Downtown Memphis
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Downtown Memphis, Tennessee. Downtown Memphis is truly the heart of the city. It is located along 6.5 square miles and extends from the edge of the Tennessee border all the way to the Danny Thomas District. Downtown Memphis is also called the Central Business District as so many businesses are located in this area.

The urban development of the city has been slow, but as more and more cities renovate old factories, businesses, and other historic buildings Memphis is slowly making its way in the same direction. Residents in Downtown Memphis enjoy easy access to all the splendor and Southern charm that Memphis can afford.

The street car still runs in Memphis and is a major form of transportation for downtown residents. The newer condominium buildings, lofts, and apartments making their way in the Central Business District make having a vehicle nearly obsolete.

Downtown Memphis is located along the mighty Mississippi River. It developed as a city as it was the largest port on the Mississippi River that was located between St. Louis & New Orleans. It was an attractive area for early settlers because cotton, one of the leading products in the South, grew plentifully here.

Originally, Downtown Memphis was home of the Chickasaw Indian Nation. The land was used as a campground and resting place for the Tribe. In 1541 Hernando DeSoto, having traveled up the Mississippi River, claimed Memphis as land of Spain, and the Native Americans were removed from the area.

Desoto did not stay in his newly acquired territory. Then, not long after Desoto had claimed Memphis, Sieur de LaSalle, claimed Memphis and the entire Mississippi Valley for France, and the area was now said to belong to King Louis XIV.

The French monitored their land from their main port in New Orleans all the way up to St. Louis, Missouri, named in honor of King Louis. They built a French Fort, in the 1700's on the fourth Chickasaw Bluff in Memphis.

The Spaniards may have been gone, but they would return, and take over the fort, turning it into Fort San Fernando. Finally, the United States, wanting to expand westward, took over the land that is now Downtown Memphis in 1797, taking it from the feuding Spaniards and Frenchmen. Fort San Fernando became Fort Adams.

In 1818 the Chickasaw Nation relinquished the land formally in West Tennessee to the Americans. By 1819 the city of Memphis was formally incorporated by three men that were land speculators in Nashville, one who was future president Andrew Jackson. The men named the city, Memphis, after the capital of Ancient Egypt.

The port city grew thanks to the mighty Mississippi, and the advent of the Memphis & Charleston Railroad which allowed for cotton to travel easily to the Atlantic Ocean coast, and be transported all along the eastern shores.

Downtown Memphis has been witness to some of the bloodiest battles of the civil war, and two massive yellow fever outbreaks that made Memphis nearly bankrupt. The charter for Memphis was revoked in 1879, until an increase in port run business brought the entire area back to life in the 1880's.

Memphis is known for its musical roots.

Beale Street grew after the civil war, and became a thriving African-American community. It became home to the first African-American millionaire, David Church, and is where Blues was founded. Today Beale Street is one of the most visited areas of Memphis, and is considered the home of Blues.

The Blues vibrated through the city, dominated the South as a new kind of music, and made its home in Memphis from the early 1900s to the 1950's, when an enthusiastic disc jockey Sam Phillips made his way to Memphis.

Opening a recording studio in Downtown Memphis, Phillips invited another D.J., Ike Turner to record with him. He developed a hit record, "Rocket 88'" which skyrocketed to popularity. Phillips started his own record label after this success, and Sun Records was born.

The Sun Studio became legendary when Memphis native, Elvis Presley recorded with Sun. The success of Phillips didn't stop there. Sun continued to grow as such musical talents as Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins signed on with the studio.

Music studios opened up through the Downtown area, and not only was Memphis known for Blues, it was now known as a musical center for Blues, Country, Rock n' Roll, and Soul.

Though success that music provided downtown with was short lived. By the early 1970's riots, fires, and dissention plagued the city and the Downtown was virtually destroyed. 

Though the city has had its hardships in the late 1970's, wanting to make it a more attractive area again, the leaders of the city sought to turn Downtown Memphis into what it had been, a beautiful, bustling city filled with Southern Charm.

The advent of Historic Districts all over the city helped this. People enjoy taking a walk through history, and Memphis had many areas that were untouched, which have been revitalized.

Beale Street has been reborn, and tourism has increased in recent years.

Today the Downtown area is filled with life, as residents, commuters, and other business owners take pride in Memphis and all the splendor the city has to offer.