East Memphis is a region of Memphis, Tennessee

Memphis, Tennessee

Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....

, that includes several defined and informal subdivisions/neighborhoods such as Colonial Acres, White Station-Yates, Sherwood Forest

Sherwood Forest, Memphis

Sherwood Forest is a neighborhood in East Memphis, Memphis. It is located south of Normal Station, Memphis and east of Orange Mound. Its boundaries are: Park Ave. , Rhodes Ave. , Getwell Rd. , S. Highland St., Radford Rd., and S. Prescott St .The neighborhood is home to the Sherwood Elementary and...

, Normal Station

Normal Station, Memphis

Normal Station is a neighborhood in East Memphis, Tennessee, anchored by the University of Memphis, formerly Memphis State University, and originally called West Tennessee State Normal School. It is bordered by the University of Memphis to the north, Audubon Park to the east, Park Avenue and the...

, High Point Terrace

High Point Terrace, Memphis

High Point Terrace is a neighborhood located in the heart of the city of Memphis, Tennessee.-Geography:High Point Terrace is generally geographically defined as being located north of Walnut Grove Road, east of North Highland Street, south of Summer Avenue and west of North Graham Street...

, Belle Meade

Belle Meade, Memphis

Belle Meade is an upscale neighborhood in Memphis, Tennessee. Belle Meade is bordered by Goodlett Street in the west, Walnut Grove Road at the north, Poplar Avenue at the south, and roughly East Cherry Circle on the east....

, Normandy Meadows, St. Nick, Pleasant Acres, Balmoral, and Ridgeway. The general boundaries are informal:

• On the West: Midtown
  Midtown, Memphis
  - Overview :Architecturally, Midtown Memphis, Tennessee is marked with residential vintage housing, specialty stores, and high-rise buildings, often all located on the same avenue...
  
   (this boundary is in some dispute and is described variously as East Parkway, the CN RR line (just past East Parkway), or Highland Street.
• On The South: Hickory Hill
  Hickory Hill, Memphis
  Hickory Hill is a middle-class, predominantly African-American community in the Southeast region of Memphis, Tennessee.-Geography:The neighborhood is bounded on the north by where Bill Morris Parkway meets Kirby, and the community of Fox Meadows , on the east by Riverdale Road, on the south by...
  
  , Orange Mound (usually Park Ave. is given as a boundary east of Getwell, and Rhodes-Quince west of Getwell)
• On the East: Traditionally, the Eastern border was anything inside the I-240 loop, however, many extend this to Germantown
  Germantown, Tennessee
  Germantown is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee. The population was 38,844 at the 2010 census.Germantown is a suburb of Memphis, bordering it to the east. Germantown's economy is dominated by the retail and commercial service sectors; there is no heavy industry in Germantown...
  
   and Cordova
  Cordova, Tennessee
  Cordova is a community in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States. Cordova lies on Memphis' northeast side, north of Germantown, and northwest of Collierville....
  
   city limits.
• On the North: Often Summer Avenue or Sam Cooper Blvd. just south of Berclair

The primary zip codes in this area are 38111, 38117 & 38157. Also included are 38120 and 38119 As of 1950, the eastern boundary of Memphis was essentially the western boundary of what is today East Memphis. By the mid-1960s most of East Memphis inside the I-240 loop had been annexed into the city of Memphis.

Region Overview

East Memphis is a commercial and residential powerhouse. Poplar Avenue provides the central east-west thoroughfare of the area, and there are many thriving businesses on and around it. East Memphis is the location of the some of the largest Memphis homes, specifically those in the Walnut Grove area. It is also home to the looming Clark Tower, as there are no legal restrictions on the height of buildings outside of the downtown area. The area also has developed into a home for many businesses and law firms. Walnut Grove Rd. has a high concentration of churches and schools. Poplar Plaza Shopping center at the corner of Poplar and Highland St. could be the beginning of the East Memphis commercial district. Highland St. is mostly commercial, with a collection of high-rise low-to-moderate residential buildings, as well as Crichton College

Crichton College

Victory University, formerly Crichton College, is a private for-profit Christian, liberal arts college located in Memphis, Tennessee.Victory University is a four-year, coeducational institution owned by California-based Significant Education...

. The University of Memphis

University of Memphis

The University of Memphis is an American public research university located in the Normal Station neighborhood of Memphis, Tennessee and is the flagship public research university of the Tennessee Board of Regents system....

 sits south of Central Ave. and north of Southern Ave, with the Highland strip bordering it on its western side. Further east on Poplar Ave., Laurelwood Shopping Center and Oak Court Mall, can be found. East Memphis covers areas outside of the I-240 Loop including the residential areas around Quince Road and Kirby Parkway, and River Oaks subdivision. A commercial center has developed around the intersection of Poplar and Ridgeway Road which includes the Hilton Memphis

Hilton Memphis

The Hilton Memphis is the tallest hotel in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Located off Interstate 240 in East Memphis. the 27-story hotel was built in 1975 and designed by Memphis architect Francis Mah. Originally a Hyatt Regency, the hotel eventually became an Adam's Mark before being...

, the largest hotel in the city. The eastern border of the neighborhood is the Germantown city limits at Kirby Parkway.

The major shopping venues in East Memphis are Eastgate Shopping Center, Poplar Plaza Shopping Center, Oak Court Mall, Laurelwood Collection, Regalia, and Park Place Center.

Parks & Places

Museums, Parks, Gardens:

• Pink Palace Museum
• Children's Museum of Memphis
• Memphis Botanic Garden
• Dixon Gallery and Gardens
• Lichterman Nature Center
• Audubon Park
• Avon Park
• Davis Park
• Sea Isle Park
• Willow Rd. Park
• Pauline "Pep" Marquette Park
• Memphis Country Club
• Chickasaw Country Club

Other places of note include:

• St. Francis Hospital
• Baptist Memorial Hospital
• Memorial Park Cemetery & Gardens
• Theatre Memphis
• Ma$hDownMuzik (an independent recording label), and Frank White aka The Don of the Town.

Religion

East Memphis is home to many churches of various denominations. The largest churches are Christ United Methodist Church with 6,000 members http://www.cumcmemphis.org/default.aspx?pid=36, St. Louis Catholic Church with about 5,000 membershttp://www.cdom.org/departments/finance/Annual%20Report%202008%20FINAL.pdf, and Second Presbyterian Church with more than 4,800 members http://www.2pc.org/media/second-look-fall-2008-pdf.pdf. The area is also home to all of the city's Jewish congregations, including Baron Hirsch Synagogue

Baron Hirsch Synagogue

The Baron Hirsch Synagogue , established Memphis, Tennessee circa 1862–1864, is a flagship of American Orthodox Judaism...

, Anshei Sphard, Bath Sholom, and Temple Israel. Other places of worship include Robinhood Lane Baptist Church, Cherry Road Baptist Church and New Philadelphia Church.

Secondary Schools

Public schools include:

• East High School
• Willow Oaks Elementary
• Sea Isle Elementary
• Colonial Middle
• Overton High
• Ridgeway Elementary, Middle and High
• South Park Elementary
• Sharpe Elementary
• Sherwood Elementary and Middle
• White Station Elementary, Middle and High

East Memphis is also home to numerous religiously-affiliated schools:

• Catholic: Christian Brothers High School (All-boys, 9-12), St. Agnes Academy (All-girls, 9-12), Holy Rosary School (Co-ed, Pre K-8), St. Anne School (Co-ed, K-8), St. Dominic School (All boys, Pre K-8), St. Louis School (Co-ed, Pre K-8), St. Michael School (Co-ed, Pre K-8)
• Church of Christ: Harding Academy (Co-ed, Pre K-12)
• Episcopal: St. Mary's Episcopal School (All-girls, Pre K-12)
• Lutheran: Christ The King Lutheran School (Co-ed, K-8)
• Jewish: Bornblum Solomon Schechter School (Co-ed, 1-8), Margolin Hebrew Academy (Co-ed, Pre K-12), Memphis Jewish High School
  Memphis Jewish High School
  Memphis Jewish High School in Memphis, Tennessee, began operation in August 2006. It closed May 31, 2010. It was a Modern-Orthodox Jewish co-educational school. It is a dual-curriculum Hebrew - English school founded by Andrew and Jan Groveman, Jack and Marilyn Belz, and Mark and Sally Wender...
  
   (Co-ed, 9-12)
• Methodist: Christ Methodist Day School (Co-ed, Pre K-6)
• Non-denominational Christian: Briarcrest Christian School (Co-ed, Pre K-8), Evangelical Christian School (Co-ed Pre K-5), Hutchison School (All-girls, Pre K-12), Memphis University School (All-boys, 7-12)
• Presbyterian: Presbyterian Day School (All-boys, Pre K-6), Woodland Presbyterian School (Co-ed, Pre K-8)

Restaurants

East Memphis is host to a plethora of dining establishments ranging from inexpensive barbecue/sandwich shops to four-star restaurants. These include Three Little Pigs BBQ, Corky's, Pete & Sam's, Houston's, Buckley's Restaurant, and the award-winning Huey's and Folk's Folly, both owned by Memphian Thomas Boggs

Thomas Boggs

Thomas Boggs was an American musician, playing with the Box Tops, and restaurateur in Memphis, Tennessee.-Early life:Boggs was born in Wynne, Arkansas, but moved to Memphis at age 7...

. Urbanspoon denotes the area restaurants in this manner: East Memphis Restaurants