At 430 feet, the iconic One Hundred North Main office tower is the tallest building in Memphis, Tennessee. The building was completed in 1965, after two years of construction. The tower stands 38 stories with a rooftop revolving restaurant and a Japanese rock garden. One Hundred North Main was designed by local architect Robert Lee Hall, who also designed the Clark Tower, as well as Patterson Hall at the University of Memphis.
The Industrial-style office is clad in vertical marble panels and aluminum windows. The base of the tower is a parking garage with street-level entrances to retail space. Due to its proximity to various municipal buildings, the tenant base was mainly attorneys, title companies, and different other government professionals involved with the courts. The office tower borders Adams Avenue, North Second Street, and North Main.
By the 1960s, rooftop restaurants were all the rage. There were three in Memphis, alone. The restaurants never rotated fast enough to cause motion sickness. If you did not have a long, leisurely dinner, you might not make a full rotation. The rooftop restaurant in One Hundred North Main operated under several different names over the years including Top of the 100, The Tennessee Club, Diane’s and The Pinnacle before closing.
The rooftop restaurant sits on rubber tires and would rotate 360 degrees every 90 minutes. In 2006, the aging office tower listed for sale for $20 million. Due to low demand in office space in downtown Memphis, One Hundred North Main began to decline in value. By 2012, tenants only occupied 30% of the building. In August 2013, Isaac Thomas purchased One Hundred North Main for $5 million. Thomas revealed his plan to renovate 100 North Main into a mixed-use development which would include commercial space, apartments, and a luxury hotel. The renovation was expected to cost $100 million. In February 2014, all of the remaining tenants were given the notice to vacate the building by the end of May. Construction began in June after all of the tenants moved out but quickly halted due to a lack of funds.
In 2015, One Hundred North Main was condemned by the Shelby County Environmental Court for falling debris and inoperable fire safety equipment. A court-ordered barricade was placed around three sides of the building, blocking the sidewalk. The city cited the owner with 31 other violations including inoperable elevators and blocking the sidewalks. Thomas was able to have One Hundred North Main placed on the National Register of Historic Places in May 2015 hoping historic tax credits would assist with funding the renovation. Numerous cut-off notices were sent from Memphis Light, Gas, and Water divisions with an amount owed totaling over $80,000.
The inability to obtain financing and two years of unpaid taxes forced Thomas to sell One Hundred North Main in late 2015 for $5 million. The new owner faces the same code violations from the city. The building remains barricaded with a security patrol. One of the best views of Memphis sits locked away.
Abandoned Southeast 
Very nice old building with a lot of history. Driving around Jackson, MS this morning I noticed several old buildings. My how things change and the world moves on from its past.
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Does anyone know who built 100 North Main. It’s the same man who built the Rivermont Hotel. I can’t remember his name. When I was 18 I was for a brief time the night watchman at the Rivermont, and the owner/builder was very nice to me. If you know who it was, please email me at mdearmey@comcast.net Thanks! Mike
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Robert Lee Hall is the architect for 100 N Main as well as the old Holiday Inn in Rivermont.
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Beautiful photos. Shame that no one seems interested or has the capitol necessary to restore this building to its former glory. The views from building are stunning. Love the historical aspect of this post. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
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I absolutely love this site, which showed up on my Facebook timeline. Too bad this building can’t be salvaged in some way. The view in the last pictures is breathtaking. Keep this site going…I love looking at great pictures of abandoned buildings. Kudos!
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I hope they find a use for it too. Thanks for reading.
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What a shame that so much money is needed to repair this beautiful structure. I would love to open a restaurant there. Looking into the mighty Mississippi.
Any takers?
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A new owner has plans to convert the building into apartments as part of a large development to include a new Loews convention center hotel and an office tower.
By the way, the photo dated 5/25/63 is not 100 North Main Building but is actually the First Tennessee Bank Building.
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Thanks! Updated.
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you got a very fantastic website, Glad I noticed it through yahoo.
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If you want to see what 100 North Main looked like in 2008 before the vandals started their work, check out this well done video: https://youtu.be/bmIs_e_uozg
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Nice
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This made me smile. It has been many years since I walked in Downtown Memphis but this I remember well. My Mother worked in the E H Crump offices and I took my first real date to the restaurant and revolved around as we ate. Yes I was trying to impress. Back in those days it was an impressive place and I remember it well. Hope one day someone can make a go of it again.
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I bet that restaurant was really something in its prime.
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Nice and informative writeup. My father worked in this building and I remember visiting him in his office on several occasions with my mom. The elevators always smelled like cologne and cigars.
I think you should do another writeup, about 100 N Main, because it’s about to be restored. The city purchased the building and the adjoining properties, issued a RFP, and 11 developers responded. The city doesn’t want just 100 N Main redeveloped, but the entire block has to be included in the redevelopment. If they don’t restore the restaurant, I hope it will be converted into an observation room.
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