Visiting Memphis
Memphis is one of the most unique cities in America’s southeast. Memphis is famous for many things, mainly it’s southern culture, barbecue, music, and history. I started my visit to Memphis about 10 years ago to see one of my good friends who grew up and still lives in the city. We started out in Beale Street, which is the liveliest area of the city. Beale street definitely is a major party district that reminded me of a more tame version of New Orleans.
The photo above and below are two more day shots from Beale Street. I returned at night time but without my camera. It was definitely a bit crazy and chaotic at night! There and plenty of bars and clubs to choose from. The entire area is roped off allowing people to drink on the streets. Both times I went to Memphis I went in the summer time so my favorite alcoholic drink at night was an iced slushi!
On my first Memphis trip I went to Front Street, another street with entertainment venues that intersects with Beale Street and runs along the Mississippi river. I found some historic buildings photographed above, but otherwise the area seemed to be largely abandoned. Clearly I didn’t give it a serious attempt and was passing by, but that was my only experience in Front Street!
Above is a photo entering downtown Memphis. Memphis is also known for it’s carriages and trolleys that run in the city center. The city center looks much more modern than areas like Beale Street. High rise buildings crossed with cobblestone streets and passing trolleys are what you can expect to find here. It’s a very relaxed neighborhood compared to Beale Street for sure!
This photo shows a beautiful fountain I saw Court Square. Court square is the only original city park of four that were founded in early 1800’s. The Hede fountain was built in 1876. There is a large gazebo in the park that was rented out for a wedding when I visited.
Memphis isn’t known for it’s high rise buildings, but it definitely has a few. The building above is the Lincoln American Tower, which is my favorite building in the city. It was built in 1924 and was one of the first skyscrapers in the city. Below was the second largest building I saw in the city, the Sterick Building built in 1930.
On my first trip to Memphis I completely missed visiting the Lorraine motel. This is the famous location where Martin Luther King was assassinated on April 4th 1968. Martin Lurther King was killed while on his balcony just outside his room. Today the entire motel has been converted to the National Civil Rights Museum.
The civil rights museum is enormous. It has two floors and covers a number of topics starting from slavery, proceeding to the Jim Crow era, and then focuses on the civil right movements of the 50’s and 60’s. The museum has all kinds of exhibits and examples of struggles during the past few hundred years.
One of the worst examples was this story above known as the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing. African Americans and their supporters marching for equal rights were met with fierce opposition from hate groups such as the KKK. A bomb planted by a KKK member at the church exploded killing these four girls and two boys seen above. The exhibit provides details of the attack, and even has some of the original stained glass that was shattered on display.
This exhibit above shows the famous I Am A Man march in 1968. It was a protest against wages and poor conditions for city sanitation workers. The I Am A Man March is actually what drew Martin Luther King to Memphis when he was assassinated.
One of the last exhibits is Martin Luther King’s room where he was staying. As King stepped outside on his balcony, escaped felon James Early Ray fired a single shot that took King’s life. James Earl Ray attempted to flee to the UK but was extradited back to the United States. He was sentenced to 99 years in prison and passed away in 1997.
Right after the Civil Rights museum I walked across the street to this BBQ restaurant. Memphis is famous for it so I figured it was the right thing to do for lunch. During my first visit to Memphis my local friend told me that the Rendezvous restaurant is the best in the city, but we decided not to go after finding out there was an hour wait! This place was slightly crowded but no wait at all.
I revisited Memphis soon after I had come back from the Himalayas. Needless to say the landscape in western Tennessee isn’t very impressive. The best thing they got are the Chickasaw Bluffs along the Mississippi River that rise up to 200 feet (40 meters). The bluffs were numbered one to fourth, and this one above caught my attention as I drove by.
The fourth bluff was formerly known as Confederate Park, and is a city park that also serves as memorial for the Civil War. During the Fourth Bluff was fortified in 1862 and attacked only a month later by the Federal fleet. The Confederates were greatly out gunned by the Federals and after only 90 minutes the battle was over. Despite the quickness of the fight, it was an important and decisive battle for the Federals, and also the first naval battle in history that used steam rams. Above is a drawing of that the battle may have looked like.
Union troops took over the city and raised the American flag in the drawing shown above. They held the city for the remaining part of the war, but the second battle of Memphis took place in 1864. General Forrest did a daring raid on the city and took hundreds of prisoners and damaged the city while taking few losses. Fourth Bluff park shares all this information on different historical signs and memorials. There is also a large statue of Confederate president Andrew Jackson, who lived in Memphis for almost a decade after the war was over.
There is no question about it! A trip to Memphis is incomplete without a visit to Graceland, the home of Elvis Presley. Elvis Presley purchased the home when he was only 22 years old, and lived in it for the rest of his life. I found the tour prices to be pretty steep at $27 per person in 2008. I knew for sure I’d really regret it if I skipped Graceland, so I got my ticket and visited mansion where Elvis spent his last 20 years. The photo below shows the entrance to the Graceland mansion.
The Graceland mansion is now a major tourist attraction with people coming from all over the world to visit the home of Elvis Presley. Most of the home is still the way Elvis kept it, with much of the original furniture and decorations still in place. Elvis’s former racquetball room was converted into a small display room showing many of his awards and suits that he wore while touring.
The Graceland Mansion has many famous rooms, many with their own names. The one above is the “TV Room”. Although such a set up today could be accomplished by anyone, I imagine back then this might have been like having your own home theater! Below was my favorite place in the mansion, the “Jungle Room”
Above you can see the final resting place of one of Elvis Presley’s suits, and then on the right, the final resting place of Elvis Presley himself. On August 16th 1977 and a day before a concert, Elvis Presley was found dead of a heart attack in his Graceland home at the young age of 42. His grave above is among other family members including his mother and father. The small family cemetery in Graceland is known as the Meditation Garden.
The first time I came to Memphis my mistake was not seeing the Civil Rights Museum. The second time I came to Memphis my mistake was not going inside the Memphis Pyramid. I had photographed it both visits, and thought it was still a sports arena. For example it had hosted the famous fight between Mike Tyson when he was knocked out by Lenox Louis back in the 1990’s. I noticed this time around it now said Bass Pro Shops on it. I figured the Bass Pro Shops company had simply paid to have their name on the pyramid, but they actually completely remodeled the interior.
Instead of a sports arena, the pyramid has been converted to a giant Bass Pro store. It’s now more of an outdoor themed shopping and entertainment center. An elevator leading up to the observation deck is the highest free standing elevator in the United States. I took the above photo while riding up it. It was a bit hard with all the annoying I-beams coming in the way but you can get an idea of what the place looks like.
At the top of the elevator is also a restaurant and bar. I was here pretty early so they weren’t open yet, but I was able to enjoy the views and photograph some of the art work they made. They had created lots of large fish and local wildlife with boat motors and other mechanical items.
Beyond the shopping the pyramid also has archery ranges, shooting ranges, arcades, restaurants and even a fudge shop. The base of the pyramid has one of the largest aquariums in the world that is mostly dedicated to waterfowl. I assume this relatively small tank isn’t the aquarium. Here they do feeding shows and have some large fish that are native to the area. Much of the base is an open water aquarium that has even larger fish and live ducks swimming around. I realized I didn’t photograph any of the shopping areas, but you can buy anything from these large boats below to rifles, bows, camping gear, etc.
