Thursday, December 16, 2010
Lost Memphis The Bergville Cafe - Remember It?
Posted by Vance Lauderdale on Thu, Dec 16, 2010 at 2:10 PM
It was quite a handsome little establishment, and even the signs painted on the windows proclaimed it "A Clean Place to Eat." But I was perplexed by what I could see in the background — rows of storage tanks of some sort (barely visible in the left background). If not for the "Poland Photo Memphis" logo at the bottom, I wouldn't have thought this was a Memphis establishment.
But it certainly was located here, a tiny restaurant that opened in 1932 at 459 Union Avenue. The proprietor was Alex Guigou, who with his wife Helen had previously operated the curiously named Orange Palace Cafe on Summer. Those mysterious tanks in the background belonged to the Beacon Filling Station next door, and in fact, in those days that section of Union was fairly industrial, in a car-related way.
In the same block, you could find McCreery Used Cars, the Automobile Piston Company, Charles Ham Auto Service, and Farber Brothers Auto Tops. Just a few doors down was the old building — originally the Ford Motor Company — that housed The Commercial Appeal.
I have no idea why Alex and Helen Guigou called their little eatery Bergville. It didn't last long. Old city directories show a different manager running the joint every year until 1936, when the owners renamed it the Spick & Span Restaurant. In the 1940s, it became the Blue and White Spot Restaurant. Does anybody remember any of these places?
In the 1950s and 1960s, the tiny building housed a used-car dealership, joining many others in that area, back in the days when Union Avenue was considered "Automobile Row." But all that is changed now, and the little place called Bergville is long gone.
PHOTO COURTESY MEMPHIS ROOM, BENJAMIN HOOKS CENTRAL LIBRARY
Comments (8)
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Unrelated to this but since you mention the automobile part of Union; a few months ago someone posted a link to the 1922 map of Memphis on your article about riverboat shows. I noticed on it that right at the top, outside the northern city Limits, on White St. between Thomas St. (NOT Danny Thomas obviously) and Leath St. is "Memphis Driving Club." It looks like it was 2 or 3 blocks long. I wondered if it was a "Driving Range" golf club or a car-related club? I would imagine back in 1922 it would more likely have been called "Memphis Motor Car Club" or something. Either way I bet there were pantaloons, tweed and flat caps involved.
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Warbird, Vance me help me out here. But at one time the Driving Park was a sully racing venue. It was the fastest in world from what I read in some old papers. Several records were set in the few years it existed that still stand today. The gate to the park is the gate that stood (stands) on Thomas at Lazarov Brothers Scrap yard.
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/TN0137/
This is the HABs (historical American Buildings) information compiled by the Libraray of Congress.
Significance: Constructed in 1901, the North Memphis Driving Park quickly gained national prominence as the fastest track of the Grand Circuit. Conceived by C.K.G. Billings and Frank Jones, the design was accomplished by Seth Griffin, a specialist in the field. The track was opened October 21, 1901, and in its brief first season ten harness racing records were broken; seventeen more records were established during the following season. Every major pacing and trotting record was set at the park. Memphis was dropped from the Grand Circuit in 1905 as the result of a state prohibition against gambling on races. The only remaining portion of this great track is the carriage gateway.
Read more about it: "The Passing of an Era: The North Memphis Driving Park" by Charles A. Bobbitt.
Southern Leather was also in this block as well as Memphis Motorcycle Company. Memphis Motorcycle was the oldest Schwinn Dealer in the U.S., until they closed (Mt. Moriah Bicycle)
The North Memphis Driving Club on North Thomas was a horse racing track until anti-gambling laws shut it down. What was to become the Memphis Country Club was formed to play nine holes within the track.
You are correct, ladies and gentleman. The North Memphis Driving Park was a horse and harness racing track that developed a national reputation. For years, a pair of nice stone posts stood on North Thomas Street, at Lazarov Scrap Metals, marking the former entrance to the park. I'm not sure if they are still there.
One short, one tall column on either side of the entrance. They're still there. There is also an existing building across the street that was originally an inn serving the Park's patrons. Supposedly, the oversize bar is still inside on the second floor.
Wow thanks to all for that folks, I never even thought of "driving" being horse-related! I wonder how they were able to change gears with hooves? Now I need to take my life in my hands and drive over to that junkyard. Thanks again everyone for going to all the trouble, I feel more educated already!
Do not know if anyone would have this information. I have had a question about the North Memphis Driving Club for about a couple of years that I have been unable to find an answer. In doing research on another facility I noticed an entry on the Motorsportsmemorial.org site for a Don Grant killed in an automobile race on July 5, 1913, at the Memphis Driving Club Track. Could the old trotter track have been used for motorsports in Memphis before the city purchased Montgomery Park and built the Fairgrounds Speedway?
mphsrick43@aol.com
