Irma O. Sternberg Overton Park Expressway Collection Collection home page

Irma O. Sternberg (1915-2007) was a Memphis activist who worked to keep an expressway from being built through the center of Overton Park which is located in the Mid-town area of Memphis, Tennessee. Mrs. Sternberg's collection of over 1500 items relating to the Overton Park controversy includes published articles, correspondence, legal case descriptions, newspaper clippings, editorials and her personal notes all of which were used in building the case against the construction of the expressway. She also used these materials to write her booklet, “Overton Park is Your Park, Memphis" which she published in 1971. She gave these items to the Rhodes College History Department which then transferred them to the College Archives in 2005 where they are stored in the Archives’ vault. Katie Lane, Class of 2007 who worked in the Archives from 2005 until 2007, processed the materials and created the finding aid to the collection which is published here. The Irma Sternberg Faculty Support Fund in American History was established in 2009 through the estate of Irma O. Sternberg to support research and teaching in American history. Researchers may consult the Sternberg collection during regular Archives hours.