Last Sunday, May 3rd, 2026 I had the privilege of joining @grindcitymeet to do a Sunset Creatives Walk 📸!
I’ve never known there was this many photographers and videographers right in the city of Memphis 〽️! We were deep in them downtown streets and had the opportunity to tour @thesterick and get creative photographing phenomenal models inside and outside of the historic building ✨!
I’m not ashamed to admit my photography experience has gotten a little rusty 😅, but I had so much fun getting back outside with my camera and just trying, failing, & learning all at the same time! Even just getting to explore some downtown alley’s and garages which I would’ve never done alone was just a dope experience 🤗!
Thank You @grindcitymeet for hosting us 💥❤️〽️📸
#grindcitymeet #memphistn #2026photography #sunsetwalk #thesterick
Round two of photos from @thesterick last weekend. While exploring the building with @grindcitymeet I decided to only use one lens (Sigma 135mm f/1.4) to challenge myself to get creative since I wouldn’t be able to take wide angle shots. It was annoying at times because there was so much detail in every room, but the 135mm is way more my style and I knew other people would get the wide shots. The last few photos were taken while I was walking around downtown at night. The very last photo was my view of The Sterick from my room in @exchangesuites . Again, I can’t thank everyone from @grindcitymeet enough for letting me hang out and run around with them ❤️🤘#grindcitymeet2026 #SonyAlpha #sigma135mmart
As I stepped over the threshold and began taking in what had been laid out before my eyes, I couldn’t help but think about how life was once flowing through her veins, whether it was to host a business meeting or being a place where healing took place through the use of modern medicine. I felt a sense of disappointment to know that something like this is just going to waste. So much beauty and history just locked away from the rest of humanity. But at the same time, I felt a sense of awe to know that I am one of the few to have crossed her threshold since she had been closed off from the rest of society, and with that I felt it was only fair to take this little black box and this gift I’ve been given to create a pathway through those exterior walls that haven’t been pierced since 1986 and show the beauty of Memphis that is kept within.
𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 is The Queen of the South.
@thesterick@exchangesuites@100northmain@grindcitymeet
GrindCityMeet ‘26 WEEKEND blurred recap. . .
A true showcase the diversity of minds coming together for a common agenda, creating and showing how beautiful this city can be. Each person is a puzzle piece in making this the best thing and i wouldnt change it for the world.
You all are a true inspiration. 🫶🏽
In the spirit of connecting. If you see yourself, comment and I’ll tag you and respond with kind words.
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#grindcitymeet#memphis#instareels
The Sterick Building, “The Queen of the South”.
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Completed in 1929 at the corner of Third and Madison in downtown Memphis, the Sterick Building was the tallest structure in the South and one of the most architecturally ambitious buildings of its era. Named for builders Texas Governor Ross Sterling and architect Wyatt Hedrick, the 29-story Gothic Revival tower featured nearly 900 offices across 340,000 square feet. Its exterior combined polished granite, Indiana Bedford stone, and hand-carved Gothic ornamentation, capped with a green tile mansard roof. Inside, inlaid Tennessee marble corridors met gold-painted plaster walls and a theatrical domed lobby that newspapers compared to a Moorish castle. At its peak it drew up to 10,000 visitors per day, housing a bank, pharmacy, barber shop, beauty parlor, and radio station – functioning as a city within a city. Known as the Queen of Memphis and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, it remains one of the defining landmarks of the Memphis skyline.
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always shot on @canonusa
Normally you wait til after a show to give your sponsors credit. Nope. Need to start from the beginning with this one. @calebsweazy and I COULD NOT have pulled off this charade without @constellationprop (@thesterick ), @orcaprinting , @artcentermemphis , and @spicerwalls
I’ll wax poetic about The Sterick later.
Orca Printing has been a trusted partner since day 1. Nearly every big idea I start on begins with a call to Chris Brunner and his team. I love them.
Jarrod Spicer is a machine. This man is THE GUY for all things wall coverings. He knows the products, he handles installs, and he educates on best practices.
Art Center turned 50 recently and know one even noticed. One of the few places left@on the planet where it’s cheaper and easier to shop in-person than online. It’s my happy place and I pray it’s around for another 50.
More to come, but had to go ahead and give these folks some flowers.💐
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OGCB went to Nashville earlier this week for ACEC Tennessee's annual Engineering Excellence Awards. Over 30 projects in ten categories were honored this year, all designed by Tennessee engineering firms. We are pleased to share that the conceptual design study for an adaptive reuse renovation of The Sterick received the Grand Award for Studies, Research and Consulting Engineering Services. Plenty of work remains to be done before the Queen of Memphis can officially reopen her doors to new occupants, but the team is in place and looking forward to continuing our work.
Thanks to OGCB's design team and the entire team on @thesterick , including @constellationprop , @lrk_inc , Chad Stewart Associates, @wjeassociates , @grindertaber , and ENFRA.
Right next door to a legend! 🏛️♟️ We’ve got the best kind of neighbor - the iconic Sterick Building, once known as the “Queen of the South.” It’s seen Memphis grow, change and come alive.
Now, with new life returning to these blocks, we’re proud to be part of Downtown’s next chapter: serving coffee, chess, and community just steps from history.
Stop by, take it in, and see what makes this corner of Memphis so special. ✨
📍195 Madison Ave.
#MemphisChessClub #ChessClub #DowntownMemphis #SterickBuilding @thesterick
