Beale Street
Overview
In 1841, an American entrepreneur and developer Robertson Topp in Memphis, Tennessee, named Beale Street after a military hero. However, its original name wasn't Beale Street but Beale Avenue. At the time, its western end shops of merchants who traded along the Mississippi River, and on its eastern end lived the rich and famous. As time passed, several black musicians performed on this street, of whom the first was the Young Men's Brass Band.
Yellow fever struck here in the 1870s, forcing the city to let go of its charter in 1879. At the time, Robert Church bought land surrounding Beale Street after which he became the first black millionaire from the south of America. Finally in 1890, it was renovated with the construction of the Grand Opera House or Orpheum.
In 1899, Church paid the corporation to have Church Park built at the intersection of 4th and Beale. At this recreational center, blues musicians would often sing. Later, an auditorium was built here to seat 2,000 people. Famous speakers who addressed the public here include Franklin D. Roosevelt, Booker T. Washington and Woodrow Wilson.
Since then, Beale Street has been Memphis' cultural center with its over 25 clubs and beautiful shops and eateries lining both sides of the street. They include Coyote Ugly, Blues City Cafe & The Band Box, Blues City General Store, Memphis Music, B. B. Kings Blues Club and Club 152. Because of this, it attracts the locals and visitors to it throughout the year.
Yellow fever struck here in the 1870s, forcing the city to let go of its charter in 1879. At the time, Robert Church bought land surrounding Beale Street after which he became the first black millionaire from the south of America. Finally in 1890, it was renovated with the construction of the Grand Opera House or Orpheum.
In 1899, Church paid the corporation to have Church Park built at the intersection of 4th and Beale. At this recreational center, blues musicians would often sing. Later, an auditorium was built here to seat 2,000 people. Famous speakers who addressed the public here include Franklin D. Roosevelt, Booker T. Washington and Woodrow Wilson.
Since then, Beale Street has been Memphis' cultural center with its over 25 clubs and beautiful shops and eateries lining both sides of the street. They include Coyote Ugly, Blues City Cafe & The Band Box, Blues City General Store, Memphis Music, B. B. Kings Blues Club and Club 152. Because of this, it attracts the locals and visitors to it throughout the year.