Overview

Architecturally, Midtown Memphis, Tennessee

Memphis, Tennessee

Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....

 is marked with residential vintage housing, specialty stores, and high-rise buildings, often all located on the same avenue. This is partly because much of Midtown was constructed prior to the enactment of Euclidean zoning

Zoning

Zoning is a device of land use planning used by local governments in most developed countries. The word is derived from the practice of designating permitted uses of land based on mapped zones which separate one set of land uses from another...

 laws, and it is not uncommon to see an apartment complex nestled inside a neighborhood.

Midtown Is Memphis

Culturally, Midtown has a very diverse population, having an evenly distributed black and white population, as well as a notable Asian population. For this diversity Midtown Memphis has been noted in several magazines for having "the best Memphis has to offer right at your doorstep." This slogan eventually inspired a bumper sticker that can be seen throughout the city, which proclaims "Midtown is Memphis."

Within Midtown are several distinct sections that offer residents completely different experiences and choices close to home. Overton Square boasts many restaurants, is home to a great number of playhouses and a movie theater known in Memphis for showing both main stream and high quality independent films. There is a large concentration of Vietnamese businesses and housing on a section of Cleveland Avenue sometimes referred to as "Little Hanoi". The section of midtown highly populated with bars, restaurants, and heavily involved in the Memphis music scene is Cooper Young, typified by the Cooper Young Festival. Most of the bars and nightlife in Midtown have a homey, comfortable feel while still holding its share of higher end establishments and dives

Dive bar

A dive bar is a type of bar or pub. Dive bars generally have a relaxed and informal atmosphere—they are often referred to by local residents as "neighborhood bars," where people in the neighborhood gather to drink and socialize...

. Beale Street

Beale Street

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

 is where tourists will go to hear the blues, but it is in Midtown that the authentic Memphis music scene thrives.

The Midtown area of Memphis is one of the most unique and diverse parts of Memphis and where people go to find not Elvis and Graceland, or blues on Beale Street, but the real and thriving Memphis culture. Midtown's importance to the City of Memphis was typified by the slogan and bumper sticker "Midtown Is Memphis" which were created in 1993 by Midtowners John Branston and Tom Foster as part of a promotional campaign. More recently people have been putting on bumper stickers that simply read "38104", one of Midtown's most prominent zip codes; if you are from Midtown you will understand its meaning, otherwise it is easily overlooked.

Boundaries

The exact boundaries of Midtown are often disputed. Generally, it is the area between the Medical District to the west and East Memphis to the east. Some will say the eastern boundary line is East Parkway, others the CN RR line just past East Parkway, others as far east as Highland Street. The northern boundary is just as difficult to find agreement on. Some will say North Parkway, others the abandoned L&N RR line that runs NE, still others put it as far north as Jackson and even Vollintine. The southern line to Midtown is roughly the Union Pacific/CSX RR line east to McLean, south down McLean to Norfolk Southern RR line and east the eastern boundary, be it East Parkway, CN RR, or Highland. The least disputed boundary of Midtown is the western border, which is commonly regarded as the Midtown section of Interstate 240.

Midtown is bisected by three primary east-west avenues:

1. Union, which since World War II has served as the area's main commercial artery;
2. Poplar, which is largely fronted by 1920s apartment buildings;
3. Madison, which served as pre-war Memphis' main east-west corridor. Madison Avenue was once the location of the "Dummy Line", the main east-west streetcar line that went from downtown to the Fairgrounds (east along Madison, south down Cooper, and east along Young), and many commercial and residential structures along the avenue date to the beginning of the twentieth century. Most of this stretch of Madison contains its original granite curbs, and in a few locations the original brick pavers can be seen in the gutters.

Primary and secondary education

Midtown public schools include Bellevue Jr. High School, Snowden Elementary, Central High School

Central High School (Memphis, Tennessee)

Central High School is a public high school in Memphis, Tennessee. Since it was founded in the early 1900s and is considered the first high school in Memphis; Central is often called "THE" High School. It is a part of the Memphis City Schools Optional School system where it is recognized as a...

 and East High School, all of which offer optional programs. Several private and parochial schools are also found throughout Midtown, including Grace-St. Luke's Episcopal School, Immaculate Conception Catholic School and Catholic High School.

Higher education

Christian Brothers University

Christian Brothers University

Christian Brothers University is the oldest collegiate degree-granting institution in the city of Memphis. The university is run by the Christian Brothers, a Roman Catholic religious order founded by St. John Baptist de la Salle, the patron saint of teachers...

, Memphis College of Art

Memphis College of Art

Memphis College of Art, known before 1985 as the Memphis Academy of Arts, is a small, private college of art and design located in Memphis, Tennessee's Overton Park adjacent to the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. It offers Bachelor of Fine Arts, Master of Fine Arts, Master of Arts in Art Education...

, Memphis Theological Seminary

Memphis Theological Seminary

Memphis Theological Seminary is an ecumenical theological seminary located in Midtown, Memphis, Tennessee. It is affiliated with the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, but accepts and trains ministerial candidates from other groups as well...

, Rhodes College

Rhodes College

Rhodes College is a private, predominantly undergraduate, liberal arts college located in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. Originally founded by freemasons in 1848, Rhodes became affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in 1855. Rhodes enrolls approximately 1,700 students pursuing bachelor's and master's...

, The University of Memphis the Southern College of Optometry

Southern College of Optometry

Southern College of Optometry is a college of optometry in the United States. It is located in Memphis, Tennessee and is dedicated to the study of optometry, the field of medicine that includes not only the performance of refractive eye examinations and the fitting of necessary corrective lenses or...

 and Victory University (formerly Crichton College) are located in Midtown Memphis.

Points of interest

Midtown contains Overton Park

Overton Park

Overton Park is a large, public park in Midtown Memphis, Tennessee. The park grounds contain the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Memphis Zoo, a 9-hole golf course, Memphis College of Art, Rainbow Lake, Veterans Plaza, Greensward, and other features...

 which includes the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art

Memphis Brooks Museum of Art

Memphis Brooks Museum of Art is an art museum in Memphis, Tennessee. The Brooks Museum, which was founded in 1916, is the oldest and largest art museum in the state of Tennessee. The museum is a privately funded nonprofit institution located in Overton Park in Midtown Memphis.The original...

, the Memphis Zoo

Memphis Zoo

The Memphis Zoo, located in Midtown Memphis, Tennessee, is home to more than 3,500 animals representing over 500 different species. Created in April 1906, the zoo has been a major tenant of Overton Park for more than 100 years. The land currently designated to the Memphis Zoo was defined by the...

, and the Memphis College of Art

Memphis College of Art

Memphis College of Art, known before 1985 as the Memphis Academy of Arts, is a small, private college of art and design located in Memphis, Tennessee's Overton Park adjacent to the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. It offers Bachelor of Fine Arts, Master of Fine Arts, Master of Arts in Art Education...

. It is also known for its many bars and restaurants, many of them featuring live music at night. These include Alex's Tavern, Bosco's, Huey's, Side Street Bar & Grill, Zinnie's, and others. Located in the Cooper-Young

Cooper-Young, Memphis

Cooper-Young is an eclectic neighborhood and historic district in the Midtown section of Memphis, Tennessee, named for the intersection of Cooper Street and Young Avenue. The entrance to the neighborhood is marked by the Cooper-Young Trestle, a long steel sculpture which depicts homes and...

 neighborhood are also coffeehouses, restaurants and bars, including Young Avenue Deli,Goner Records,First Church of the Elvis Impersonator, Cafe Olé, Celtic Crossing, and Java Cabana. Located in Midtown Memphis is also a local movie theatre, Studio On The Square, and the city's only professional theatre troupe, Playhouse on the Square, which currently runs three separate theatres. Grace-St. Luke's

Grace-St. Luke's

thumb|right|300px|Grace St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Memphis.Grace-St. Luke's Episcopal Church is an historic church in Midtown Memphis, Tennessee...

 Tiffany windows are thought to be the largest collection of Tiffany windows in a parish church in the South. Central Gardens

Central Gardens, Memphis

thumb|right|400px|An American Craftsman style home in Memphis' Central Gardens historic neighborhood. Central Gardens is a historic neighborhood in Midtown.- Geography :...

 is a historic neighborhood in Midtown.

Tennessee Williams

Tennessee Williams

Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III was an American writer who worked principally as a playwright in the American theater. He also wrote short stories, novels, poetry, essays, screenplays and a volume of memoirs...

 wrote his first publicly performed play, Cairo, Shanghai, Bombay! while staying the Midtown home of his grandparents, 1917 Snowden. It was first performed in 1935 at 1780 Glenview, also in Midtown.

The Cooper-Young Festival is also held annually at the intersection of Cooper and Young, in Midtown. Another area, Overton Square holds a St. Patrick's Day celebration.

Mid-town has also been home to the Mid-South Fair

Mid-South Fair

The Mid-South Fair is a fair that was held for many years held in Memphis, Tennessee, every year in late September and early October. It is now held in neighboring northwest Mississippi. It hosts many shows and attractions, as well as different types of rides and concession stands...

 for 152 years. The year 2008 is the last year that the Mid-South Fair will be held in Memphis. Starting in 2009 the Mid-South Fair will be held on newly acquired land at Tunica Resorts, Mississippi

Tunica Resorts, Mississippi

Tunica Resorts is an unincorporated community located in northern Tunica County, Mississippi, United States, north of the county seat of Tunica. The community was originally named Robinsonville, but the name was changed in 2003. Locals still refer to the town by this name. The community is situated...

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