Comments On: Where Is This HUGE Church? by Vance Lauderdale

Re: Where Is This HUGE Church?

bridgman — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 16:09:41 -0500

Never mind. I just saw the other blog post from June 4th where the magic librarian solved the case (First Congregational Church of Christ in Columbus, Ohio.)
Posted by bridgman

Re: Where Is This HUGE Church?

bridgman — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 14:59:58 -0500

I posted this on St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral's Facebook page facebook.com/stmarysmemphis (tagging it on Idlewild Pres's page) and got a reply from someone who thinks this church is in Indiana, possibly a Congregationalist church.
Posted by bridgman

Re: Where Is This HUGE Church?

dogbite — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 13:31:02 -0500

It looks a lot like Highland Heights United Methodist Church at 3476 Summer Avenue.
Posted by dogbite

Re: Where Is This HUGE Church?

Vance Lauderdale — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 15:00:10 -0500

It's definitely not Prescott Memorial Baptist Church, which was a rather plain, two-story, red-brick building.

Don't fret; I'm going to the library later today (or certainly this weekend) to find out where, exactly, all the Toddle Houses were located in 1937, and if ANY of them were situated next to, or even near, a church.
Posted by Vance Lauderdale

Re: Where Is This HUGE Church?

Poon — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 12:39:52 -0500

Maybe this church has been torn down. I used Google Earth to check tons of "482" street addresses (Midtown and Downtown), and I don't see anything resembling this church.
Posted by Poon

Re: Where Is This HUGE Church?

rhondalou — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 12:11:55 -0500

could it possibly be Prescott Memorial Baptist Church on Mynders and Highland?

http://gatesofmemphis.blogspot.com/2008/01…
Posted by rhondalou

Re: Where Is This HUGE Church?

Vance Lauderdale — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 10:54:32 -0500

critter42, I also noticed that crenelated tower and thought the same thing you did: Is this a church tower in the background? But here's something else: Look just to the left of that structure, and you will see what appears to be a water tower!
Posted by Vance Lauderdale

Re: Where Is This HUGE Church?

critter42 — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 23:07:49 -0500

OK, looking again at the second picture - what is that castle-like structure behind the car dealership? Looks like another church of some kind.

Posted by critter42

Re: Where Is This HUGE Church?

bkourvelas — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 11:31:18 -0500

@ Jeff.... wonderful post.
Posted by producerbonnie

Re: Where Is This HUGE Church?

Vance Lauderdale — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 11:12:42 -0500

Sorry, peterwertz, but I must disagree. These are all photos of the same place.
Posted by Vance Lauderdale

Re: Where Is This HUGE Church?

peterwertz — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 00:08:38 -0500

I don't think it is the same Toddle House. The tree by the corner of the house is closer to the detail photo than it is in the one where you see the church ... plus the shadows in the first photo don't look real.
Posted by peterwertz

Re: Where Is This HUGE Church?

CL Mullins — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 00:01:18 -0500

Definitely within the Parkways. Perhaps another George Awsumb and/or Charles Pfiel design, if not Idlewild.
Posted by CL Mullins

Re: Where Is This HUGE Church?

critter42 — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 23:55:45 -0500

Looking at the other photo, it appears the dealership is an OK Used Car dealer - those were usually found at Chevy dealerships - where were the Chevy dealerships in Memphis in the 30s?
Posted by critter42

Re: Where Is This HUGE Church?

renee — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 23:30:16 -0500

I am intrigued too - I immediately thought it was the front of Grace-St. Lukes, and that perhaps the Toddle House stood where the school is standing now, on the corner of Peabody and Belvedere, but that doesn't bear out once you compare it to an actual photo of Grace-St. Lukes; nor would it explain the car dealership (which would have put a car dealership on Belvedere, and I KNOW that's never happened)... so, still looking. I swear, I've seen that church somewhere before.
Posted by renee

Re: Where Is This HUGE Church?

Phoebe — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 21:55:10 -0500

I searched through property records on the Tom Leatherwood [Register of Deeds] site for both "Toddle" and Stedman's name. Found lots of entries, but the majority of the records were done with lot numbers and parcels and whatnot rather than actual addresses.
Posted by Phoebe

Re: Where Is This HUGE Church?

Vance Lauderdale — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 21:36:38 -0500

Someone suggested this building was on Summer or Union and was torn down. Well, tell me WHERE and WHEN.

I find that hard to believe.
Posted by Vance Lauderdale

Re: Where Is This HUGE Church?

Vance Lauderdale — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 21:30:45 -0500

Thanks to all. First of all, Phoebe, I gave 490 South Highland as the address for St. Luke's because that is how it is (or was) listed in old city directories, though now the address is 480; the numbers would sometimes change slightly over the years.

And 490 would be perfect since the Toddle House address next door is 482, but too many other things � mainly, the entire physical appearance of the church building!
Posted by Vance Lauderdale

Re: Where Is This HUGE Church?

CL Mullins — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 19:32:49 -0500

The architecture of the church looks Presbyterian. The neighborhood in the othe image is mid-townish.
Posted by CL Mullins

Re: Where Is This HUGE Church?

critter42 — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 18:34:15 -0500

is the name on the board to the left of the church steps readable at all in the original image?
Posted by critter42

Re: Where Is This HUGE Church?

Phoebe — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 17:29:30 -0500

Also found this on Wikipedia : "In 1932 Smith (along with J.C. Stedman, an entrepreneur from Houston, Texas) also founded the Toddle House restaurant chain, based too in Memphis. For the next several years the chain expanded through a number of states, opening as many as 50 new stores per year.
Posted by Phoebe

Re: Where Is This HUGE Church?

Jeff — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 16:45:24 -0500

All the churches start to look the same after a while, all the preachers' wives blur together into a single sweaty bouffont left in disarray behind the molds in the basement ceramics room. All the collection plates become cheap Chinette, the baptistries tiny swimming pools and the parsonages one long series of lonely cabins and empty nights lying in bed next to someone who can't sleep either.
Posted by Jeff

Re: Where Is This HUGE Church?

Phoebe — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 16:41:19 -0500

All I can find so far is that it just backing you up on it not being St. Luke's.

A) if the Toddle House was to the north of St. Luke's (which it would have to be from the angle of the pic) then it's address would be lower than St. Luke's, which is 480.
Posted by Phoebe