Some rare (in every sense of the term) artifacts of Memphis history went on auction Saturday night at the well-attended annual Memphis Heritage Auction at the Lofts on Tennessee Street.
Included was the cornerstone of the YWCA Building on Monroe — razed three years ago tomake room for what is now AutoZone Park, home of the Redbirds.
Ellen Rowan and Paula Casey examined a primitive board paiting of noted suffragist Ida B. Wells:
Popular culture, not haute couture, dominated at the event. Two much-admired items were a collection of tiles from one of Elvis Presley’s boyhood homes (foreground) and a portion of a billboard from Beale Street (rear):
Proceeds of the auction went toward maintenance of Memphis Heritage programs and operations. Memphis Heritage, established in 1975, is the only private non-profit historical preservation group in Memphis and Shelby County.
