Remembering the history of downtown Henderson

HENDERSON, Tenn. — You may remember this mural and the artist Lora Lea Landrum.

She’s left her mark again. This time, it’s a flying pig.

While painting both of the murals, community members couldn’t help but stop and talk to her.

“People who hadn’t seen each other in years and people who hadn’t met [before] wound up talking about their childhoods and their memories of the buildings and everything,” Landrum said.

Now she has her own studio in ‘The Depot.” It’s a new business in Henderson where people will be able to rent out different work spaces for weeks at a time.

“I’m going to be painting portraits, souvenirs of Henderson,” Landrum said.

With so much history in downtown Henderson, city officials don’t want that to be forgotten. That’s where you come in.

It all goes back to those stories Landrum heard while painting those murals.

City officials found out and wanted to make sure the stories aren’t forgotten.

“We talk about things we did when we were kids, and a lot of people don’t remember that,” Henderson Mayor Bobby King said.

King’s favorite memory includes the old movie theater.

“They had the Saturday matinees, and you know, you really start getting big when you could go to the Saturday night show. That’s when you knew you was growing up,” he said.

If you have a memory of downtown Henderson you’d like to share, head to the Bramblett Group offices on Main Street in Henderson from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, and they’ll be ready to record you.

There will also be a ribbon cutting for ‘The Depot’ on Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., where you can check out the other work spaces and see Landrum’s studio and projects she’s working on next.