Aaron James' family flourishes in Cooper-Young for more than a century
Photo by the Commercial Appeal
By Jeremy Jordan/MicroMemphis reporter
Architect Aaron James’ family has American history, Memphis history, and Cooper-Young history. As one of the first settlers in America, his family would fight the Native Americans to protect their colony. Three hundred years later his great-uncle, Vernon Ingram, of his maternal family, moved to Cooper-Young in 1912, beginning a century-long legacy that started at 1835 Walker Ave.
As an adult, James moved in and out of the Cooper-Young area but has settled back down after a family emergency called him home from Manhattan in early 2008. A 50-year resident, James moved back to his mother Gloria Ingram’s home. The house at 1882 Manila has been in James family since 1937. His father Jack Hollingsworth lived on Felix during the same time period.
“There has been so much history for my family over the years. I had to come back home,” James said. “It’s impossible to pick just one special memory, but my teenage years were my favorite.”
James recalls one late night driving west down Young Avenue. “I was in my ’68 Ford drag racing,” James said. “I ended up getting into a wreck kissing bumpers with another car. During those days there weren’t as many pedestrians walking or cops in the neighborhood as there is now.”
Working at Baker Brothers Grocery on Barksdale in his youth, James believed it was a core piece to the neighborhood. “It wasn’t just a cigarette and beer joint, it was essential to the neighborhood,” James said. “It had a butcher shop where you could get deli meat. I remember having credit accounts at Baker Brothers as well as delivering groceries to people’s homes.”
Many things have changed in CY over the years. “The bank in CY used to be an abandoned old gas station,” James said. “I actually helped to remodel the bank that is still in CY ’til this day.”
The Young Avenue Deli was an auto parts store and Mulan was a motorcycle shop, James recalled. “I attended Temple Baptist church, which is now First Congregational and very important to the neighborhood.
“When I was a young adult Overton Square was famous for its pub crawls,” James said. “I was drawn more to the Cooper-Young area because it was safer and more sociable. You didn’t have people getting drunk from one end of a street to another.”
James remembers buying season passes at Libertyland. “I loved Libertyland and hated seeing it close because it didn’t last very long,” James said.
James inherited three family houses in the Cooper-Young area. He plans to renovate and rent them out.
“The whole time I was growing up in CY it was a blue-collar neighborhood,” James said. “Now it is a funky and creative place to live. What more can you ask for, the Cooper-Young Festival, entertainment, phenomenal music and art in a family-oriented neighborhood.”
Last year, James hosted a family-friendly block party in CY at 2028 and 2029 Felix celebrating his family’s hundred year history in CY.
Architect Aaron James’ family has American history, Memphis history, and Cooper-Young history. As one of the first settlers in America, his family would fight the Native Americans to protect their colony. Three hundred years later his great-uncle, Vernon Ingram, of his maternal family, moved to Cooper-Young in 1912, beginning a century-long legacy that started at 1835 Walker Ave.
As an adult, James moved in and out of the Cooper-Young area but has settled back down after a family emergency called him home from Manhattan in early 2008. A 50-year resident, James moved back to his mother Gloria Ingram’s home. The house at 1882 Manila has been in James family since 1937. His father Jack Hollingsworth lived on Felix during the same time period.
“There has been so much history for my family over the years. I had to come back home,” James said. “It’s impossible to pick just one special memory, but my teenage years were my favorite.”
James recalls one late night driving west down Young Avenue. “I was in my ’68 Ford drag racing,” James said. “I ended up getting into a wreck kissing bumpers with another car. During those days there weren’t as many pedestrians walking or cops in the neighborhood as there is now.”
Working at Baker Brothers Grocery on Barksdale in his youth, James believed it was a core piece to the neighborhood. “It wasn’t just a cigarette and beer joint, it was essential to the neighborhood,” James said. “It had a butcher shop where you could get deli meat. I remember having credit accounts at Baker Brothers as well as delivering groceries to people’s homes.”
Many things have changed in CY over the years. “The bank in CY used to be an abandoned old gas station,” James said. “I actually helped to remodel the bank that is still in CY ’til this day.”
The Young Avenue Deli was an auto parts store and Mulan was a motorcycle shop, James recalled. “I attended Temple Baptist church, which is now First Congregational and very important to the neighborhood.
“When I was a young adult Overton Square was famous for its pub crawls,” James said. “I was drawn more to the Cooper-Young area because it was safer and more sociable. You didn’t have people getting drunk from one end of a street to another.”
James remembers buying season passes at Libertyland. “I loved Libertyland and hated seeing it close because it didn’t last very long,” James said.
James inherited three family houses in the Cooper-Young area. He plans to renovate and rent them out.
“The whole time I was growing up in CY it was a blue-collar neighborhood,” James said. “Now it is a funky and creative place to live. What more can you ask for, the Cooper-Young Festival, entertainment, phenomenal music and art in a family-oriented neighborhood.”
Last year, James hosted a family-friendly block party in CY at 2028 and 2029 Felix celebrating his family’s hundred year history in CY.