This black and white photograph captures a street corner with various cotton companies' signs displayed on the buildings. The most prominent sign is for "Alex Bernstein & Co., Cotton Seller," located at 41 Union Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee. Other visible company names include Wilkinson & Carroll, Phillips Cotton Co., J.W.Dinking Cotton, Bluff-City Cotton L.L.C., and several others with their respective cotton products listed below them. The street signs indicate that the photo was taken on a section of Union Avenue between Elm Street (45) to the left and another Elm Street sign further down. A parked car is visible in front of one of the buildings, suggesting this image might be from an earlier time when such vehicles were more common or used for transportation. The architecture suggests a late 19th-century urban setting with multi-story commercial structures lining the street. The presence of these cotton-related businesses indicates that Memphis had a significant role within the Southern United States' economy at the time, particularly in the cultivation and trade of cotton during its peak years as an agricultural commodity.
Looking down Union Avenue. Memphis, Tennessee
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