Landmarks Commission – Memphis Flyer

An abandoned Cooper-Young church could get a new life as a house if it meets the approval of city officials next month.

The old stone church sits at 775 Tanglewood, tucked away in an off-the-beaten-path part of the Midtown neighborhood between York and Elzey.

Memphis-based developer Griffin Elkington Investments LLC hopes to renovate the abandoned structure. The company plans for the building to be a house with four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room, dining room, and a kitchen.

(Credit: Memphis and Shelby County Office of Planning and Development)

The company is seeking approval for the project from the Memphis Landmarks Commission in an application filed this month. Leaders of that board are slated to hear the case and make a decision on it at its next regular meeting on July 28^th. Comments from the public to be included in the hearing are accepted until July 22^nd. Send comments to margot.payne@memphistn.gov.

Few details can be gleaned from the project’s application. The outside would apparently be fixed up and the inside gutted to make way for the new rooms.

According to information from the Shelby County Register of Deeds, the old church was sold in 2020 by Ceylon Mooney to M-Town Properties for $85,000. M-Town sold the church and another lot close to it to Elkington in March 2022 for $165,000.

Memphis magazine, our sister publication, ran down the church’s history in a story from April 2021. In it, Memphis columnist and historian Vance Lauderdale said, “constructed almost exactly a century ago, this little church has served as home to almost a dozen congregations and more pastors than I could name (though I’ll mention some of them).”

“Cedar Grove Baptist Church opened its doors on Tanglewood in 1920. The early years are a bit confusing. The city directories don’t list a minister. Sometimes they spell the name as two words and other times as “Cedargrove.” And they can’t even agree on the precise location of the property, many years listing the street address as 783 Tanglewood, which would have placed it smack in the middle of the old Beltway Railway, which at one time ran alongside the south wall of the church.

“Even more confusing? Those same directories sometimes claim the church was located on the north side of that rail line, and at other times, they say it was on the south side. I seriously doubt the church, or the railroad, moved back and forth over the years, but I can’t make sense of the inconsistencies with the address.

”Although the tracks were pulled up decades ago, that same railway crosses over South Cooper, just a block to the east. In fact, it carried trains along the well-known trestle that’s decorated with silhouettes of Cooper-Young landmarks.”

Read more about the history of the church at 775 Tanglewood here at the Memphis magazine site.

Amanda Gillvery

A rendering shows the west end of the sidewalk.

If you’re driving around Midtown, be on the lookout for these two projects to get underway soon.

Overton Park Sidewalk

Construction was set to being Monday on a new sidewalk for Overton Park. It’ll run on the north side of Poplar from Kenilworth to Veterans Plaza, according to the Bike/Ped Memphis blog.

Google Maps

The black line shows where the new sidewalk will go.

The overall project will also include ”a curb extension at the northeast corner of Kenilworth and Poplar, reconstruction of the median island on the north side of the same intersection, and crosswalk enhancements.”

“The goal of the project is to improve safe pedestrian access to Overton Park and the existing bus stops on this segment of Poplar, which are currently inaccessible by people using wheelchairs or other mobility devices,” reads the post by Nicholas Oyler, Bikeway & Pedestrian program manager for the city of Memphis.
Amanda Gillvery

The lack of an accessible path poses a hazard to people with limited mobility or child strollers, according to Oyler.

A later phase of the project will extend the new sidewalk east of Veterans Plaza to a future entrance plaza at Cooper, according to Oyler. The extension and plaza are currently under design, and should begin construction in the next two years.

As the sidewalk is built, the westbound, outside lane of Poplar will be closed from 9 a.m.- 4 p.m. on weekdays. Construction is expected to last about 45 days.

Amanda Gillvery

A rendering shows the east end of the new sidewalk.

Evergreen Mural
Memphis College of Arts

A rendering shows what the mural might look like on the building.

A new mural may soon grace the west-facing wall of Evergreen Presbyterian Church, one that its designers say highlights “the pedestrian-friendly culture of the Evergreen Historic District.”

That mural is now up for approval by the Memphis Landmarks Commission. A final vote on the mural is set for the commission’s meeting on Thursday, May 23rd.

The mural was conceived by the Memphis College of Arts (MCA) office of Community Outreach and Student Affairs. Student artists Chongjin Won and Anna Bearman. Their design was informed by comments from Evergreen neighbors gathered at three listening sessions in January and February.

Here’s what the artists said about the design in their application to the Landmarks Commission:

“Our goal for the mural is to highlight the pedestrian friendly culture of the Evergreen Historic District. Evergreen is defined by its cohesive architecture, rich history, and sense of community. We find these features to be the defining characteristics of the neighborhood.”

“On any given evening, too will find the residents running, biking, walking or strolling through the neighborhood. As the evening winds down, you will find neighbors on their front porches chatting with one another with the gentle sound of the rustling leaves and cars passing in the distance.
Memphis College of Arts

An artist’s rendering of the mural.

”The design incorporated all of these elements into a mural that truly represents Evergreen Historic District. Set at the golden hour of dusk, our mural depicts the neighborhood teeming with activity: children playing, dogs being walked, parents strolling with their infants, and neighbors biking.”

Read the full application here: [pdf-1]