Beale
St in the Daylight
At the east end of the Beale St "entertainment
district" looking west.
A little further down towards the river along the southside
of Beale St.
The West end of the Beale St. "entertainment district"
looking east.
Same as above, but a little further back to the west
(taken during Labor Day weekend, 2001)
On the right - A good idea. Handy Park in June
1999 (Originally constructed in 1930)
On the
left - A bad idea. Handy Park turned Budweiser Amphitheater
in 2000 or 2001. Now called Pepsi Amphitheater (Photo taken in
May 2003)
The Daisy Theater. While still standing, it is rarely
used for its original intent for viewing movies and concerts.
It's primary use is as offices (per Steve Cheseborough's book).
It is NOT open to the public.
On the left - Historic placard for Pee Wee Saloon
in front of the Hard Rock Cafe along Beale St. The significance
of Pee Wee's was that it had the only pay phone in Memphis (back
at the turn of the 20th Century) which led to musicians and band
leaders conglomerating around there to conduct business and in
particular W. C. Handy (source Beale Street Talks)
On
the right - One of the more bizarre attempts at salvaging
a building facade. O'Sullivan's is an open air Irish pub (I wonder
how business is during the winter), one of a growing trend along
Beale St of not being a "blues themed" night club.
The home to Wet Willie today, formerly home to the
Center for Southern Folklore (circa 1996-99), Originally constructed
in the 19th Century (!), this building's primary occupation was
as a drug store through several different owners with the upper
levels used as boarding housing/hotel for performers (info from
the books Blues Traveling and Beale Street Talks).
On the Left - Just to the right of Wet Willie
(see above) is this historical placard for Ida Wells a civil rights
activist (back before there was such a thing) who was editor for
the Memphis Free Speech, who's building was originally near here
(exact location unknown). In the background, the NBA is coming
to Beale St as well. On the Right - The continuation of
a tradition. Before "urban renewal" there was a Coke-Cola
ad on the Handy Square building. After Beale St was reopened,
the classic mural was repainted on the reconstituted Handy Square
building, also signifying the "official" non-alcoholic
drink of Beale St (Photo from May, 2003)
It should
be noted that at some point between May 2003 and May 2005, the
Coke ad was replaced by a retro Pepsi ad, signifying the new "official
drink" along Beale St.
Links
(On this Site) Memphis Blues, beyond
Beale St, Photos page
Memphis
Guide - Beale St
BealeStreet.com
All pictures taken in May, 2003 unless noted otherwise.
Page created on January 14, 2004/ last updated on July 3,
2006
Questions, comments, and submissions can be sent to Sandor
Gulyas
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