Since today, September 29th, is traditionally known as St. Michael's Day, it's only fitting that I urge readers driving along Summer Avenue to slow down and pay special attention to one of the largest — and finest — religious statues in Memphis.
I am referring to the magnificent sculpture of St. Michael that adorns the facade of St. Michael Church and School on Summer Avenue, near Graham.
The church and school opened in the 1950s (1953, I believe) and the entire complex originally faced Forrest Avenue, the street just south of Summer. In fact, an old postcard (below) shows the modern-looking campus as it looked back then, and you'll note that they show the address as 3880 Forrest.
In 1963, the parish erected a stunning new church, facing Summer Avenue, and commissioned the statue of St. Michael you see here. It's really impressive, carved in Italy from a solid block of marble. Standing nearly 13 feet tall, the sculpture supposedly weighs eight tons. I like it a lot.
The original church building (shown at right in the postcard below) now serves as a gymnasium.
One other interesting detail about this interesting church and school complex. The almost Moorish-looking building on the grounds, the one with the unusual windows, was originally an old farmhouse back when this stretch of Summer was just a two-lane highway.
