Robert Lanier Collection Processed by Victoria Grey 2014 Memphis And

Robert Lanier Collection Processed by Victoria Grey 2014 Memphis and Shelby County Room Memphis Public Library and Information Center 3030 Poplar Avenue Memphis, TN 38111 Biographical Note Robert Lanier was born in Memphis in 1938, and has spent most of his life in the city. His contributions to the Memphis law community began after he completed his Bachelor of Science from Memphis State University (now U of M) and his Bachelor of Laws from the University of Mississippi, in 1960 and 1962 respectively. Lanier received the American Spirit of Honor Medal in 1963. He was a member of the Memphis law firm of Armstrong, McAdden, Allen, Braden and Goodman from 1964-1968, as well as Farris, Hancock, Gilman, Branan, Lanier & Hellen in 1968. After his stints at these two practices, he became the director of the Memphis & Shelby County Junior Bar Association in 1969-1970, as well as secretary of that same organization in 1971. During this time, he was appointed as special judge at both Circuit and General Sessions Courts, and the Memphis City Court. He served as a judge from 1969 until his retirement in 2004. Lanier also served as an Adjunct Professor at the Memphis State University School of Law (U of M) from 1981, and was a member of the Shelby County Republican Executive Committee, from 1970-1972. He was involved in both the Memphis and Tennessee Humane Associations. Starting out as director of the former in 1972, he eventually became president of both, in Memphis in 1974 and as the state’s from 1975-1977. Lanier has a robust history of involvement in Memphis’ civil society – he founded the Lawyers’ Journal Club of Memphis in 1979, for example, and was a member of the Tennessee Historical Commission from 1977, having been appointed by former Governor Ray Blanton to a five-year term. Importantly, he was also a founder of Memphis Heritage Inc., a historical preservation group still active today. He is the author of several books about Memphis history, including Memphis in the Twenties (1979), In the Courts (1969) and The History of the Memphis & Shelby County Bar (1981). It is from his association with Memphis history that Lanier’s collection of photographs can be best understood. The photographs Lanier has donated are almost certainly a part of Lanier’s personal interest with Memphis history and historical preservation. The photographs which form the Robert Lanier Collection are primarily concerned with documenting Memphis’ streets and urban and public spaces. As well as photographing Memphis attractions, such as Court Square or Overton Park, Lanier has also taken many photos of Memphis buildings and storefronts. There is an obvious interest in how buildings such as the Exchange Building, the Lincoln American Tower and the Tennessee Club Building all fit into Memphis’ urban fabric, and his commitment to these subjects and others over time proves an intention of documenting these spaces for posterity, to show how Memphis has both changed and remained the same. His attention to the less well- known buildings of Memphis, small Midtown houses or neglected or vacant properties, is also important in creating a representative portrait of the urban environment. Interestingly, as part of this, Lanier has also been preoccupied with photographing many demolition and construction sites around the city – recognition that the documentation of the absence of a building can be just as historically significant as that of one still standing. 2 Scope and Content The Robert Lanier Collection is made up of urban and street photography of Memphis. It consists of one box and eight folders. The collection was donated to the library by Mr. Lanier. Prior to processing, the photographs were organized three ways - in one photograph album, as loose-leaf and in labeled and dated envelopes; all are photographs of the city of Memphis. The original order of photographs has been maintained throughout. They are arranged in four-pocket protective sleeves rather than individually to preserve the coherency of the original arrangement. A particular focus of the collection is on houses and public spaces. Ranging in date from the 1950s until the first decade of the twenty-first century, the bulk of the collection consists of photographs from the 1970s and 1980s, with much of the photography focusing on downtown and Midtown Memphis. All of the photographs in the Robert Lanier Collection have been digitized, and are available on the library’s Dig Memphis digital archive website. Single photocopies or scans of unpublished writings in these papers may be made for purposes of scholarly research. While the Memphis Public Library & Information Center may house an item, it does not necessarily hold the copyright on the item, nor may it be able to determine if the item is still protected under current copyright law. Users are solely responsible for determining the existence of such instances and for obtaining any other permissions and paying associated fees that may be necessary for the intended use. Any image from the library’s collection published in any form must cite as the source: Memphis and Shelby County Room, Memphis Public Library & Information Center. For all requests, please contact the History Department at 901.415.2742 or [email protected]. Container List and List of Contents Box Number Number of Folders Box 1 8 Folders one through five consist of photographs previously displayed within the photograph album; folders five and six hold photographs that were previously loose-leaf, all are panoramic; folders seven and eight are almost all individually dated and were previously housed in labeled envelopes. Not all photographs are dated or ordered chronologically, and at times chronological order varies widely. For this reason, the approach to listing the majority of the contents of the collection was by subject rather than by dates. As a reference point, and as noted before, the bulk of photographs (both dated and undated) originate (or seem to originate), from the 1970s and 1980s. 3 Robert Lanier Collection Folder One (38 items): Includes: black and white photographs of Court Square and surrounding streets including Main Street, North 2nd street, North and South Court; the Exchange building as photographed from Jefferson Street; the former Tennessee Club building; the former Memphian theatre on South Cooper; Third and Hernando streets; the Gridiron restaurant and Peabody hotel; assorted downtown streetscapes. Folder Two (48 items): Includes: black and white and color photographs of Overton Square, circa 1970, including the original Silky Sullivan’s bar (first location was on the Square before a move to Beale Street and an addition of an ‘O’’ in the title); former Claridge Hotel on Main Street and surrounds; Hernando De Soto bridge; Overton Park war memorial; Court Square and surrounds, dated 1985; construction sites downtown and west Beale Street; Memphis Courthouse; the Mallory-Neely House; one Peabody duck; assorted streetscapes. Of particular mention is a sign welcoming the visit of Mrs. Anwar Sadat, which is positioned next to several fast food restaurants. Folder Three (35 items): Includes: black and white and color photographs of the Lincoln American Tower; the Exchange building; stores on Madison Avenue; Court Square and surrounding streets; the old Luciann theatre on Summer Avenue; the Tennessee Club; the Shelby County building; Fairview Drive In; the bridge at Nonconnah Creek; a panorama photo of a Midtown street; Confederate Park; downtown construction and demolition sites, assorted downtown streetscapes. Folder Four (48 items): Includes: black and white and color photographs of Confederate Park, including the Jefferson Davis statue; the Schmeisser-Van Horn property on Walnut Grove Avenue; the Sears Crosstown building; Main Street; Monroe Avenue; construction and demolition sites; Forrest Park; former Libertyland entrance; former Shelby County jail exterior; former Poplar Avenue station wall; Commerce Square building lobby interior; AutoZone Park; assorted downtown streetscapes. 4 Robert Lanier Collection Folder Five (26 items): Includes: color photographs and panoramas of Memphis skylines; Lincoln American Tower; the old Union Avenue Methodist Church; the Exchange building; the Easy Way grocery on Union; the Roland Darnell house, former home of Nineteenth Century Club; a view from the fourth floor of the Benjamin L. Hooks Memphis Public Library and Information Center; the Tennessee Club; the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphrey’s School of Law; the Bank Tennessee Second Street location, housed in the former Commercial Appeal building; Ashler Hall; assorted downtown streetscapes. The five panoramic photographs include the Exchange building and Court Square and surrounds. Folder Six (10 items): Includes: color panorama photographs of Court Square and surrounds; downtown buildings; the Exchange building and the D.T. Porter building; the Main Street trolley line; Main Street looking north past the Kress building; Main Street looking south to the former William Len Hotel and the Farnsworth building. Folder Seven (40 items): Includes: black and white and color photographs of scenes from Beale Street, 1955; College Inn, on Poplar Pike, 1957; John J. Hooker campaigning for Governor in Memphis, 1970; Bus lanes in Overton Park, Autumn 1970; St. Peter’s Home For Children Picnic July 4, 1971; Hernando De Soto bridge under construction, 1971; Antebellum residence at (196?) Court street, 1972; 1864 First Baptist Church on Beale Street, circa, 1972. Folder Eight (44 items): Includes: City and street scenes 1970s and 1980s; Loew’s Palace Theater (Union between Main and Front), 1984; Dyer’s Hamburgers (Cleveland north of Poplar), c. 1984; A. Schwab’s on Beale Street, April 1984 (before restoration) A. Schwab is featured in one photo. 5 .

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