If you have ever been to Beale Street in Memphis, I am sure you came across the King’s Palace Absinthe Room, a place I cannot recommend enough. But did you know that the location used to be home of the Hooks Brothers Photography Studio?
Why is this such a big deal, you might ask.
Well from 1907 (founded by brothers Henry Hooks, Sr. and Robert B. Hooks) to 1979, Hooks Brothers Photography was the second oldest continuously operating Black business in Memphis.
Prior to their move to Linden Avenue, and finally McLemore (before a fire ended the business), you could find many Black Memphians getting their photographs taken on 164 Beale Street.
The Hooks Brothers took the only studio portrait, or at least one of the only ones, of blues legend Robert Johnson.
Hooks Brothers also photographed Booker T. Washington, W. C. Handy, and Robert R. Church. They also covered the “beginning days of the Memphis NAACP, the Lincoln League, early high school and college graduating classes from Howe Institute, LeMoyne College and many other activities of black society and ordinary people.” (You can find that information on the reverse side of the historical marker in front of 164 Beale).
This is among one of the many historical markers and places in Memphis, the Mid-South, and the Mississippi Blues Heritage Trail I advise you to check out.
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