Press Contact: Teri L. Sullivan
WKNO/Channel 10
(901) 729-8735
tlsullivan@wkno.org
June 13, 2011
For Immediate Release
WKNO Presents Look Back at the Overton Square Heyday
The latest installment in WKNO’s popular Memphis Memoirs series is Overton Square - The Golden Age, a look back at a special place and time – Midtown in the 70s, and a retail development that the Press-Scimitar called “Memphis’ version of Greenwich Village, Bourbon Street and Gatlinburg all rolled into one!” It premieres Tuesday, August 9 at 7:00 p.m. on WKNO/Channel 10.
In its golden age it was one of the most exciting places in town – with a nightclub scene fueled in part by the 1969 change in Shelby County laws allowing for the sale of liquor by the drink. You could hear Billy Joel at Lafayette’s Music Room, ice skate down Madison Avenue during the holiday season, buy groovy clothes at Chelsea Ltd., and see and be seen at the only T.G.I. Friday’s outside of New York City.
Overton Square was an early model for a new kind of redevelopment – privately funded, mixed-use, walkable, adapting many existing structures to support a “micro-community” where people could work, shop, and play. “It’s amazing how many different circles of people made it their own,” said Emmy Award-winning producer Susie Howe, who interviewed original business owners and former employees, as well as people who came there just to hang out.
Focusing on the Square’s heyday from the 70s through the early 80s, Overton Square – The Golden Age focuses on the personal impact the Square had. Musicians Larry Raspberry, Randy Haspel, and Susanne Jerome Taylor share their memories, along with Lucy Woodson, Rep. Steve Cohen, Madge of Burkle’s Bakery fame, and more.
Memphis Memoirs: Overton Square - The Golden Age airs Tuesday, August 9 at 7:00 p.m. and again at 8:30 p.m. on WKNO/Channel 10 and repeats Monday, August 15 at 9:00 p.m. It will also air Wednesday, August 10 at 7:00 p.m. and Thursday, August 18 at 7:00 p.m. on WKNO2, available over the air on Channel 10.2 and on Comcast Digital Cable Channel 910.
Production support for Overton Square - The Golden Age is provided by Jeanne and Bill Arthur, The Family of Thomas Boggs, Bosco’s Squared, Dorothy O. Kirsch, Brig Klyce, Loeb Properties, Inc., Malco Theatres, The Robinson Family, and The Woodson Family – Lucy, Neely, and Peyton, and WKNO Members.
About WKNO
WKNO is a non-profit, private foundation serving the Mid-South for more than 50 years. An important community resource, WKNO uses the power of non-commercial public broadcasting to provide the Mid-South with quality educational and cultural programs that inform, entertain, and inspire. For more information: wkno.org
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