Wow. Just wow. Wish Memphis were still like this.

Bry's was on Main at Jefferson; it was purchased by competitor Lowenstein's in the mid 50's, who subsequently closed, and finally demolished it. The angle of the shot suggests in was taken from the nearby Hotel Claridge, extant but now condo-ized (I also suspect that to take the pic, Ms. Wolcott leaned out a window farther than management would have liked.)

If Bry's related to Lowenstein's future, Rhodes-Jennings was tied to its past: the building had been the former's former home. It, too, survives as a residential property: Court Square.

Preservation in Memphis seems rather good; the theme of this post notwithstanding, I'd give it a B+.

Doug Floor Plan, your estimate of the location of the photographer is off by a few blocks. You place her in the Three Sisters building at Union and Main. This photo was most likely shot from the roof of the old Claridge Hotel at the corner of Adams and Main--about six blocks north.

Bry's was replaced by the "new" Lowenstein's (another department store) and an apartment tower at 99 North Main in the mid-1960s. The Claridge Hotel, now a condominium, is next door.

Interestingly, Rhodes-Jennings furniture moved into the vacant old Lowenstein's building at Monroe and Main.

The building with the white features and the elaborate entry next door to Rhodes-Jennings is the Court Square Center apartments and offices -- originally known as the Columbian Mutual Tower and, later, Lincoln-American Life. The trees just beyond are in Court Square.

Finally, while this photo may have been taken during Cotton Carnival, this is just regular traffic--no parade--on Main Street, bumper-to-bumper traffic going south, lighter traffic going north. Zoom in, and you can see the empty bleachers for parade watchers in Court Square.

Here's a view from the top of the Claridge via Google Earth.

As close as I can figure, Marion Post Wolcott took this nighttime photo from the red brick building in the foreground. While it's still there, at the northwest corner of Union Avenue and Main Street, most of the rest of the buildings in the foreground are gone. The site of Bry's is mostly a parking garage now. The smaller buildings across the street are different. The Rhodes Jennings Furniture store and tall building next to it are now the building with the flat white roof. It's not until the Hotel Chisca at Main Street and Linden Avenue (upper-right corner) that I can identify a building still standing.

I suspect Main Street today never sees the bustling nightlife it did in 1940, even for carnival.

DavidCrook, thanks for your correction and additional information. I don't mind being wrong, but does it have to be my first post of 2025? Dave, do I get a mulligan?

As my pun suggests, breeze was how (the first word of) the Bry-Block Mercantile Co was pronounced. It was one of Memphis' three main department stores, and its presence here tells us this picture is looking South ... in every sense!

Today it's Carnival Memphis. "Cotton" was dropped in 1987 because "our economy has become more diversified. We accomplish our mission through the four C's: Charity, Community, Commerce and Celebration."

"The Cotton Kingdom" was the slogan used by the antebellum South to justify slavery and secession. In 1895, John Philip Sousa wrote his "King Cotton" march, which intentionally or not contributed to "Lost Cause" sentimentalization of the Old South. It is still played.