Living Near Audubon Park in East Memphis

In the middle of East Memphis, between Southern Avenue and Park Avenue, there is a stretch of green large enough to hold a golf course, a botanic garden, a tennis center, a lake, and a walking loop, all side by side. That is Audubon Park. For the streets around it in the 38117 and 38111 zip codes, the park works as a shared backyard, and it is a big part of why this pocket of East Memphis feels the way it does.

What Is Inside Audubon Park

Memphis Parks describes Audubon as a 373-acre park. The city began developing it in 1949, and in November 2022 the Audubon Park Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The district is bordered by Southern Avenue on the north, Goodlett Street on the west, Park Avenue on the south, and Perkins on the east.

Inside those boundaries you will find:

• A one-mile paved loop trail around the lake side of the park, with pavilions, a playground, and open lawn.
• The Links at Audubon, the city's 18-hole public golf course, which reopened on August 1, 2024 after a full renovation by golf architect Bill Bergin. The project added a driving range and a six-hole short course known as the Little Course at Cherry Road.
• Leftwich Tennis Center, a rebuilt public facility with 24 outdoor and 12 indoor courts. It is the home court for the University of Memphis tennis teams and hosted the WTA Memphis Classic in the summer of 2026.
• Memphis Botanic Garden, at 750 Cherry Road.

Memphis Botanic Garden and the Dixon

The Botanic Garden covers 96 acres within the park. It started in the 1950s as the Gardens of Audubon Park and took its current name in 1966. Today it has more than twenty specialty gardens, among them a Japanese garden, a rose garden, an iris garden, a butterfly garden, and a children's garden called My Big Backyard. It also hosts plant sales, classes, and seasonal events through the year.

Directly across Park Avenue is the Dixon Gallery and Gardens at 4339 Park Avenue, an art museum set on seventeen acres of gardens. General admission is free. As of this writing the Dixon lists hours of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, with later hours on third Thursdays, and it is closed on Mondays. It is worth checking the Dixon's website before a visit, since hours and exhibitions change.

Having a public golf course, a tennis center, a botanic garden, and an art museum within a few blocks of each other is unusual in any city, and it gives this part of East Memphis a steady calendar of things to do close to home.

Homes on the Streets Around the Park

The neighborhoods surrounding Audubon Park were largely built out in the decades after the park was established, and the housing reflects that. You will find 1950s ranch homes on generous lots, older cottages, and larger custom homes, some of them in French Provincial and other traditional styles. There are also condominiums and townhomes in the area, particularly toward Poplar Avenue and along the edges of the park.

A few characteristics show up often:

• Mature trees and established landscaping. Beautiful, and worth a look by an arborist if large limbs hang over a roof.
• Mid-century construction. Many homes have been updated more than once. Ask what was done and when, including electrical, plumbing, sewer line, and foundation work.
• Renovations and rebuilds. On some streets, original ranch homes sit next to substantially expanded or newly built houses, so values on a single block can vary widely.

Because the range is so wide, I would rather point you to recent sales on a specific street than quote a neighborhood-wide number that may not fit the home you are considering.

Getting Around and Daily Errands

Location is a practical strength here. Poplar Avenue runs just north of the park and is the main corridor for groceries, restaurants, and shopping, including Laurelwood Shopping Center. Park Avenue and Southern Avenue provide east and west routes, Goodlett and Perkins run north and south, and I-240 is a short drive away. The University of Memphis campus is just to the west.

One thing to keep in mind is that the park draws visitors. Concerts and events at the Botanic Garden, tournaments at Leftwich, and busy weekends at the golf course can add traffic on Cherry Road, Park Avenue, and Southern Avenue. If you are looking at a home on or near those streets, visit on an event day as well as a quiet weekday.

What to Know Before Buying or Selling Near the Park

This area is inside the City of Memphis, so homes carry both City of Memphis and Shelby County property taxes, and utilities are provided by Memphis Light, Gas and Water. Public schools are part of Memphis-Shelby County Schools. Zoning varies by address, so confirm school assignments with the district directly.

If you are selling, be specific about what is nearby and how far it is: the walking loop, the Botanic Garden entrance, the first tee. Concrete details describe the location far better than adjectives do. It also helps to have maintenance records ready, since buyers of mid-century homes tend to ask careful questions about systems and structure.

If you are buying, a thorough inspection, a sewer scope on older lines, and a close read of any homeowners association documents for condos and townhomes are all worth the time.

Audubon Park is one of those places that is easy to take for granted until you spend an afternoon there. If you would like to talk about the streets around it, or about a particular East Memphis home, I am glad to be a resource whenever you need one.

Kelly Day, SRES, SRS, AHWD, PSA, RENE
Multi Million Dollar Club
Broker Lic # 365811
simpliHOM
901-289-9227
855-856-9466
[email protected]
https://memphishouselistings.com