Dear Vance: I recently moved into the Embassy House Apartments on South Perkins and have wondered about the history of this building. Its ultra-modern design must have caused a sensation when it first opened. — R.T., Memphis.
A marketing booklet for the Embassy House Apartments showed the striking exterior.
Dear R.T.: Named for a wealthy landowner, N.C. Perkins, whose property stretched along the Southern Railway, Perkins Road — and its parallel “twin,” Perkins Extended — is one of the most interesting streets in Memphis. Without conducting a scientific survey (I don’t have the research funds for it) I might argue that it has carried drivers to more of our city’s landmarks than any other north-south artery here.
Looking back over the years, I can think of major schools (White Station and St. Mary’s), lots of churches (Holy Communion, Berclair Baptist), restaurants (Mortimer’s, Villa, Acre, Shakey’s), major shopping centers (Laurelwood, the Mall of Memphis), civic institutions (Audubon Park, Theatre Memphis, Colonial Country Club), and family attractions (Putt-Putt, Al’s Golfdom). I could go on and on, because the street certainly does, until it finally terminates at Raines and Lamar.
But let’s keep this discussion to Perkins Road, not the more heavily traveled “extended” version. Before the 1960s, the street was mostly lined with nice homes. In fact, in 1962, the year the Embassy House opened, the only non-residential properties along Perkins between Walnut Grove and Poplar were White Station High School, Eudora Baptist Church, a dentist office, and Jump for Joy trampoline center.
Wait, what? Well, in the early 1960s, half a dozen trampoline “pits” opened around the city, and people paid a quarter to jump for 10 minutes on a trampoline. Business was, uh, hopping at these places — but only for about a year, because too many customers tended to bounce off the trampolines and land on their heads; there was no joy in that.
In 1962, William Dattel Realtors opened the Embassy House Apartments at 475 South Perkins, and at 10 stories, this was almost certainly the tallest “high-rise” residence in East Memphis. Designed by the local firm of Thorn, Howe, Stratton, and Strong, the Embassy offered “the best in carefree living, located in the heart of Memphis’ finest residential section, near churches, schools, country clubs, and the complete services of the beautiful new Laurelwood Shopping Center.”
These details come from a full-color promotional booklet (shown here), now in the Lauderdale Library Collection. The new apartments were designed to attract three types of residents: “It’s the answer for the couple whose children have grown up and left them with a too-large house, older persons who prefer their own home but find living alone in a large house both bothersome and unsafe, and a restful sanctuary for the busy executive who travels extensively.”
To suit the needs of all these people, the Embassy offered quite a variety of floor plans. The “Perkins” was (and still is, I suppose) a cozy 460-square-foot efficiency unit. Depending on the number of bedrooms and baths needed, residents could also take their pick of the “Poplar,” “Tuckahoe,” “Cherry,” and “Colonial” floor plans, named after nearby streets. The top of the line was the tenth-floor penthouse, a sprawling domain of 2,400 square feet, which I’m almost certain was called the “Lauderdale” but for some reason that’s not mentioned in their booklet. Surely an oversight.
As you mentioned, R.T., the Embassy was quite a sensation when it opened, because it offered almost every modern convenience available in the 1960s. The building had a pair of “silent, self-service-style elevators” and a “refuse chute” on every floor. Each unit (even the tiny studios) had a private balcony, wall-to-wall carpet, central air and heating (a novelty in 1962, remember), its own piped-in Muzak sound system “to provide hours of pleasant background music,” an all-electric kitchen with General Electric appliances and formica countertops, and “acoustically engineered walls and ceilings.” What’s more, a central television antenna “affords all residents the finest reception in the area.”
I don’t really understand some of the features. The closets, for example, had “float-away closures,” whatever that means, and the living rooms featured “decorator-designed draw-drapes.” But you get the picture: “No detail has been overlooked, no effort spared, that would add to your comfort and convenience.”
On the ground floor, tenants enjoyed a spacious and attractive lobby, snack bar, recreation room, and something called a “laundrette.” Out back was a secured parking lot and a private swimming pool. In short, the Embassy was designed “for those who are seeking the ultimate in comfort and convenience,” where lucky residents “will feel truly removed from the irritations of urban life.”
The new complex proved so popular that within four years, the Dattel Company opened a twin tower next door, at about the same time as the Poplar-Perkins office building was going up at — well, where do you think? — Poplar and Perkins. Called Embassy South, the second building was almost identical to the first, except it had a covered parking garage instead of a swimming pool.
In its day, the Embassy House was an eye-catching marvel. Over the years, larger and more modern buildings have opened in East Memphis, and trees now surround the apartment complex. Many drivers along Perkins probably never notice it, and that’s a shame, since it looks as nice now as the day it opened more than half-a-century ago.
