I've mentioned that we're currently working on a photography preservation project for Jonathan's grandparents, Sadie and Gerald. They were high school sweethearts, and they have been married 61 years. As we've been busy scanning and editing their photographs, I wanted to share some of them. These were my favorites that have already made it onto our gallery wall.
The photos were all taken around the time they were married, when they lived in downtown Memphis for several years. Gerald worked and attended business school, and Sadie worked several jobs. One of Gerald's jobs was in the Sears catalog division in midtown Memphis.
Since we moved to Memphis in 2006, we have enjoyed taking them to downtown and midtown Memphis so they could see some of their old neighborhoods and reminisce. Unfortunately quite a few of the landmarks they remember began to decline in the 1960s and have since been razed to make room for uninspired (and often empty) strip malls.
The Sears building in midtown was one of Memphis' most notorious examples of a historic building that had been abandoned and neglected. In a lucky twist of fate, the building has recently been saved and is being converted into a mixed use urban village. You can read about it here. We're all excited that this piece of Memphis history will be preserved. Perhaps it will be the catalyst Memphis needs to save more of its historic buildings and homes.
