Protest hopes to save history
Nineteenth Century Club called treasure
Some of 30 protesters held signs saying “Honk to Save” in front of the endangered Nineteenth Century Club, and rush-hour traffic obliged Tuesday as drivers passed the last grand mansion on Union Avenue.
The blare of the horns was encouraging to protesters. “I’m the eternal optimist,” said retired lawyer Charlie Lambert, who spent $65 for a ticket to Tuesday’s Bob Dylan concert, but passed it up to try to rally the city to protect the 106-year-old home from the wrecking ball.
Lambert carried a sign that said, “Midtown Already Has Empty Strip Malls.” Proof was immediately obvious across the street from the brick mansion. Three of five businesses in a strip mall are vacant, and a four-story building next door has a huge For Sale sign across the front door.
Gordon Alexander, head of the Mid-Town Action Coalition, organized the protest and invites others to join as he plans another day of protest from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at 1433 Union at South Watkins. He said he is still hoping to meet with owners of Union Group LLC, which bought the building at auction in January. He said neither owners nor their attorneys have returned his calls or a letter.
Protester Cathy Winterburn came in a vintage outfit intended to rep-
resent the era when the Nineteenth Century Club was at its heyday after conversion from a private home to headquarters of a civic and social club devoted to charitable efforts. She referred to repeated fines in Shelby County Environmental Court that exceeded the club’s ability to pay, yet kept mounting until the house became too expensive a proposition for most potential buyers.
“You’re trying to save a historic property and your city is heaping fines on you. What does that say about you?” Winterburn said.
She suggested money raised by Nineteenth Century Club members and donated to The Children’s Museum of Memphis should inspire CMOM CEO Dick Hackett to help save the house. “Dick Hackett (former Memphis mayor) knows enough people that he could come up with a creative solution to help save the house or flip the house.”
Architect and computer network system architect John Sanford said he came as a protester in hopes of saving the one grand mansion left on Union. “I have mixed emotions about historic preservation,” he said. “I think we should save the treasures. They can’t all be gone. Save one.”