Touring 100 N. Main: Shattered glass, shell casings, law books and spectacular views
A view from what was the round, revolving rooftop restaurant atop the vacant 100 North Main Building on Sunday, May 30. Diners would complete one revolution every 90 minutes. The Downtown Mobility Authority now owns the skyscraper and will put out a request for proposals from potential buyers and developers in June. (Brad Vest/Special to the Daily Memphian)
Brett Roler, vice president of planning & development for the Downtown Memphis Commission, gives a guided tour of the vacant 100 North Main Building on Sunday, May 30. (Brad Vest/Special to the Daily Memphian
Urban “explorers,” copper thieves and vandals have found various ways to enter the vacant 100 North Main building. (Brad Vest/Special to the Daily Memphian)
Brett Roler, vice president of planning & development for the Downtown Memphis Commission, gives a guided tour of the vacant 100 North Main Building on Sunday, May 30. It was the fifth or sixth tour up the 38 floors that he’s led since April. (Brad Vest/Special to the Daily Memphian
Ground floor of the vacant 100 North Main Building. (Brad Vest/Special to the Daily Memphian
By floor 30, the tour-takers could look down on the nearby Raymond James Tower. (Brad Vest/Special to the Daily Memphian)
Brett Roler, vice president of development for the Downtown Memphis Commission, led a reporter and photographer on a tour of the vacant 100 North Main building on Sunday, May 30. The trio caught their breath by wandering through floors 14, 18, 21, 25, 28, 30, 34, 35, 36 and 37. (Brad Vest/Special to the Daily Memphian)
Despite the daunting destruction, the unrivaled views from 100 North Main prevail. (Brad Vest/Special to the Daily Memphian)
“There’s a surprise around every corner,” Brett Roler, vice president planning & of development for the Downtown Memphis Commission, said of the vacant 100 North Main Building. (Brad Vest/Special to the Daily Memphian)
Brett Roler’s sunny curiosity elevated the dimly lit tour of the vacant 100 North Main Building. “Let’s see what’s in here,” he said before opening the door to floor 30. (Brad Vest/Special to the Daily Memphian)
The Shelby County SWAT team has used the 100 North Main Building for training. The floor is littered with simulation cartridges, and the walls have posters with target images. (Brad Vest/Special to the Daily Memphian)
A tour of the vacant 100 North Main tower on Sunday, May 30, revealed that law firm offices left behind hundreds of law books. (Brad Vest/Special to the Daily Memphian)
Vandals have smashed furniture through the windows of the round restaurant that once revolved atop the roof of the vacant 100 North Main Building. (Brad Vest/Special to the Daily Memphian)
The 100 North Main Building is seen on a model of Downtown Memphis at the Downtown Memphis Commission offices on Sunday, May 30. (Brad Vest/Special to the Daily Memphian)
The Downtown Memphis Commission anticipates issuing in about two weeks a request for proposals to potential developers of the 100 North Main Building and the entire block it towers above.
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Tom Bailey
Tom Bailey retired in January as a business reporter at The Daily Memphian, and after 40 years in journalism. A Tupelo, Mississippi, native, he graduated from Mississippi State University. He has lived in Midtown for 36 years.
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