The Sterick building in downtown Memphis has the demeanor of a deposed queen, who, despite having lost her power and much of her wealth, has lost none of her grace and haughtiness and remains the focal point of the city’s skyline. When finished in 1930, she was said to be the tallest building of the American South. Today, she has sat unoccupied for four decades and faces an uncertain future.
Recently, I was lucky enough to be one of a gaggle of photographers allowed on the premises with the blessing of the current owners. With only a couple minor stipulations, we were given free rein for three hours to the Sterick’s twenty-nine floors. This would prove to be a woefully inadequate amount of time, but it did create an interesting outcome. Since it was almost impossible to see the entire building in the allotted time, each photographer in the group had a different strategy in how they would comb through the premises and how much ground they would actually cover. We had a group google drive to upload our photos afterwards (to pass on to the owners for possible publicity uses as a thank you for their permission), and some sets could be wildly different. Some would see something that everyone else in the group missed, and it was fun to look through everyone else’s work for that reason.
That’s quite enough exposition. Here are eleven photos that I thought were worth sharing. If they help the owners in any way in their efforts to redevelop the Sterick, it would be a bonus to an already great experience.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
The last one is my favorite. For anyone curious, here’s a good article on the Sterick and her new owner:
https://memphismagazine.com/features/longform/long-live-the-queen-of-memphis/
Thanks for checking out this post!
T A B U L A R A S A photography 
One thought on “The Sterick, Dowager Empress of Memphis”