Historic Memphis Hotels
...The Major Hotels of the City

	From the 1920's, Memphis had a number of large, luxury hotels in the downtown area.  They flourished until the 60's, when urban decline began to make an impact on cities.   Memphis was also victim to the racial tension that plagued the nation, but it was escalated by the City sanitation workers strike in 1968.  Dr. Martin Luther King, in Memphis to lead a march protesting the worker's condition, was assassinated on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel.  The riots and fires that followed, combined with the national trend toward "suburbanization", sent Downtown Memphis into a complete downward spiral from which it wouldn't recover for many years.
By the 1970s, Downtown had all but died.   Large areas fell victim to neglect; buildings on virtually every block were vacant; even the once-vibrant Beale Street had been boarded up; and all the major hotels had closed or were preparing to close their doors. Today, of these original, major hotels, only the Peabody remains, although several of the hotel buildings were restored and renovated as Town Houses.  Most of the photos below are postcards of the hotels during early years.

The original intent of this page was to cover only the Major Luxury hotels in Memphis from the 1920's up to the late 60s.  So many emails have been received mentioning other hotels that a 2nd page has been added.  Many additional large and small hotels from 1868 to 1918 have now been included.  A link to the 2nd page appears at the bottom.  This page will always be "under construction" and will change whenever new information or new photos become available.  Please check back often. 

The Chisca Hotel is 8 stories tall.  It may be an eyesore now but it was once a very impressive building and still has the potential to be one again.  It was owned by Church of God in Christ and although it has a 93 year history, its future restoration was in doubt, but as of 2014, it is is being renovated into apartments and shops. 

The Chisca was never on a level with the Peabody or Gayoso, but it does have some wonderful and interesting architectural elements and a distinct place in Memphis history.  Built in 1913, it stood as the largest hotel in its district, but it was always more utilitarian than luxury. 

The hotel's historic significance comes mainly from its connection to Elvis Presley.  From 1949-56, its mezzanine was the broadcast base for WHBQ radio's "Red, Hot, and Blue" program.  It was from there that Dewey Phillips broadcast Elvis' first record July 7, 1954.  And Elvis' first radio interview was also conducted in the hotel by Phillips. 

The Chisca building was donated by the Snowden family to the Church of God in Christ for $10 in 1971.  They acquired the hotel along with other downtown properties with the intention of creating a group of developments to be called Saint Center.  Their plans never materialized but they made the hotel their headquarters from the early 1980s to the late 1990s when it was abandoned.  Since then, the building was  neglected and fell into disrepair, with lower windows boarded up.  Various plans for the hotel didn't materialized.  And Preservationists would only support a plan that included restoration.  In 2012 a local development group has a new life planned for the long-abandoned Chisca, that could see the building rise to prominence in its reenergized South Main Neighborhood.  The plan is to convert the 300,000 square foot 1913 hotel into 149 modern apartment units with an average size of 940 square feet as well as 5,400 square feet of space to lease for commercial tenants. 

2015 .  Tenants began moving into the renovated "Chisca on Main"
	Chisca on Main  .  WMC Action News Photos

"WHBQ and Red Hot and Blue with Daddy O Dewey not only played Elvis for the first time but also Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and B.B.King.  The Chisca was a nice business hotel and not a fancy one like the Peabody or Claridge".  - Walter Bolton

The Claridge Hotel was built in 1924.  With 17 floors and 400 rooms, it was Memphis' tallest hotel.  And it served as the focal point of Memphis social life for 3 decades hosting such well-known performers as the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra - and later Elvis Presley in the famous Balinese Room and on the Roof Garden. 

A hotel had been on the corner of Main and Adams since the 1880s.  The first hotel was the Arlington Hotel.  It was demolished in the 1920's to make way for the more modern Claridge.  With its opulent lobby, ballrooms, and roof garden, the Claridge was built as an alternative to the ever-crowded Peabody Hotel 6 blocks away.  For nearly forty years it was a popular destination for Memphians and out-of-town visitors as well.  One could dine, drink, dance, and stay in one of the very first Memphis hotels with air-conditioned rooms.  With the big bands on the roofs of the Peabody and The Claridge, summer evening walks around downtown were alive with music in the air. 

Urban decline in the 1960's and 70's shuttered many of Memphis' once luxurious hotels, including the Peabody.  The Claridge closed its doors in December 1968 and sat vacant for nearly 15 years.  In 1980, the hotel was bought, extensively renovated, and reopened as Claridge House Apartments in 1984.  The concept was a hit and a great victory for those in the fight for urban renewal.  By 2004, the condominium market was exploding, and again the building was renovated to become Claridge House Condominiums.  The Claridge building is on the National Register of Historic Places.

In the mid-19th century, the Gayoso House was known up and down the Mississippi River for its elegance and hospitality.   But as years passed the famous landmark fell on hard times.  By 1876 it no longer attracted the best clientele.  The Gayoso House burned in 1899.  To replace it, James B. Cook designed a new hotel.  His U-shaped construction surrounded a courtyard screened from Front Street by a row of columns and opened in 1902.  Afterwards, there was an effort to return the Gayoso to its former glory, but it never quite achieved the fame of the previous Gayoso.

Goldsmith's Department Store, which was next door to the Gayoso, bought the hotel in 1948 and used it for offices and storage.  The Gayoso closed its doors in 1962.  Fifty years later, It has now been restored and used for downtown apartments, residences, restaurants, and offices.

Hotel King Cotton was a 12 story high-rise.  It was originally built in 1925 as "The Elks Club and Hotel", but in 1939 the name was changed to Hotel de Voy, in honor of Elks Ruler Clarence De Voy.  It advertised "safety and comfort without extravagance".  It later became the King Cotton.  In addition to its 150 rooms, the hotel was equipped with a gym, swimming pool, bowling alley, squash and handball court.  The King Cotton closed in 1972 and the building was imploded April 1984.

"...As a child in the 30's, I spent 2 or 3 nights a week in the locker room of the Bowling Alley deep in the bowels of the DeVoy (King Cotton).  Mother and Daddy paid the rent winning 'a penny a pin and loser pays for the game'.  They both became City Champs and I learned to shine shoes..."  - Stanley Porter

Located at an entrance to Overton Park, The Parkview was at its zenith in the 1920's.  It was one of the finest hotels in the city.  But the location out of city center had an adverse effect on the property.  And yet, the hotel managed to make the transition from hotel to apartments to its current retirement community status. 

* The Peabody Hotel is covered in-depth on a separate page of this website.  Click Here

The Peabody is a luxury hotel.  No hotel in Memphis history has more "magic" associated with its name.  The original Peabody was located on the corner of Main and Monroe, and it was highly successful.  It closed in 1923.  The current Peabody on Union Avenue, was built in 1925 on the site of the Fransioli Hotel (Above Photo). The top floor - the Skyway, offers stunning views of the city and the river.  The famous ducks became part of the hotel legend in the 1930's.  The Peabody closed in early 1970's, generally an era of urban blight for many American cities.  The Jack Belz family purchased the hotel from the county in 1975 for $400,000 and spent the next several years and $25,000,000 renovating the landmark structure.  The grand reopening in 1981 is widely considered in Memphis as a major stimulus and inspiration for the downtown revitalization that followed.  Today, The Peabody continues to offer world class accommodations and is a historic icon in Memphis.

Jim Crow Laws and Segregation were in effect during the "hey day" of Memphis' great hotels.  Black performers and black celebrities who came to Memphis had to find "other arrangements" for lodging.  There were a few hotels that catered to African Americans, but finding their history (and photos) has become increasingly more difficult each year.   The "colored hotels" are included on the 2nd page of the Hotel section with the "Smaller Hotels"

Credits

The Historic-Memphis website does not intentionally post copyrighted photos and material without permission or credit.  On occasion a "non-credited" photo might possibly be posted because we were unable to find a name to give credit.  Because of the nature of our non-commercial, non-profit, educational website, we strongly believe that these photos would be considered "Fair Use.  We have certainly made no monetary gain, although those using this website for historic or Genealogy research have certainly profited.  If by chance, we have posted your copyrighted photo, please contact us, and we'll remove it immediately, or we'll add your credit if that's your choice.  In the past, we have found that many photographers volunteer to have their works included on these pages and we'll  also do that if you contact us with a photo that fits a particular page. 

The "Historic-Memphis" website would like to acknowledge and thank the following for their contributions which helped make this website possible:  Memphis Public Library, Memphis University Library, Memphis Law Library, Memphis Commercial Appeal, Memphis Press Scimitar, Shelby County Register of Deeds, Memphis City Schools, Memphis Business Men's Club, Memphis Chamber of Commerce, Memphis City Park Commission, Memphis Film Commision, Carnival Memphis, Memphis Historical Railroad Page, Memphis Heritage Inc, Beale Street Historic District, Cobblestone Historic District, Memphis Historic Districts, Vance Lauderdale Family Archives, Tennessee State Archives, Library of Congress, Kemmons Wilson Family, Richard S. Brashier, Lee Askew, George Whitworth, Woody Savage and many individuals whose assistance is acknowledged on the pages of their contributions.  Special thanks to Memphis Realtor, Joe Spake, for giving us carte blanche access to his outstanding collection of contemporary Memphis photos.

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