Locksmith Services in Memphis, TN

Homes and locks in Memphis

Midtown is known for its vintage housing, and several of its neighborhoods, including Annesdale Park, Central Gardens, Cooper-Young, Evergreen, Hein Park and Idlewild, are historic districts.

• Central Gardens covers about 83 blocks and 1,540 structures, built mainly between 1850 and 1930. American foursquares and bungalows are the most common forms, in styles from Queen Anne and Colonial Revival to Craftsman and Tudor Revival. On an original door of that age, lock repair works with the hardware already fitted to it instead of cutting the wood for something new.
• Poplar Avenue in Midtown is lined with 1920s apartment buildings. In these, the street entrance and the unit door may be controlled by different people.
• Harbor Town, developed in 1989 on a sandbar in the Mississippi River known as Mud Island, is a newer, dense and walkable neighborhood known for its traditional row houses. It is home to more than 3,000 residents.

Businesses and buildings

Overton Square and Cooper Street developed before World War II in an urban style. Along Madison Avenue, many commercial and residential structures date to the beginning of the twentieth century, and Poplar Avenue holds the commercial district for the Evergreen neighborhood.

Mixed-use areas with housing, religious, commercial and office space are common in Midtown. One building can have a storefront door, an office suite and an apartment entrance, each with its own keys. For shops and offices, see commercial locksmith service.

Car trouble in Memphis

Memphis police officers issue three kinds of tickets: citation, summons and ordinance tickets. A citation ticket is a parking ticket, and it should be paid within 15 days after issuance or placed on the court docket for a hearing. After that 15-day grace period, a vehicle with three or more unpaid citation tickets against it can be impounded until all of them are paid.

A car stranded at the curb by lost keys is still subject to these rules; see car key replacement.

Mud Island has two land routes, Island Drive and Mud Island Drive, which runs north of Harbor Town. During the May 2011 flood, with the Mississippi 14 feet above flood stage, Mud Island Drive was under water, a 5-foot emergency levee was built in the west lane of Island Drive, and Harbor Town was closed to everyone except residents for a short time.

Local rules worth knowing

Memphis Landmarks Commission, Chapter 14-24 of the Memphis Code of Ordinances. The commission was created by Ordinance No. 2276, passed by the Memphis City Council on July 15, 1975. It reviews zoning requests and work visible from the street in the historic districts. Memphis has 19 local historic districts, each with its own design guidelines.

Changes visible from the street that need a Certificate of Appropriateness include replacing the front door and windows and installing fences and gates. Most repair and maintenance projects do not need one. In Central Gardens, a property owner seeking a building permit for exterior work must receive a Certificate of Appropriateness from the commission.

Lock rekeying changes the pins inside an existing lock and leaves the outside of the door as it was.

This is general information, not legal advice.

Requesting service in Memphis

Give the neighborhood and cross streets, and say whether the house is in a historic district such as Central Gardens or Evergreen. For an older apartment building, say who controls the main entrance; on Mud Island, say which road you are near. Tennessee Locksmith Pros takes service requests from homes, businesses and drivers in Memphis; see house lockout service or the Tennessee page.