Lincoln American Tower

35°8′48.15″N 90°3′6.98″W / 35.1467083°N 90.0519389°W / 35.1467083; -90.0519389Completed1924HeightArchitectural290 feet (88 m)Tip325 feet (99 m)Technical detailsFloor count22Floor area85,500 square feet (7,940 m²)Design and constructionArchitect(s)Boyer & Baum; Issac Albert BaumOther informationPublic transit access MATA
 Main Street Line 
 Riverfront Loop  Location60 N. Main St., Memphis, TennesseeNRHP reference No.78002631^[1]Added to NRHPJuly 24, 1978 References^[2][3]

The Lincoln American Tower is a 22-story building located at the corner of North Main and Court streets in Memphis, Tennessee. It is also a historical landmark, one of the first steel frame skyscrapers built in Memphis. The tower underwent a six-year refurbishing project starting in 2002, and despite a fire in 2006, is now open and accepting tenants.

The building currently features 31 residential apartments, 3 floors of commercial offices, and New York–based Ceriello Fine Foods on the ground floor.

History

The site itself has a unique history, as it is located near the location of Irving Block Prison, which was on the north side of Court Square, which was used by the Union Army to house Confederate sympathizers during the Civil War. Freeing prisoners from Irving Block Prison was one of the three major objectives of Maj. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest's raid in the Second Battle of Memphis.

In 1924, the president of the Memphis branch of the Columbia Mutual Insurance Company (later renamed to the Lincoln American Insurance Company), Lloyd Binford, had the gleaming white tower built overlooking Court Square. Binford later made an infamous name for himself across the country as head of the Memphis Censor Board, which he ran from his own offices on the top floor of the building.^[4]

In 1978, the National Register of Historic Places listed the Lincoln American Tower.

On October 6, 2006, the building was damaged by fire after embers from a major fire at the nearby First United Methodist Church were carried several blocks by strong winds. The result lit the top few floors of the building on fire, including the roof, and filled much of downtown Memphis with smoke. The nearby Court Annex building was destroyed in the same fire.

Despite the fire, the renovation of the building continued, and the first tenants in 2008 were the Plough Foundation, who leased 4,358 square feet (404.9 m²) of space in the building.^[5]

Design

The building’s frame is made of steel and is covered in concrete. This Gothic revival building has an exterior covered in a white terra cotta glaze. The building features pilasters, four for structural support and three for visual effect. The reveals on the pilasters show where the steel frame is within the building. This tower features decorative bas-reliefs across the façade; the most noteworthy one is the two women and two children modeled after Lloyd Binford's children. Piers lead up to the pyramidal cap. There are highly ornamented cornices around the building.^[6]

The tower is a replica of New York's Woolworth Building, at one-third scale.^[5]

Columbian Mutual Life Assurance Society

The Columbian Mutual Life Assurance Society was founded in 1903 as the "Columbian Woodmen". Membership was open to men and women. In 1923 there were 24,039 members in 831 lodges spread out across South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois and Pennsylvania.^[7] Under National President Lloyd T. Binford a number of changes were made, including the change of name to the Columbian Mutual Life Assurance Society, the dropping of fraternal titles and a move of the headquarters from Atlanta to Memphis.^[8]

See also

• List of tallest buildings in Memphis
• List of North American fraternal benefit orders
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Shelby County, Tennessee

References

TopicsDistrictsNeighborhoods

Tennessee	A. Schwab's Art Museum of the University of Memphis Bartlett Museum Beale Street Bellevue Baptist Church Belz Museum Botanic Garden Brooks Museum Burkle Estate Central Station Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception Chickasaw Bluff Children's Museum Chucalissa Museum Cotton Museum Davies Manor Dixon Gallery and Gardens Downtown Trolleys Elmwood Cemetery Fire Museum Fort Assumption Fort Wright Graceland Hernando de Soto Bridge Libertyland Lichterman Nature Center Lincoln American Tower Magevney House Mallory–Neely House Mason Temple Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park Memorial Park Cemetery Cotton Exchange Memphis International Airport National Cemetery Parkway System Railroad & Trolley Museum Memphis Zoo Mississippi River Mississippi River Park Mud Island Monorail National Civil Rights Museum National Ornamental Metal Museum Oaklawn Garden Orpheum Theatre Overton Park Peabody Hotel Pink Palace The Pyramid Rhodes College Rock N' Soul Museum St. Jude Children's Research Hospital St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral Shelby Farms Stax Museum Sun Studio South Main Arts District Temple Israel Tennessee Brewery Tipton County Museum T. O. Fuller State Park Tom Lee Park Union Station University of Memphis Victorian Village Wolf River
Mississippi	Arkabutla Lake BankPlus Amphitheater at Snowden Grove DeSoto County Museum 1st Jackpot Casino Gold Strike Tunica Holly Springs National Forest Landers Center Horseshoe Casino Mississippi River Resorts Casino Sam's Town Gambling Hall Southaven Towne Center Tunica Resorts Snowden Grove Park Tanger Outlets Southaven Tunica Roadhouse Casino Wall Doxey State Park
Arkansas	Horseshoe Lake Mississippi River Southland Park Gaming and Racing Wapanocca National Wildlife Refuge

Tennessee	Arlington Atoka Bartlett Collierville Covington Germantown Lakeland Millington Munford Northaven Oakland Piperton Somerville Shelby Forest
Mississippi	Byhalia Hernando Holly Springs Horn Lake Olive Branch Senatobia Southaven Tunica Tunica Resorts (Robinsonville) Walls
Arkansas	Earle Marion West Memphis

Tennessee	Shelby Fayette Tipton
Mississippi	DeSoto Marshall Tate Tunica
Arkansas	Crittenden