When it opened downtown in 1964, the 100 North Main Building was the tallest structure in Memphis, and — according to the authors of Memphis: An Architectural Guide, "one of the least interesting" buildings here. In fact, they didn't even give it another mention.
That's a shame, because not only was this 38-story building the longtime home of Union Planters Bank, it featured a rotating restaurant at the top, called the Top of the 100 Club, and later Diane's.
Another part of the roof featured a Japanese garden, complete with lanterns and pagodas.
But when Union Planters moved their headquarters east, the building became dormant. Nobody, it seems, needed all that space, and in recent years vagrants and other rascals have vandalized the interior and even set fires inside.
Recently, however, developers have announced plans to convert the building into a modern hotel, which would serve the nearby convention center complex.
This photo shows the building (its lower floors serving as a parking garage) is it looked from Main Street. The smaller building called "House of Chrome" offered "Modern Furniture of All Types." That building is now a vacant lot. The one next to it, with the Easy-Way sign across the top, is still standing, but it's vacant today.
PHOTO COURTESY PRESERVATION AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS LIBRARIES.
