) in 1860. Gillie Mertis Davies was born a year later, on December 25, 1861. In 1863, Linnie Lee Davies was born. Frances Davies died in 1865 at the age of 24 after five years of marriage.

James Davies served in the 38th Tennessee Infantry from March 5, 1862 to May 1865. He then married Pauline Leake, the younger sister of Almeda, his first wife. They divorced after two years. It is widely accepted that James Davies suffered from some sort of post-traumatic stress disorder, which contributed to the divorce. On June 17, 1904 James Baxter Davies died, leaving 596 acres (2.41 km2), including Davies Manor, to his sons, Dr. Julius Augustus and Dr. William Little Davies (both bachelors).

Twenty years later, on December 21, 1924, Dr. Julius Augustus Davies died, leaving one-half undivided interest in Davies Manor to his brother, Dr. William Little Davies. Seven years after that, Dr. William Little Davies died, leaving 596 acres (2.41 km2), including Davies Manor, to his cousin, Ellen Davies-Rodgers who donated the house to the Davies Manor Association in 1976. The house is located in Bartlett, Tennessee, a suburb of Memphis. This area was formerly part of Brunswick, Tennessee, and is sometimes identified as part of a nearby settlement called Morning Sun, where a Civil War skirmish took place.

Property as a Historic Site

After Dr. William Little Davies bequeathed the home and land to his cousin, Ellen Davies-Rodgers, she began an extensive renovation and preservation project on the log home with the eventual goal of opening the home to the public for tours, with the help of the Zachariah Davies Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Ms. Davies added electricity to the home in the late 1950's and began hosting tours, meetings, parties, and events. Upon her 1994 death, the Davies Manor Association, Inc. took on the task of preserving and interpreting Davies Manor Plantation. Their mission "is to preserve and enhance Davies Manor Plantation as a portrayal of early Shelby County farm life for the education and enjoyment of visitors." The museum is currently open Tuesday through Saturday, 12:00 to 4:00. The tour consists of a short video, followed by a docent-led tour of the house. In 2011, museum staff added a self-led walking tour of the grounds to complement the tour of the log home.

Several outbuildings comprise the grounds of Davies Manor. Mose's Cabin is a small tenant cabin used to interpret the life of both slaves and tenant farmers on the plantation, and is named after Mose Frasier, a worker on the plantation in the late nineteenth and early to mid twentieth centuries. The Gotten Cabin is a 1948 structure built by a local family in the style and with the materials of the 1830's. The Liberty Cabin originated in Middle Tennessee and is built in the mid-Atlantic/ Pennsylvania style. Both cabins were moved to Davies Manor from Libertyland theme park in 2006.

Davies Manor was used as the setting for several scenes in the movie "One Came Home" (2010) directed by local film-maker Willy Bearden.

Landscape

Davies Manor was given distinction as a Century Farm, or a Tennessee farm owned by the same family for over 100 years, until Ellen Davies-Rodger's death. It is recognized as a certified Backyard Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation, because of the extensive list of wildlife that makes the grounds of Davies Manor home. A pond to the rear of the property supports a variety of life, including fish, turtles, dragonflies, and frogs. The woods around the property also provide a home to various wildlife, including a pack of deer who can often be seen wandering the grounds.

Davies Manor Association, Inc. has teamed with the Memphis Area Master Gardeners to create a series of gardens, which help interpret pioneer and farm life. These include a kitchen garden, herb garden, and shade garden. In addition, the Master Gardeners cultivate a Plant a Row garden. Vegetables from this garden benefit Youth Villages.

Family and local legend suggests that a slight mound to the front of the home is an Indian mound. Archaeological research debunked this claim, however, as no evidence was ever uncovered during a recent dig on plantation grounds. This myth likely came from the true fact that Dr. Julius Augustus Davies was an avid collector of Indian artifacts and conducted several productive digs at his own plantation in Walls, Mississippi. An Indian trail likely did run near to Davies Manor Plantation because of its proximity to water, and Dr. Davies did find artifacts on the Brunswick property. Dr. Davies's collection is housed at Mississippi State University.

External links

Official Davies Manor Website

"Davies Manor Association, Inc.". Retrieved 18 July 2012.

"Liberty Cabin". Davies Manor Association, Inc.. Retrieved 18 July 2012.

"Gotten Cabin". Davies Manor Association, Inc.. Retrieved 18 July 2012.

"Pond". Davies Manor Association, Inc.. Retrieved 18 July 2012.

Graceland

GRACELAND MANSION . On Elvis Presley Blvd. Built 1939. The home of Elvis Presley. The original builder of the house was Stephen Toof , who named the property for his daughter, Grace. Presley purchased the home in 1957 and made many changes during the next 20 years he lived there. Today, more than 600,000 visitors make the pilgrimage to Graceland each year - making it the 2nd most visited home in the U.S - right after the White House.


Right side view of Graceland Mansion.

History

Graceland Farms was originally owned by S.C. Toof, founder of S.C. Toof & Co., a commercial printing firm in Memphis, who was previously the pressroom foreman of the Memphis newspaper, the Memphis Daily Appeal. The grounds were named after Toof's daughter, Grace, who inherited the farm. Soon after, the portion of the land designated as Graceland today was given to her nephews and niece. It was Grace Toof's niece, Ruth Moore, who, in 1939 together with her husband Dr. Thomas Moore, built the present American "colonial" style mansion.

Graceland is a large white-columned mansion and 13.8-acre (5.6 ha) estate that was home to Elvis Presley in Memphis, Tennessee. It is located at 3764 Elvis Presley Boulevard in the vast Whitehaven community about 9 miles (14.5 km) from Downtown and less than four miles (6 km) north of the Mississippi border. It currently serves as a museum. It was opened to the public on June 7, 1982. The site was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on November 7, 1991 and declared a National Historic Landmark on March 27, 2006. Graceland has become one of the most-visited private homes in America with over 600,000 visitors a year, behind the White House and Biltmore Estate (900,000 visitors per year).

Elvis Presley died at the estate on August 16, 1977. Presley, his parents Gladys and Vernon Presley, and his grandmother, are buried there in what is called the Meditation Garden. A memorial gravestone for Presley's twin brother, Jesse Garon, is also at the site.

Architecture and Modifications

The mansion is constructed of tan limestone and consists of twenty-three rooms, including eight bedrooms and bathrooms. The entrance way contains four Temple of the Winds columns and two large lions perched on both sides of the portico.

After purchasing the property Presley carried out extensive modifications to suit his needs and tastes, including: a fieldstone wall surrounding the grounds, a wrought-iron music-themed gate, a swimming pool, a racquetball court, and the famous "Jungle Room" which features an indoor waterfall, among other modifications. In February and October 1976, the Jungle Room was converted into a recording studio, where Presley recorded the bulk of his final two albums, From Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee and Moody Blue; these were his final known recordings in a studio setting.

One of Presley's better known modifications was the addition of the Meditation Garden, where he, his parents Gladys and Vernon, and grandmother are buried. A small stone memorializes Elvis' twin brother Jesse Garon who died at birth. The Meditation Garden was opened to the public in 1978. Graceland was officially opened to the public on June 7, 1982.

According to critics such as Albert Goldman, "'nothing in the house is worth a dime." In chapter 1 of his book, Elvis (1981), the author describes Graceland as looking like a brothel: "it appears to have been lifted from some turn-of-the-century bordello down in the French Quarter of New Orleans." And he dismisses the interior as "gaudy," "garish" and "phony," adding that "King Elvis's obsession with royal red reaches an intensity that makes you gag." When "people who to a real degree shared Elvis Presley’s class background, and whose lives were formed by his music," visited the inside of Graceland, Greil Marcus says in similar terms, they "have returned with one word to describe what they saw: 'Tacky.' Tacky, garish, tasteless — words others translated as white trash." In Graceland: Going Home With Elvis, Karal Ann Marling deals with the decorative arts that makes Elvis' mansion seem a creation as well as a site. Graceland's "act of faith in serial novelty," Marling argues, synthesized the "intense concern for personal style" that made B. B. King notice a teenage Elvis in a pawnshop years before he was famous and the fashion sense informing the "theme clothes" of the '70's — "carapace[s] of sheer, radiant glory." However, during their four year relationship, Presley's girlfriend Linda Thompson decorated much of Graceland in her own style. Even Presley himself was said to "balk at the extent of her red fur and leopard skin look."

Graceland grew from 10,266 square feet (953.7 m2) when originally bought by Presley to 17,552 square feet (1,630.6 m2) today. Managers of the complex announced a major renovation project that will include a new visitors center, a 500-room convention hotel and high-tech museum displays. The current visitors center, souvenir shops, the 128-room Heartbreak Hotel, and museums will be torn down and replaced with the new facilities. The project will take approximately three years to complete.

Presleys


Graceland sign.

After Elvis Presley began his career he bought a $40,000 home for himself and his family at 1034 Audubon Drive in Memphis. As his fame grew, especially after his appearances on television, the amount of fans that would congregate outside the home multiplied. Presley's neighbors, most of whom were happy to have a celebrity living nearby, soon came to find the constant gathering of fans and journalists a nuisance. After several complaints, Presley decided it was necessary for him to move to a property more suitable.

In early 1957, Presley gave his parents a $100,000 budget, and asked them to find a "farmhouse" type property to purchase. At the time, Graceland was located several miles beyond Memphis's main urban area. In later years Memphis would expand with housing, resulting in Graceland being surrounded by other properties. After Gladys died in 1958, and Vernon married Dee Stanley in 1960, the couple lived there for a time. Wife-to-be Priscilla Beaulieu also lived at Graceland for five years before she and Elvis married. After their marriage in Las Vegas on May 1, 1967, Priscilla lived in Graceland five more years until she separated from Presley in late 1972.

According to Mark Crispin Miller, Graceland became for Presley "the home of the organization that was himself, was tended by a large vague clan of Presleys and deputy Presleys, each squandering the vast gratuities which Elvis used to keep his whole world smiling." The author adds that Presley's father Vernon "had a swimming pool in his bedroom", that there "was a jukebox next to the swimming pool, containing Elvis' favorite records" and that the singer himself "would spend hours in his bedroom, watching his property on a closed-circuit television." Graceland was Lisa Marie Presley's first home after her birth on February 1, 1968 and her childhood home, although her main state of residence was California where she lived with her mother after she divorced Elvis when Lisa was in elementary school. Every year at Christmas time Lisa Marie Presley and all her family would go to Graceland to celebrate Christmas together. Lisa Marie Presley often goes back to Graceland for visits. When she turned 25, Lisa Marie Presley inherited the estate. In 2005 she sold 85 percent of it.

According to Brad Olsen, "Some of the rooms at Graceland testify to the brilliance and quirkiness of Elvis Presley." The TV room in the basement is where he often watched three television sets at once, and was within close reach of a wet bar."


The Jungle Room, Graceland

When he would tour, staying in hotels, "the rooms would be remodeled in advance of his arrival, so as to make the same configurations of space as he had at home – the Graceland mansion. His furniture would arrive, and he could unwind after his performances in surroundings which were completely familiar and comforting," the room in question, 'The Jungle Room' being "an example of particularly lurid kitsch."

The Meditation Garden, designed and built by architect Bernard Grenadier, has been noted as a preferred place of Presley in the property, where he often went to reflect on any problems or situations that arose during his life.

According to the singer's cousin, Billy Smith, Presley spent the night at Graceland with Smith and his wife Jo many times: "we were all three there talking for hours about everything in the world! Sometimes he would have a bad dream and come looking for me to talk to, and he would actually fall asleep in our bed with us."

There was some discord between Elvis and his stepmother Dee at Graceland, however, and Elaine Dundy said "that Vernon had settled down with Dee where Gladys had once reigned, while Dee herself - when Elvis was away - had taken over the role of mistress of Graceland so thoroughly as to rearrange the furniture and replace the very curtains that Gladys had approved of." This was too much for the singer who still loved his deceased mother. One afternoon, "a van arrived ... and all Dee's household's goods, clothes, 'improvements,' and her own menagerie of pets, were loaded on ... while Vernon, Dee and her three children went by car to a nearby house on Hermitage until they finally settled into a house on Dolan Drive which ran alongside Elvis' estate."

On August 16, 1977, Presley died in his bathroom at Graceland allegedly of a heart attack. However, there are conflicting reports as to the cause of his death. According to the well known Presley biographer Peter Guralnick, the singer "had thrown up after being stricken, apparently while seated on the toilet." The author adds that "drug use was heavily implicated in this unanticipated death of a middle-aged man with no known history of heart disease...no one ruled out the possibility of anaphylactic shock brought on by the codeine pills he had gotten from his dentist."

Kitchen

Presley made lists outlining items to be kept in Graceland at all times. Items included:

fresh, lean, unfrozen ground meat
one case regular Pepsi
one case orange drinks
rolls (hot rolls - Brown 'n' Serve)
at least 6 cans of biscuits
hamburger buns
pickles
potatoes and onions
assorted fresh fruits
cans of sauerkraut
wieners

at least three bottles each of milk and Half and Half.
thin, lean bacon
mustard
peanut butter
fresh, hand-squeezed cold orange juice
banana pudding (to be made fresh nightly)
ingredients for meat loaf and sauce
brownies (to be made fresh nightly)
ice cream - vanilla and chocolate
shredded coconut
fudge cookies

Tourist Destination


1st floor, Graceland (not to scale)


2nd floor, Graceland (not to scale)


Basement, Graceland (not to scale)

National Historic Landmark


Designation of Graceland mansion as a National Historic Landmark in 2006

Recent developments

In early August 2005, Lisa Marie Presley sold 85% of the business side of her father's estate. She kept the Graceland property itself, as well as the bulk of the possessions found therein, and she turned over the management of Graceland to CKX, Inc., an entertainment company (on whose board of directors Priscilla Presley sits) that also owns 19 Entertainment, creator of the American Idol TV show.


The final resting place of Elvis Presley on the grounds at Graceland.

In February 2006, CKX Chairman Bob Sillerman announced plans to turn Graceland into an international tourist destination on a par with the Disney or Universal theme parks, sprucing up the area mansion and doubling or possibly tripling the 600,000 annual visitors to around 2 million a year. Sillerman’s goal is to enhance the "total fan experience" at Graceland to compel visitors to spend more time and money. The company is working with the Bob Weis, the recently named new CEO of Disney Imagineering based in Orlando, Florida, to improve the tourist area around Graceland, which is located in an economically depressed area of Memphis, while keeping intact the historic home. Graceland officials envision a 3-mile (4.8 km) strip of Elvis Presley Boulevard transformed into a beautiful entertainment district from East Brooks RD all the way down to East Shelby Drive. EPE has bought up over 120 acres (0.49 km2) of land both commercial and residential around the mansion both north and south, everything from apartment complexes, car dealership, a souvenir shop and even some houses in the area to make way for the expansion.

Sillerman, who has been speaking with investors and developers, plans to spend between $250 million to $500 million on redeveloping the area surrounding Graceland. Among his plans are a new luxury hotel of more than 500 rooms and a convention center, an amphitheater for live concerts, restaurants and retail, plus a new 80,000-square-foot (7,400 m2) visitor's center and museum adjacent to the Graceland mansion. 2009 was set as the target date to begin work on the project but first it has to be approved by the Memphis City Council.

While visitor numbers grew to around 700,000, by 2005, and partly due to the negative impact on US tourism of 9/11, visitor numbers at Graceland had reportedly declined to around 600,000 due to the rough surrounding neighborhood.

Graceland was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on November 7, 1991 and designated a National Historic Landmark on March 27, 2006 Graceland was the first site related to rock and roll to be entered in the National Register of Historic Places. The nomination was prepared and submitted by college student Jennifer Tucker of Memphis.

After Elvis Presley's death in 1977, Vernon Presley served as executor of his estate. Upon his death in 1979, he chose Priscilla to serve as the estate executor for Elvis' only child, Lisa Marie who was only 11. Graceland itself cost $500,000 a year in upkeep, and expenses had dwindled Elvis' and Priscilla's daughter Lisa Marie's inheritance to only $1 million. Taxes were due on the property, those and other expenses due came to over $500,000. Faced with having to sell Graceland, Priscilla examined other famous houses/museums, and hired a CEO, Jack Soden, to turn Graceland into a moneymaker. Graceland was opened to the public on June 7, 1982. Priscilla's gamble paid off, after only a month of opening Graceland's doors the estate made back all the money it had invested. Priscilla Presley became the chairwoman and president of Elvis Presley Enterprises, or EPE, stating at that time she would do so until Lisa Marie reached 21 years of age. The enterprise's fortunes soared and eventually the trust grew to be worth over $100 million.

While Graceland was open to tours from 1982, the last person to live in the house was Elvis' aunt Delta, on Elvis' invitation after her husband died. She lived in in the house until her death in 1993.

An annual procession through the estate and past Elvis' grave is held on the anniversary of his death. The largest gathering assembled on the 25th anniversary in 2002. One estimate was of 40,000 people in attendance, despite the heavy rain.

The 20th Anniversary in 1997 had the biggest crowd in Memphis for an Elvis Week. At this time several hundred media groups from around the world were present and the event gained its greatest media publicity as an estimated 50,000 fans visited the city.

For many of the hundreds of thousands of people who visit Graceland each year, the visit takes on a quasi-religious perspective. They may plan for years to journey to the home of the ‘King’ of rock and roll. On site, headphones narrate the salient events of Elvis’s life and introduce the relics that adorn the rooms and corridors. The rhetorical mode is hagiographic, celebrating the life of an extraordinary man, emphasizing his generosity, his kindness and good fellowship, how he was at once a poor boy who made good, an extraordinary musical talent, a sinner and substance abuser, and a religious man devoted to the Gospel and its music. At the meditation garden, containing Elvis’s grave, some visitors pray, kneel, or quietly sing one of Elvis’s favorite hymns. The brick wall that encloses the mansion's grounds is covered with graffiti that express an admiration for the singer as well as petitions for help and thanks for favors granted.

The Graceland grounds include a museum containing many Elvis artifacts, like some of his famous Vegas jumpsuits, awards, gold records, the Lisa Marie jetliner, and Elvis' extensive auto collection. Recently Sirius Satellite Radio installed an all-Elvis Presley channel on the grounds. The service's subscribers all over North America can hear Presley's music from Graceland around the clock. Two new attractions have been added, Private Presley and the `68 Special exhibits; these can be found across the street on the plaza. The fieldstone wall that Presley installed is still there, and has several years' worth of graffiti from visitors, who simply refer to it as "the wall".

Tours of the museums at Graceland are available, though no flash photography or video cameras are allowed inside. There is an audio tour of the Graceland mansion. The upper floor is not open to visitors out of respect for the Presley family and partially to avoid any improper focus on the bathroom which was the site of his death. The upper floor, which also contains Elvis' bedroom, has been untouched since the day Elvis died and is rarely seen by non-family members. Visitors park across the street, boarding shuttle buses to begin the tour of Graceland. Attendants issue headphones, and tourists are individually snapped by a souvenir photographer in front of a painted wall with Graceland's famous music gates. Tour buses drive across Elvis Presley Blvd. through the smallish Music gates. Down the long winding drive the bus stops in front of stone lions that stand watch at the wide red brick front steps. It was behind these lions that over 3500 of Elvis' mourning fans passed by to see his body in its casket. The house is much bigger than expected, photos being of the main part only. A tour guide stands at the closed doors to give a brief history of Graceland starting with the woman (Grace) it was named for and concluding with the fact that Elvis bought Graceland when he was only 22 years old. Finally the door opens to allow entry through the front door where, almost directly overhead, perhaps forever unseen by the public, is where Elvis died, on his bathroom floor.


The Living Room, Graceland

"The first shock an Elvis fan experiences upon visiting Graceland is that the mansion is only barely set back from the road" and that through its gates one can see a shopping center. Upon entering Graceland, the white staircase, filled with reflective mirrors, is directly in front. To the right is the Living Room with the adjoining Music Room, the first room to be presented on the tour. There are guard rails up prohibiting entry to the Living Room and only part of the Music Room can be seen, hidden behind a doorway framed by vivid large peacocks set in stained glass. In this doorway, in front of the stained glass, Elvis' casket was placed for the funeral held in his home. Visible in the Music Room is a black baby grand piano and an old 1950s style TV. The Living Room contains a 15-foot-long (4.6 m) white sofa against the wall overlooking Graceland's front yard. To the left is a white fireplace. The painting that was Elvis' last Christmas present from his father, Vernon, hangs in this room. Also displayed are photographs of Elvis' parents Vernon and Gladys, Elvis and Lisa Marie. These rooms are then followed with a walk past the grand staircase to Elvis' parents' room.

In Elvis' parents' bedroom, white is the predominant color. A velvet-looking dark purple bedspread drapes onto the floor at the foot of the queen size bed. The walls, dresser, bed and carpet are bright white, protected from visitors by a guard rail. To the right is the closet, sealed with clear glass showing four or five of the dresses Gladys wore. To the left is a pink full bathroom, almost obscured from sight because of a velvet rope barrier.


Elvis' Lockheed Jetstar on display near Graceland.

Next, the tour takes you into the dining room and the kitchen (which was not open to the public until 1995, as Elvis' aunt Delta used it until her death in 1993) and continues through the basement, where Elvis' media room with its three televisions can be seen. There is also a bar and billiards room. The tour continues upstairs again, through the famous Jungle Room. After the Jungle room, it exits to the backyard, past Lisa Marie's childhood swing set, to a small white building that served as his father's office. Through the office there is a small room containing a scale model of the home where he was born in Tupelo, Mississippi. Elvis' shooting range is housed in what used to be an old smokehouse. Down the sloping lawn, past horses grazing behind neat white fences, visitors enter the "Trophy Room". Originally this space was a sidewalk behind the house that Elvis had enclosed to store his many items of appreciation. Just inside is Elvis' famous gold lamé suit from his early years.

In the Trophy Room many walls display records, movie posters, old time memorabilia of lipstick and shoes, even a 1950's Elvis doll. Among items there are the three Grammys Elvis won, Priscilla's wedding dress, Elvis' wedding tuxedo, Lisa Marie's toy chest and baby clothes and the famous hall of Elvis' gold records and awards. The Trophy Room then winds down the halls through a display of his 68 Comeback, featuring his leather suit, his personal copies of his movie scripts, costumes he wore in many of his movies and a few of his trademark jumpsuits. Also in this room are all the awards and distinctions Elvis received and a display of the many canceled checks Elvis wrote to various charities.


Elvis Presley's Convair 880, "Lisa Marie", named after his daughter

Once again outside, the tour moves past his still fully functioning stable of horses. Elvis' Racquetball Court is next, now housing a display of Elvis' sequined "jumpsuits". The entrance is reminiscent of entering an old country club, expertly built and expensively furnished in dark leather on the numerous bar chairs and sofas. A fully functional bar is on the right. To the left is a sunken sitting area with the ever present stereo system found throughout Graceland. There is also the dark brown upright piano upon which Elvis played for what were to be his last songs, Willie Nelson's Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain and The Righteous Brothers' "Unchained Melody". Reports conflict about which one was the last song. The sitting area has a floor to ceiling shatter proof window designed to watch the many racquetball games that took place here when Elvis was alive. In the early hours of the morning Elvis died he, his girlfriend Ginger Alden, his first cousin Billy Smith and Billy's wife Jo played a game of racquetball ending the game with the song on the piano before Elvis walked into the main house to wash his hair and go to bed. Today the court has been converted into displays of the majority of Elvis' stage costumes. More costumes are on display across the street in the "Sincerely Elvis" area. Many old vinyl records are hanging in the two story court, including numerous posthumous awards. Big screen TVs are scattered throughout Graceland. In the racquetball court Elvis' movies and recordings of his Las Vegas concerts play continually. Elvis had the swimming pool built after moving to Graceland.

Just past the pool area is the Meditation Garden where Elvis, his mother Gladys, his father Vernon and grandmother Minnie Mae Hood Presley lie buried. A separate building across the street houses a car collection, which includes Elvis' Pink Cadillac and not far away his two planes Lisa Marie (a Convair 880) and Hound Dog II (a Lockheed JetStar) are on display.

External links

Official website

History of Graceland With Home Movies and Pictures

Go Elvis

Clanlo Hall.

CLANO HALL. Central Avenue. Built in 1853. This is the oldest house on Central Avenue, and was once used as Union Headquarters during the Civil War. It was originally an all clapboard house. The brick facade was added about 1925. The name Clanlo comes form the first two letters of each of the names of three sisters who lived there after 1954 - Claire, Ann, Lois. Original photos of the house show a wooden plantation style house with a tin roof and six columns with Ionic Capitals. The house also had four double-flue chimneys that were used to heat the four public rooms downstairs and the four bedrooms upstairs. The kitchen, typical for the times, was a separate building at the rear of the house. There were other outbuildings as well, suggesting that this was a working plantation.

Circa 1853. 1616 Central Avenue. The oldest house on Central Avenue, once used as a Yankee headquarters was originally all clapboard. The brick façade was added about 1925. The name Clanlo comes from the first two letters of each of the names of three sisters who lived there after 1954. Claire, Ann, Lois.

Ashler Hall.



Ashler Hall - 1896: On Central Avenue. Designed by Brinkley Snowden who graduated from Princeton in 1890. The name comes from the term 'ashler' used to describe squared, hewn stone. The house came to be owned by Holiday Inn Corporation. Next it became a fine restaurant. And then it was sold to Prince Mongo, an eccentric Memphis Millionaire. He has moved on. Now the property is for sale again, sitting vacant, in a sad state of decay.

Circa 1896. 1395 Central Avenue. This home was designed and built by Brinkley Snowden who graduated in architecture from Pinceton in 1890. The name comes from the term "ashler" used to describe squared, hewn stone.

The Hunt-Phelan House.



Circa 1830 with façade additions in 1851. 533 Beale Streeet. Go enjoy a fine meal at the Inn at Hunt Phelan as this antebellum mansion is now used as an inn and restaurant. The original home was built for a land surveyor in the Federal brick style and the 1851 addition of the Greek Revival style portico really "spiffed it up". There is a lot of Civil War history in this place including its use as a hospital in 1863.



1865 . This rare photo shows the Hunt-Phelan property being used as a soldier's home after the Civil War.

Annesdale.



Circa 1855. 1325 Lamar Avenue. Originally built by a wholesale druggist from Maryland, Annesdale has been home to the same family for at least 7 generations since 1869. It is Italian Villa in style built with bricks made on the sitewith a four story tower overlooking the present seven and a half acre park-like setting.

Beverly Hall.



Known as Beverly Hall and also Greenwood. On Central Av . Built 1904. This is the earliest example of Colonial Revival Architecture in Memphis.

Cira 1906. 1560 Central. Once named "Greenwood", the land this home sits on was once a part of the Clanlo property. Designed by a Louisville, Kentucky architect, W.J. Dodd and the local firm of Jones and Furbringer it is the earliest example of Colonial Revival Architecture in Memphis and the precursor of the Galloway Mansion.

The Rozell House.



The descendants of Solomon Rozelle built this house on Harbert Street in 1853 and it's a gracious reminder of earlier times. Rozelle was a true pioneer of Shelby County and among the first white settlers in the area. The house is built of yellow poplar siding and tapered shingles. There are six gables, the two largest forming the front of the house.

Circa 1853. 1737 Harbert Avenue. This six gabled home is built of yellow poplar and tapered shingles by one of the families that donated land to build and support First Methodist Church. It sits on one of the highest elevations in this part of town. This family also donated land from their acerage for right-of-way for the first railroad that came to Memphis.

John Martin House



D.T. Porter House



D. T. PORTER Home. Vance and Orleans. Built 1895 in French Renaissance style. Porter was a former druggist who became a grocer and commission merchant. As a memorial, his family bought the D. T. Porter Building.

Hillcrest - 1907



HILLCREST . On Peabody . Built in 1907, it's a limestone mansion with perfect symmetry designed by Jones and Furbringer. It was originally owned by two widows, Mrs. Walter Goodman and her daughter Mrs. John Richardson.

John Overton Jr. House



JOHN OVERTON, Jr HOME: Corner of Bellevue and Union. Overton was a descendant of one of Memphis's founders. The site of this home became the Methodist Hospital in 1918.

W.R. Harris House



WILLIAM ROLAND HARRIS HOME: Central Avenue. Built in 1853. Harris was a Tennessee Supreme Court Justice and the brother of Tennessee Governor Isham G. Harris. When the Civil War ended he fled to Mexico and began a movement to found a new South. Eventually he returned and became a model citizen, being elected U.S. Senator in 1877. In 1953 the home was purchased by the Schwamm family where their daughters maintain a formal boxwood garden at the spot on its lawn where Nathan B. Forrest's men rendezvoused to plan raids into Mississippi.

Robert Church's Mansion



ROBERT R. CHURCH HOME . On Lauderdale . Robert Church was the south's first black millionaire and he and his family lived well in this beautiful mansion.

Robertson Topp House



ROBERTSON TOPP HOME . On Beale - Built in 1841. Robertson Topp was one of the builders of Memphis and certainly one of the most devoted and faithful citizens. He was the builder of Beale Street and the Gayoso Hotel.

William Miller House



WILLIAM E. MILLER HOME: Germantown. Circa 1916. Miller farmed, owned a pharmacy, and was postmaster from 1872 to 1878.

Henry Montgomery House



MONTGOMERY HOME. Corner of Poplar and Montgomery. Built in the 1860's. Montgomery owned a telegraph service and had laid the first telegraph cable across the Mississippi. His home was the site of many lavish parties, including a reception in 1882 for Oscar Wilde, who had lectured to 600 Memphians at Lubrie's Theater. Montgomery was also the founder of Montgomery Park. The home was demolished to provide additional space when Memphis Technical High School was built in 1928.

Watkins Overton House



WATKINS OVERTON HOME. Union Avenue Overton was elected to the Tennessee State Legislature in 1925, the Senate in 1927, and was Mayor of Memphis from 1928 to 1940, and again from 1948 to 1952. This home was demolished in 1918.

Dunscomb House - c. 1844



DUNSCOMB HOUSE, 584 S. Front. Built in circa 1844 and nicknamed 'The little Greek house'. Owned by plantation owner Hugh R. Austin. This Greek Revival house was considered one of the 5 best examples of Memphis architecture. Of course, it's now been demolished.

William Bell House



WILLIAM BELL HOME. circa 1890's. Corner of Bellevue and Union. The house was demolished to make way for the Methodist Hospital.

Gilbert Raine House



GILBERT D. RAINE HOME. Union and McNeil. Circa 1890's. Gilbert started in insurance as a clerk and before long he was representative of several national insurance companies doing the largest insurance business in the South. In 1889 he and others formed the Memphis Daily Commercial, The Memphis Appeal, and The Avalanche which were eventually consolidated to form The Commercial Appeal.

Van Fleet Mansion



VAN VLEET MANSION . Poplar Avenue . Built C. 1856 by Q. C. Atkinson and sold to Clarence Hunt, who later sold the property to W. A. Williams. Mr. William's hobby was gardening and it's said he had the most beautiful garden of any place in Memphis. He later sold the property to Peter P. Van Vleet - a wealthy wholesale druggist. The home had been changed little until the Van Vleet family moved there. They added a large ballroom and totally renovated the rest of the house. To make way for the new Tech School building, the Board of Education acquired the old Van Vleet Mansion and 20 acres in 1926 for $90,000. Architectural elements of the old mansion were retained for the new school, in particular the classic four front columns and portico. On an adjoining lot fronting Montgomery Street, Henry Montgomery had built his home. It also was demolished to build the new Tech School.

Carimi House



CARIMI HOUSE . Vance-Pontotoc . Built in 1895 by Italian immigrants Frank and Santina Carimi. The house has 20 foot ceilings, thick plaster walls, white tile fireplaces and 10 foot door frames. At one time the Vance-Pontotoc district was almost grander than Victorian Village (Adams). For almost a hundred years the Carimis flourished , but in 1980 Frank, Jr was murdered. His spinster sisters were left on their own. In 2010, Jeannie, the last one, died. The fate of the home is unknown at this time.

Fisk Collinswood House



Frank Jones Home/Southern Funeral Home



FRANK G. JONES HOME - Vance Avenue. Circa 1890's. Jones was vice-prsident of the Memphis Street Railway Co. In the 1970's this home was occupied by the Southern funeral Home.

Shellcrest



Laurelhill



James Lee's 1st Home

Massey House



Littleton-Pettit Home



Littleton-Pettit Home . On Beale . Built in 1848.

Hilderbrande Home



Hilderbrande Home - on Airways. Originally constructed in 1850.

Fargason Mansion



Fargason Mansion . Lamar Av . Built in 1915. Fargason grew wealthy as a wholesale grocer - lived and entertained here for 30 years. Sold in mid 30's and later became a Fraternity House. That started the home's decline. It was demolished in 1960 for a Howard Johnson Hotel, which has also now been demolished.

Wright Carriage House



Wright Carriage House . Jefferson . Built in the 1840's as a farmhouse and later converted to a Carriage House. It has now been beautifully restored.

Mette House



The two story brick Mette townhouse was designed by M. H. Baldwin and E. C. Jones in 1872. The brick is laid in 'English Garden Wall' patterns, which was new in Memphis at the time. The house was built for Herman Henry Mette, a German from Illinois, who was a grocer and bank director. In 1968 the home was extensively renovated and a wing was added at the back. It's now Law Offices.

Jefferson Davis House



Jefferson Davis lived in this house at 129 Court Avenue from 1867-78 during the period his family lived in Memphis while he was president of an Insurance Company. The wedding and reception of the Davis daughter was held at the house. The building was demolished after 1930.

Pillow-McIntyre House



PILLOW-McINTYRE HOUSE: Adams Avenue. Built in 1852 in a restrained Greek-Revival style, this house is in contrast to the nearby ornate Victorians. The builder was C.G. Richardson. After the Civil War it was purchased by General Gideon Pillow. After his death it was sold to Peter McIntyre in 1878. Peter's daughter Florence McIntryre inherited the house and in 1942 it became the Memphis Art Association's Free School. Forence was a first-rate painter and was known as the First Lady of Memphis Art, and the first director of the Brooks Art Museum. The house has been preserved and restored. At various times it has been occupied by an interior decorator and currently by Law Offices.

Heartwood Hall - Raleigh



Lowenstein-Long Home



Lowenstein-Long home on Waldran just off Popular Av.

Glenwood Place



Source: Internet