The Pinch District took its name in the 1800s from a pejorative term for the emaciated Irish immigrants fleeing the potato famine (“pinch gut”). The Pinch was home to the city’s earliest Irish, Italian, Russian, and Greek immigrants, as well as Memphis’ Jewish community through the 1930s. Suburban expansion post-World War II decimated the Pinch’s population, and it has since struggled to maintain stability. There are hopes that the newly repurposed Pyramid, now a Bass Pro Shop flagship store, will anchor new growth in the area.
Uptown and The Pinch began as a bustling subdivision for the wealthy that was nearly destroyed by racist housing policies and government neglect. Now it’s gearing up to become Memphis’ next big thing.
With restoration of the first three trolley cars and necessary testing completed, the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) is ready to re-launch the trolley service, which has sat dormant for the past four years. A ribbon cutting event will take place on April 30 at 547 N. Main Street.
Locations around the city for the first 60 bike stations of the Explore Bike Share program have been announced, and the nonprofit has plans more stations and bikes for 2019 and 2020. The 600-bike system, which spans from Downtown, South Memphis, and Cooper Young to Orange Mound, Overton Square, and Crosstown, is moving towards a launch later this spring.
Community leaders, residents and volunteers from local businesses braved the cold on Monday and took to the streets to clean up blighted properties in neighborhoods across Memphis for the second annual MLK Days of Service.
Facing a sore lack of later-stage capital in Memphis, startups that matriculate through local accelerator programs often have to look outside of the Mid-South to scale.
For the fourth straight year, the Greater Memphis Chamber, the Workforce Investment Network, the Greater Memphis Alliance for a Competitive Workforce, students from local high schools and area manufacturing companies will celebrate National Manufacturing Day with tours designed to get the students excited about possible careers in the industry.
"We can never be the kind of community that we want to be until we have the minority firms have a much larger piece of the pie."
Why is it so hard for black and brown businesses to get their share of the green? Join the discussion here.
A series of events focusing on the creation of the Memphis 3.0 comprehensive plan and featuring national planning and development experts is coming to Memphis thanks to a partnership from the Urban Land Institute and the University of Memphis Design Collaborative.
The misuse of EMS costs Memphis $20 million in budget shortfall. New programs help to put people to call 9-1-1 but don't need emergency care receive to appropriate resources.
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