In the early 1900s, Beale Street was the thoroughfare that divided South Memphis from Memphis. A diverse mix of black-owned businesses developed, and by the 1920s Beale Street had reached a level of high prominence.
Beale Street flourished musically and commercially especially from 1900 to 1949, and again beginning in 2000.
Today Beale Street stands as one of Memphis’s biggest cultural and tourist attractions.
Beale Street Historic District was designated a National Historic Landmark on May 23, 1966.
In 2018, a number of properties in the district were designated by the City of Memphis as sites on the Memphis Heritage Trail.