OldMelroseSchool

Old Melrose School

This was the primary school in Orange Mound for a very long time before it moved to a new building on Deadrick in 1979. There was another building here prior to the one you see in the pictures. If my memory is right, the building that currently sits there at 843 Dallas St. was built in 1948. This is one of the few, if not the only, remaining examples of Art Moderne architecture in Memphis. The building sits, abandoned, next to a nicely built community center and has a children's playground behind it. From what I understand, there was a building where the playground is now. There is definitely some of what appears to be demolition scarring on the back of the building. There are efforts underway to try and get someone to rehab the building into something useful -- not sure what they're planning but they definitely want to save this building because it's an Orange Mound landmark. I don't live in Orange Mound, nor have I ever been connected to the community, but I am definitely all for them saving this place before it's too late. Too many landmarks disappear these days. The original South Side High (aka Lincoln Jr. High) was demolished several years ago, as an example of something that should've been saved but met its demise. So, without further ado, here are some pictures. I took these on February 20, 2008, when I decided to visit the site on a whim. I had been wanting to photograph the old building for some time now, since I enjoy urban ruins.

Credits

Mall of Memphis contributor Clinton Yelvington created this article and also provided various pictures of the Mall of Memphis and the River Roads Mall for this site.

Remembering the Marketplace of the Midsouth

OldMelroseSchool

Old Melrose School

Credits