Midtown, Memphis facts for kids
Midtown is a lively area in Memphis, Tennessee. It sits just east of Downtown Memphis. Midtown is known for its cool old buildings, fun places to visit, and many schools.
This area is a big part of Memphis's art scene. You can find places like the Playhouse on the Square, the Brooks Museum of Art, the Memphis College of Art, and the Levitt Shell. Every year, the Cooper-Young Arts Festival brings over 120,000 people to Midtown. Many colleges and universities are also here, including Memphis College of Art, Rhodes College, and Christian Brothers University.
Midtown has many older homes, a mix of local and chain stores, and some tall buildings. Several historic neighborhoods are located here. Shopping areas like Overton Square and Cooper Street grew before World War II. In Midtown, you often see places that combine homes, churches, shops, and offices all in one area.
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Where is Midtown?
Midtown has a mix of people, including black, white, and a notable Asian population. Cleveland Street, in the Crosstown area, is a center for the Vietnamese community in Memphis. It has many Vietnamese-owned businesses and a Buddhist temple.
The exact borders of Midtown are sometimes debated. Generally, it's the area between the Medical District to the west and East Memphis to the east. Its eastern edge is often considered East Parkway or the CN railroad. Vollintine Avenue is usually the northern border. The VECA neighborhood is seen as the northernmost part of Midtown. Cooper-Young and Rozelle are typically the southernmost neighborhoods. Interstate 240 forms the western border, separating Midtown from Downtown and the Medical District.
Getting Around Midtown
Because the city grew eastward over time, most car traffic in Midtown moves from east to west. Key roads in the area include:
- Union Avenue: This road has been the main shopping street since World War II.
- Poplar Avenue: This street has many apartment buildings from the 1920s. It also has shops for the Evergreen neighborhood.
- Madison Avenue: Before World War II, this was Memphis's main east-west road. Now, it leads to the Overton Square area.
- McLean Boulevard: This is a main north-south road that connects different neighborhoods.
- Cooper Street: This road links Overton Park to the Overton Square, Idlewild, Lenox, and Cooper-Young neighborhoods.
- Cleveland Street: This street runs through the Crosstown neighborhood.
Midtown Memphis is connected to the Medical District and downtown by the Madison Avenue trolley line. There's a park-and-ride station at Cleveland Street. Long ago, Madison Avenue had the "Dummy Line," which was the main streetcar route from downtown to the Mid-South Fairgrounds. Many buildings along Madison Avenue are from the early 1900s. You can still see the original granite curbs and, in some spots, the old brick roads.
Biking is becoming easier in Midtown. There are now bike lanes on McLean Boulevard, Madison Avenue, Southern Avenue, and Cooper Street. Some parts of Overton Park Avenue have protected bike lanes. Also, the Hampline is a special two-way bike path. It will connect Overton Park to Shelby Farms in suburban Memphis using the Shelby Farms Greenline.
Neighborhoods in Midtown
Midtown is made up of many unique neighborhoods. Some of these are also historic districts, meaning they have special old buildings and areas.
- Annesdale Park (Historic District)
- Central Gardens (Historic District)
- Chickasaw Gardens
- Cooper-Young (Historic District)
- Crosstown (Historic District)
- Evergreen (Historic District)
- Hein Park (Historic District)
- Idlewild (Historic District)
- Lea's Woods (Historic District)
- Lenox
- Overton Square
- Rozelle
- Speedway Terrace (Historic District)
- Tucker-Jefferson
- Vollintine-Evergreen (Historic District)
- Vollintine Hills (Historic District)
Education
Midtown is home to many schools, from elementary to college level.
Schools for Kids and Teens
Public schools in Midtown include Snowden School (for elementary and middle schoolers), Idlewild Elementary, Rozelle Elementary, Peabody Elementary, Bellevue Middle, and Fairview Middle. Central High School is also here. Some of these schools offer special programs.
Several private and parochial schools (schools run by a church) are also in Midtown. These include Grace-St. Luke's Episcopal School, Immaculate Conception Cathedral School, and Memphis Catholic High School. The 1st Class Montessori School has been on Peabody Avenue in Midtown for over twenty years.
Colleges and Universities
Midtown has two private universities for undergraduate students. Rhodes College is a liberal arts college with about two thousand students. It is located in the Vollintine-Evergreen neighborhood. Christian Brothers University is next to the Lenox neighborhood on East Parkway.
Several specialized colleges are also in Midtown. The Memphis Theological Seminary is on East Parkway. Overton Park is home to the Memphis College of Art, which moved there in the 1960s. The Southern College of Optometry and Moore Tech, a small technical college, are in the Crosstown area.
Other learning centers are nearby. The historically black LeMoyne-Owen College is in Soulsville, south of Midtown. The Memphis Medical District to the west has parts of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. This includes schools for medicine, pharmacy, nursing, and dentistry. Also nearby are Methodist Hospital Schools of Radiologic Sciences and Nursing, and the Baptist College of Health Sciences.
Fun Places to Visit
Midtown has many exciting places to explore. Overton Park is a large park that includes the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, the Memphis Zoo, and the Memphis College of Art. Midtown is also famous for its restaurants and bars, many of which have live music at night. In the Cooper-Young neighborhood, you'll find coffee shops, restaurants, and more bars.
Midtown Memphis also has a movie theater called Studio On The Square. It's also home to the city's only professional theater group, Playhouse on the Square, which runs three different theaters. Grace-St. Luke's Episcopal Church has Tiffany windows that are thought to be the largest collection in a parish church in the South. Central Gardens is a beautiful historic neighborhood in Midtown.
Did you know that famous writer Tennessee Williams wrote his first play, Cairo, Shanghai, Bombay!, while staying at his grandparents' home in Midtown? That was at 1917 Snowden Ave. The play was first performed in 1935 at 1780 Glenview, also in Midtown.
The Cooper-Young Festival is held every year at the intersection of Cooper and Young. Another area, Overton Square, hosts a big St. Patrick's Day celebration.
Midtown was also the home of the Mid-South Fair for 152 years. However, 2008 was the last year the fair was held in Memphis. Starting in 2009, the Mid-South Fair moved to new land in Tunica, Mississippi.
Images for kids
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The entrance to the Memphis Zoo
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Snowden School
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The Memphis College of Art
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The Southern College of Optometry
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The Memphis Theological Seminary
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Rhodes College
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Grace-St. Luke's Episcopal Church
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Entrance to Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium
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Lindenwood Church
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Central High School
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Union Avenue Methodist Church (demolished in 2011)
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The First Baptist Church of Memphis
