Medical Arts Building, Memphis, 1925

Description

Photograph of an architect's rendering of the Medical Arts Building at 240 Madison Avenue at Fourth Street, February 13, 1925. The name "Walter F. Winn, Inc." is embossed on the lower right corner of the print. A label for "Oran L. Sackett, Insurance, Bank of Commerce Building" is on the verso. The building was constructed in 1925-1926 by the Cincinnati firm of Rudolph Tietig and William H. Lee to specifically address the needs of the private medical practitioner, with shared equipment and services provided in the plan of the structure. Planning for this building was begun by a real estate development firm headed by Oran L. Sackett, president of a local insurance company, in response to the burgeoning growth of the Memphis health care profession. By mid-century the expansion of the Memphis Medical Center area resulted in few medical personnel remaining in the building and it became more of a general office building. Businessman Francis G. Hickman purchased the building in the early 1950s and undertook a general renovation. The building was closed in 1971.