thumb|300x300px|Aerial view of Downtown Memphis
Downtown Memphis is the central business district of Memphis, Tennessee, and is located along the Mississippi River between Interstate 40 to the north, Interstate 55 to the south, and Interstate 240 to the east, where it abuts Midtown Memphis.
The downtown area is home to the Memphis Redbirds, the AAA affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, as well as the Memphis Grizzlies NBA team.
History
thumb|right|The Memphis river landing (1906)
Downtown Memphis is the oldest part of the city and includes the riverfront and the bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River. The founders of Memphis dedicated the riverfront to the public "now and forever" as long as public use continued. The land overlooking the riverfront was originally planned to become a "public promenade" to be called Mississippi Row. The upper riverfront became the site of the river landing where steamboats were loaded with cotton and other goods in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Between 1844 and 1886 the river landing was paved with limestone and granite cobblestones brought in from the upper Midwest. This created what is today the largest intact Mississippi River landing still in existence, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The explosion of the steamboat Sultana in 1865 near Memphis was one of the worst maritime disasters in history.
There are several historic residences downtown, particularly in the Victorian Village neighborhood. Other historic homes include the Hunt-Phelan House (1830), the Magevney House (c. 1835), and the Burkle Estate (1849). The Burkle home and the Hunt-Phelan House (533 Beale Street) were reputed to have been part of the Underground Railroad by which escaped slaves made their way to freedom prior to the Civil War.
Downtown Airport
In 1959, the Memphis Downtown Airport was opened on Mud Island, which at that time was called City Island. The one-runway airport could be reached by a pontoon-boat ferry and was used mostly by businessmen and shoppers. The Downtown Airport was closed in 1970. It was replaced in the 1990s by the new urbanist Harbor Town development.
Overview
Buildings
thumb|right|View west on Madison Avenue, ending with the [[University of Memphis, School of Law|Customs House (1906)]]
The Downtown Memphis skyline contains the tallest buildings in the city. The tallest building in Memphis, 100 North Main, is located at the heart of downtown along Main Street at Adams Ave and rises to 430 ft (131m). Some notable and/or historic downtown buildings are:
- 100 North Main
- One Commerce Square
- Sterick Building
- Exchange Building, Memphis
- Morgan Keegan Tower
- First Horizon Bank Tower
- Memphis Pyramid
- Peabody Hotel
- Madison Hotel
- Scimitar Building
- FedExForum
- Central Station
- 201 Poplar
Downtown Memphis includes 4.5 million square feet (418,000 square meters) of office space, around 1 million square feet (93,000 square meters) of retail space, 3,456 hotel rooms, and 13,400 housing units.
The administrative core of Memphis and of Shelby County, Tennessee is also located in Downtown Memphis. These include the Memphis City Hall and the Federal Building, located on North Main Street, in the Civic Center Plaza (corner of Main Street and Washington). Downtown Memphis also contains the Memphis branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
Districts and neighborhoods
thumb|right|View from the [[Peabody Hotel, looking east over Autozone Park toward the Medical District.]]
Downtown Core
Downtown Core is the heart of the central business district and includes the majority of the office space, retail, entertainment, and dining spaces.
Image:2011-01-08 Downtown Memphis TN 06.jpg|Tom Lee Park
Image:Vance Park Memphis TN 001.jpg|Vance Park
Image:Beale Street Landing Memphis TN 006.jpg|Beale Street Landing
Image:Memphis Queen Memphis TN 2012-07-22 003.jpg|Memphis Queen
Image:Mississippi River Greenbelt Park Memphis TN 2013-05-12 010.jpg|Mississippi River Greenbelt Park
Image:Wolf-River-Harbor-Memphis.jpg|Wolf River Harbor
Image:Desoto bridge memphis.JPG|Hernando de Soto Bridge
Image:Dr Martin Luther King Jr Park I-55 Exit 9 W Mallory Ave Memphis TN 16.jpg|McKellar Lake
Image:Dr Martin Luther King Jr Park I-55 Exit 9 W Mallory Ave Memphis TN 11.jpg|Martin Luther King Jr Park
Image:T O Fuller State Park Memphis TN 2013-06-15 003.jpg|T. O. Fuller State Park
Image:Presidents Island Memphis TN 05.jpg|President's Island
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Economy
Companies headquartered in Downtown Memphis include:
- AutoZone
- First Horizon
- Southern Airways Express (One Commerce Square)
- ServiceMaster (Peabody Place)
Downtown Memphis is also the former headquarters of Pinnacle Airlines Corp. (One Commerce Square).
Schools
thumb|Downtown Elementary School
Downtown Memphis is zoned to the following Shelby County Schools (formerly Memphis City Schools) campuses:
- Downtown Elementary School
- Vance Middle School
- Booker T. Washington High School
Transportation
Downtown is served by major highways and interstates, public bus and trolley service by MATA, and passenger train service by Amtrak.
Interstates I-40, I-55, I-69 and I-240 all run directly through Downtown, providing direct access to the area from adjacent areas as well as the region as a whole. The new Interstate 22 is about 10 miles away from Downtown. Downtown also serves as the western terminus of U.S. Route 78 as well as U.S. Route 72, and is directly located along U.S. Route 51, U.S. Route 61, U.S. Route 64, U.S. Route 70, and U.S. Route 79.
MATA operates the William Hudson Transit Center, its primary hub for Memphis public bus service, at the corner of Main Street and A.W. Willis Avenue. The majority of fixed bus routes operated by MATA terminate at William Hudson, therefore bus accessibility in the area is very high.
The MATA Trolley is a heritage streetcar system that operates three lines in Downtown along Main Street, Riverside Drive, and Madison Avenue. These three lines serve twenty-four stations and, in 2021, had a daily ridership of approximately 650. Connections between MATA public bus and Main Street trolley line can be made at William Hudson Transit Center.
Amtrak's City of New Orleans passenger train runs through Downtown Memphis three days a week, stopping at Central Station.
Gallery
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Image:Beale Street 060523.jpg|Beale Street
Image:PyramidArena.jpg|Pyramid Arena
Image:St Judes grass.jpg|St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Image:Court_Square_Downtown_Memphis_TN_04.jpg|Court Square
Image:Lebonheur Nov2010 003.JPG|Le Bonheur Children's Medical Center
Image:AutoZone Park outside.jpg|AutoZone Park
Image:Peabody Hotel, Memphis, TN.jpg|Peabody Hotel
Image:St Marys Episcopal Cathedral Memphis.JPG|St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral in Memphis
Image:South_Main_Street_Historic_District_2010-09-19_Memphis_TN_09.jpg|South Main Arts District
Image:Federal_Building_Main_St_Memphis_TN_05.jpg|Civic Center Plaza
Image:Memphis TN Main Street Trolley.jpg|MATA Trolley on Main Street.
Image:James Lee House.JPG|James Lee House (1869), one of the last houses in Downtown.
</gallery>
Historic views
<gallery>
Image:Memphis_154228pv.jpg|Beale Street in 1974
Image:Madison_avenue_1920.JPG|View of downtown Memphis, looking west on Madison Ave.
Image:Downtown Memphis 1909.jpg| Downtown Memphis in 1909, overlooking Court Square.
Image:River view Memphis 1907.jpg| View of downtown Memphis in 1907 from the Mississippi River.
Image:Memphis Madison Ave 1907.jpg| View of Madison Avenue, and Customs House and Post Office in 1907.
Image:Tennessee Club in Memphis 1906.jpg|The Tennessee Club on Court Square, 1906.
Image: Napoleon_Hill_mansion,_Memphis,_Tennessee.png|The former Napoleon Hill mansion in Memphis, Tennessee, constructed in 1881 at the corner of 3rd and Madison. The mansion was torn down by 1930 to build the Sterick Building.
Image:Nylon_Net_building%2C_South_Main_Street_%26_Pontotoc_Ave%3B_Memphis_Tennesee.png| Nylon Net Building circa 1960
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References
External links
- Center City Commission
- Memphis Downtowner Magazine