Beale Street #1
392 Beale Avenue
"There were two types of culture, I guess you could say, on Beale Street. There were the sinners and there were the saved. You had your professional people, your doctors and business folk. Then you had those who worked to have some night life."
Rev. James Jordan
"Well, old Beale Street. Just like
Broadway. That's what it was!
Broadway in miniature. All the
entertainment and everything
to eat. All the sharp men,
pretty girls. The works! It was
right here!"
Andrew Chaplin Jr.
You're standing on the street where W.C. Handy wrote the first published blues; where Robert R. Church Sr., the South's first Black millionaire, made his mark; where General Ulysses S. Grant had a Civil War headquarters and where he returned years later to speak as President; where President Dwight Eisenhower visited; where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. marched; where B.B. King and Elvis Presley got their start. As you walk down Beale Street you'll find illustrated panels like this one that tell a story of Beale in its heyday from the 1890s through 1960s. They feature the words and images of people who knew the street first- hand and who helped create the legend that was Beale.
These panels were developed by the Center for Southern Folklore
this page online
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Notable Places. In addition, it is included in the Former U.S. Presidents: #34 Dwight D. Eisenhower, and the Martin Luther King, Jr. series lists.
Location. 35° 8.4′ N, 90° 3.229′ W. Marker is in Memphis, Tennessee, in Shelby County. It is in Downtown Memphis. It is on Beale Street. Marker is locate on Beale Street. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Memphis TN 38103, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in West Tennessee. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Deep South, in the Upper South, in the Mississippi Delta, and in the Great River Road Region. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Beale Street #2 (here, next to this marker); Lansky Brothers (a few steps from this marker); Benjamin Franklin Booth (within shouting distance of this marker); Schools For Freedmen (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Beale Street #3 (about 300 feet away); Beale Street #4 (about 300 feet away); The Grand Opera House / The New Orpheum Theatre (about 300 feet away); Hooks Brothers Photography (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Memphis.
Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on August 28, 2017, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. This page has been viewed 593 times since then and 26 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on August 28, 2017, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
