Born in Germany in 1835, Elias Lowenstein emigrated to Memphis in 1854. The firm which he headed, B. Lowenstein & Bros. Department Store, was prominent in Memphis for 125 years. A leader in the Jewish community, he served as president of Temple Israel for 15 years. He contributed liberally to rebuilding the city after the disastrous 1870s yellow fever epidemics.
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In 1891 Elias Lowenstein built this mansion, which is the city's most important Victorian Romanesque residence and one of the finest of its styles in the South. After his death in 1919, his family donated it to the Nineteenth Century Club for use as a residence for young working women who did not have family in the city and, therefore, under social customs of the day, were expected to live in a protected environment. A porch with cupola was removed in 1929 for construction of an annex.