I rather like this old postcard view of Court Square. Postmarked 1915, it shows the northeast corner of the park. Two boys perch on a bench, and a few feet away, other well-dressed gentlemen, all of them wearing very stylish derbies, also rest on benches. One of those benches is a fancy cast-iron thing; the others are just plain park benches.
You'll surely notice that one of these fellows is tending to a baby in a bright yellow outfit.
(I've mentioned before that these postcards began life as black-and-white photographs, and then artists added whatever colors they wanted before the cards were printed and sold, so obviously we don't know if the baby was actually wearing yellow.)
In the distance, barely visible among the trees, is the famous Court Square fountain, topped by the statue of Hebe, and other people are milling around, possibly waiting for the photographer to snap his picture.
But the most interesting element in this image is the old cannon in the left background. A relic from the Spanish-American War, the gun was placed in the park sometime between 1901 and the date I've already mentioned, 1915. I can't find a specific date for when this thing was hauled to the park, but I can only do so much.
Only the barrel of the cannon was original, by the way. The massive cast-iron base was manufactured — or at least sponsored by — the Memphis Labor and Trades Council. It's quite possible it was actually cast in the Livermore Foundry here in town. Again, I don't know.
The big gun remained a downtown conversation piece until 1942, when city leaders decided Court Square no longer required defending, and donated it to a scrap-metal drive. An old newspaper article noted that the piece was made of solid brass, and weighed something like 3,000 pounds, so melted down it would make thousands of much-needed shell casings. The iron base would also be a worthy contribution to the war effort.
The cannon didn't go without a ... bang, though. The veterans who had originally donated the piece weren't happy that it would end up on the scrap heap, but they quickly changed their minds. In fact, a fellow named Fred Bauer Sr., who was past-president of the Spanish-American War Veterans, told a reporter, "While we value this trophy which was captured in the Spanish-American War, the veterans are willing to give it up to help our nation win the present war."
