Built to Last

Cover story and photography for The Memphis Downtowner

June 2013

AIA Memphis is 60 years old – structurally sound, aesthetically designed, and moving ahead with the next step in its organized blueprint.

Architects, designers, engineers, and
architecture fans gathered on a
warm, spring night in April to celebrate the
60th anniversary of AIA Memphis. Fittingly,
the gala was held at the Pink Palace Museum,
an iconic, architectural landmark if ever there
was one, with its pink Georgian marble rising
from a sweeping lawn.

The Memphis chapter of American Institute
of Architects was founded in 1953, a time of
eastward expansion for Memphis. New ideas
such as the suburban Poplar Plaza Shopping
Center began taking customers from
Downtown’s venerable, stalwart department
stores, such as Goldsmith’s and Gerber’s.

“Memphis was a hotbed for designers in
the 1950s,” says Heather Koury, executive
director of AIA Memphis . . . (read more)

June 2013