By Yvonne D. Nelson Juan Self and Jimmie Tucker of Self+Tucker Architects purchased the Universal Life Insurance Company from the Tri-State Bank in 2006. “I lived on Walker Avenue, so someone who lived next door to me actually worked at the company. It’s really amazing because, as we had the opportunity to do the research and to better understand the history of the project I came across this lady named Ida Mae Walker. She was not a member of the [J. E.] Walker family, but it turns out that she worked here at the ULICO. According to my mother, who is 95 now but in great memory, this person Ida Mae and someone else, who was our next door neighbor, actually walked from Walker Avenue down to the ULICO during that period which was like around the 60’s. It’s a building, but at the same time, it has so many connections to people in the community.” Tucker mentioned that almost on a weekly basis, he runs into someone with a connection to the building and the U. For example, Melvin Burgess recently mentioned that his grandmother worked for the company and he also discussed how Dr. Walker’s name relates to the Walker Homes community in Southwest Memphis, specifically mentioned Dr. Ernest C. Withers home house where he, his wife and children lived and is now a place of designation on the National Historical Records in the State of Tennessee. “The roots and the connections that the building has are very deep and they ripple through the community, said Tucker. “Having been an architect for 30 plus years, it’s one thing to design a building, but what also is so incredible is when the building has an impact well beyond the physical nature of the structure.” Tucker is thankful that all of the history of the ULICO wasn’t lost because the building could have been torn down only to become another memory of the history of what Memphis used to be. “That was part of what we saw,” said Tucker speaking about he and his partner, Juan Self. “It would have just been such a shame if somehow all of this history would had been lost. We didn’t realize early on how important it was to try to save it [the building]. We just got a hint of it, that it was Egyptian style architecture, the McKissack’s were involved, it was the Universal Life Insurance Company building. Over time, hearing so much more about the connections, like on a daily basis—certainly weekly, someone was frequently telling one of us about a connection they had to the project.” Although it looked vacant, the building was never completely abandoned. Tri-State Bank ensured someone was regularly there checking in to make sure things were not being destroyed or vandalized. Tucker stated that operations were minimized to a skeleton-sized crew, including the building engineer, Mr. ???, who had been taking care of the building for a couple of years, but, the building was being maintained on a daily basis. As a matter of fact, after the change of ownership, the old Universal Life Insurance building clock was restored to its’ original condition. Tucker realized that the firm had to hold on to their dreams for the building, no matter how long that took. “We’ve owned the property since 2006, said Tucker. “In 2016, we finally got a commitment to fund the project. For 10 years we couldn’t get a commitment to finance and move forward with the financial business.” Those 10 years of waiting have truly paid off for the firm. They are hoping to be welcoming the City of Memphis, Business Diversity and Compliance Office to be the buildings major tenant later this year. And sometime this summer, the building, which was dedicated in 1949, will be 50 years old. There is no way Self and Tucker could let such a prestigious honor as that pass without some type of celebration. Besides, in keeping with tradition when considering the mission of the buildings founder which was grounded in helping people who could not become banked in the traditional way to make or afford large purchases, the new tenant is designed to carry forth a highly similar task. The mission of the City of Memphis’ Business Diversity and Compliance office is to increase the number of minority, women, and small business entities certified to do business with the city of Memphis and to assist these individuals and companies with strengthening their capacity to allow them to be able to better compete for opportunities for government contracts much like the way Dr. Joseph Edison Walker did when he formed the Universal Life Insurance Company and the still active Tri-State Bank of Memphis, the place you want to place your dollars if you truly want to help our communities grow. Attendees from the wrap-up session on the proposed changes to Whitehaven Plaza discuss their preferences after the meeting and presentation ended. Representatives from Self+Tucker Architects, including Jimmie Self (above left in center) and Jessica Mason (below left) who are consultants on the design aspect of the project were on hand to answer questions. Left: The former Beale Street location of the Tri-State Bank. Courtesy University of Memphis, Art Department Right: Juan R. Self, AIA, CSI, Jimmie E. Tucker, AIA, LEED AP BD+C and the SELF + TUCKER ARCHITECTS group 22 15
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