Quick Facts
- Date: March 5, 1930 (public opening); formal dedication followed on March 6, 1930.
- Location: Northeast corner of Third Street (now B.B. King Boulevard) and Madison Avenue, Downtown Memphis.
- Key figures: Mayor Watkins Overton (opened the doors); developers Ross S. Sterling and architect Wyatt C. Hedrick.
- Height/Floors: Approximately 365 feet, 29 stories.
- Distinction: Tallest building in the American South when it opened; tallest in Memphis until 1965.
- Uses at opening: Offices with ground-floor retail and services (bank, pharmacy, barber shop, beauty parlor).
- National Register of Historic Places: Listed October 2, 1978.
Main Story
At 9:00 a.m. on March 5, 1930, Memphis Mayor Watkins Overton turned a key in the bronze doors on Third Street to open the Sterick Building to the public. The Commercial Appeal described the turnout as one of the city’s great housewarmings, as Memphians stepped into a new kind of workplace—one defined by height, speed, and modern conveniences. The 29‑story Gothic Revival tower, developed by Texas investor Ross S. Sterling and designed by architect Wyatt C. Hedrick, rose roughly 365 feet over the city, making it the tallest building in the South at the time it opened.
The following day, March 6, 1930, city leaders and building managers gathered for a formal dedication, marking the Sterick’s official debut on the Downtown skyline. Early tenants included professional offices and ground‑floor retail and services—amenities that made the building a self‑contained commercial hub in the heart of the 901. Completed in 1929 and opened in early 1930, the tower quickly became a symbol of Memphis history and ambition during a transformative era for the city’s core, a few blocks north of the entertainment corridors that would continue to make Beale Street famous.
Legacy
Known for decades as the “Queen of Memphis,” the Sterick defined the city’s silhouette and civic aspirations. It remained Memphis’s tallest building until 100 North Main opened in 1965, and today it endures as a landmark of Downtown and a touchstone of Bluff City identity. Its listing on the National Register of Historic Places recognizes both its architecture and its role in shaping the commercial life of the city. As reinvestment returns to the core, the Sterick’s opening remains a milestone moment that linked Memphis to the modern skyscraper age while anchoring a walkable district that continues to evolve.
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