Memphis is marvelous. I didn’t know much about it before arriving Saturday. I came to see Graceland and the duck parade at the Peabody Hotel. Both were great fun, but what I didn’t expect was its vibrant downtown.
Graceland is all things Elvis — and if he is alive, he’s mega-rich from the tons of things for sale in the many, many shops. The mansion is nice, not a Bill Gates super mansion, but there’s plenty to ooh about: the living room with 3 TVs (each set to one of the 3 networks), the jungle family room, the mirrored glass bar, racquetball room, recording studio, a little building in the back yard for target practice. Oh yeah, his jet and a stable of to-die-for cars were pretty nice, too.
But the commercialism was really amazing. I think Graceland beats Disney when it comes to organization and licensing merchandise. Roped sections to buy tickets, timed mini-buses that whisk you from the ticket area to the mansion, audio earphones to guide you start to finish, and plenty of line standing. After the mansion, numerous exhibits await: his cars and other big toys with wheels, his planes, his costumes, a film of his 1968 comeback tour — and each finishes in a gift shop. Hundreds of Elvis items to buy: lip balm, gold records, Christmas lights of his glowing face, cocktail napkins, dangling earrings that spell out Elvis vertically — you name it, you could buy it. Three restaurants serve his favorite foods. The fried peanut butter and banana sandwich was terrific.
No doubt about his talent and charm. He had the “it”factor in spades. Long live The King.
If you’re wondering about the Peabody Hotel ducks, well, it’s one of those crazy wonderful things. Every day for 70 some years, the gorgeous grande dame downtown hotel does the parade of ducks. At 11 am the ducks leave their rooftop penthouse, ride to the lobby in a gilded (gilt!) elevator, and file across a special red carpet to a fountain in the center of the lobby. They play and swim in the fountain until 5pm when the parade is repeated and they retreat to their home upstairs. The hotel’s official Duckmaster, in full red tails regalia, announces the parade and supervises their care. Gotta love it.
Then there’s Beale Street with its blocks of music bars and clubs…loud, crowded, drinking on the sidewalks and street closed to traffic until 3am, a nightly party. The music draws you. And ya gotta eat barbecue in Memphis. We partook at the Blues City Cafe, and it was mighty fine ‘cue.
Memphis’ topper is the living, breathing downtown…fun restaurants, sidewalk cafes, clubs, mini-marts, dry cleaners, health clubs, elegant and funky home decor, commerce mixed with apartments, condos and artist studios, colorful streetcars with wooden interiors restored to their full beauty, and people everywhere at 11pm. I loved our late evening trolley ride around the city, as alive as New York City, amazing.
Exciting to see such successful urban renewal. Memphis is doing it just right.