Out of the blue as we were driving to dance class the other day, my daughter sighed and said, “I miss trips.” What a concise reflection of our collective hearts over the last six months! Although we really love home and have enjoyed the nesting and strengthening time brought on by the pandemic, our spirits still miss the wandering trips and travels to favorite places we’ve canceled because of it. When the shutdowns and closures brought on by Covid-19 began in our state, we were actually on spring break from school and traveling in Tennessee. We were visiting the Great Smoky Mountains after spending several days on our Memphis “stomping grounds,” as my grandmother would say. So, naturally, talk of trips took us into a discussion of all the things about Bluff City we’ve claimed as our own. We consoled ourselves by remembering that, yes, they are the things we miss, but that’s because they’re the things we love.
That conversation with Baby Girl sent me into my photo archives for a quick glimpse of walking in changes of scenery, taking in sidewalks and experiences – familiar, but so distant from us right now. I know I’ve shared that some of the scenery we seem to always seek out is street art – the murals, graffiti, and public art installations that lend vibrance to even an already bustling scene. From driving through back roads to wandering down alleys, finding these works of art seems like a treasure hunt through even the most traveled sidewalks. And, whether it’s parked cars, moving transit, business folk, or the occasional three ring circus tagging along with their mom for photographs, we all become part of the story depicted.
Today, I’m taking a virtual field trip to the corner of Madison Avenue and B.B. King Boulevard in downtown Memphis, to find scenes of the city’s resilience set against the story of a gothic “queen”, a Bluff City matriarch, and hopes waiting to be fulfilled for a Memphis icon.
The historic Sterick Building sits at the northeast corner of Madison and B.B. King, the former Third Street. The gothic-style structure, which opened in 1930, was dubbed the “Queen of Memphis” in it’s heyday with 29 stories housing some 2000 workers and its own barber shop, beauty parlor, pharmacy, bank and more. According to William Patton’s A Guide to Historic Downtown Memphis, it boasted eight high-speed elevators, a lavish lobby and the top-floor Regency Room offering fine dining and stunning views of the city. Until 1962, the Sterick Building was the tallest skyscraper in the city.
The Sterick is unoccupied now, and has been since 1987. Its gold and brown exterior still bears some of its gothic ornament, but the interior is closed away from view. In 2015, artists Kyle Taylor, Brandon Donahue and Brandon Marshall adorned the street level facade of the Sterick with vibrant murals depicting the resilience of Memphis and her residents. With homage to iconic personalities, industry, music and the diversity of everyday life, the murals were commissioned as a way to beautify the streetscape and entice developers to embrace the possibilities of this historic “queen.”
An artists’ statement graces black panels at the main entrance to the building: “Whether this is your first time visiting or you have lived here your entire life; there are a few things you will find to be true of Memphis, TN. We are a culturally-diverse, pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps, tell-it-like-it-is, straight-from-the-hip, for better or worse, tight knit, grit-n-grind city full of spirited folks who helped build one of the distribution capitals of the world. These murals were inspired by the work, the big ideas, the soulful struggles, and the elbow grease that has made, and is making, Memphis what it is.”
Caught up in Memphis downtown decline of the 1960s and an odd contract leasing structure, the “soulful struggles” described by the artists are certainly part of the Sterick story. She is predicted to be in a holding pattern of disuse until at least 2027. That’s when the 99-year lease of dual ownership expires, freeing her from at least one of the constraints of history holding her back. The land under the 29-story structure was owned by Ms. Olivia Grosvenor whose wealthy father and prominent businessman, Napoleon Hill, had built a mansion on the site. She sold the rights to build on the property to Texans, R. E. Sterling and Wyatt Hedrick, whose names combine to create the structure’s moniker “Sterick”. The land is still owned by the heirs of the Grosvenor family and the building itself is owned by an Atlanta-based firm.
A story of resilience is certainly apropos for this pandemic season, and it seems fitting that so many scenes of Memphis success, perseverance and hope clothe the Sterick’s ground floor facade through the murals. Like the on-going revitalization popping up all over downtown, I can’t help but believe this grand old queen’s story hasn’t yet reached its conclusion.
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Hello & welcome! I’m Haley Montgomery, and I’m the designer and owner of 
