Flying into the city of Memphis, you can see three bridges over the wide and muddy Mississippi River. There's a cluster of tall buildings and a massive mirror-faced pyramid that stands out. A first impression might be of a quaint pop-culture theme park drawing on that other Memphis on the Nile.
It's such a curious structure, seemingly out of place anywhere but in Las Vegas. I checked into my room at the stately Peabody Hotel, put on walking shoes, and explored the riverfront. The Peabody is a stone's throw from everything in Memphis. A short walk along Union Avenue brought me to the mighty river. Flags flutter at the tip of Mud Island and riverboats—some derelict, some used in the tourist trade—are tied together along the banks. The unmistakable pyramid looms large a short walk along the grassy riverfront park.
The Wonders Project
It's a wonder. Literally. The pyramid houses Wonders, a project that was born in 1986 under then-mayor Dick Hackett who brought the Ramesses the Great exhibit to Memphis.
A tradition was born during the Ramesses exhibit that the city would restore an object in gratitude to the lending institutions which provided the artifacts. For the Ramesses exhibit, a 40-ton, 35-foot tall crumbled statue of Ramesses was put back together and displayed on reinforced platforms to distribute the weight. It became a centerpiece of the show.
When the Egyptian artifacts were returned, the organizers were left with a void. "We didn't know there would be life after Ramesses. It elevated the stature of the city. Two hundred thousand school children came through here. In the five-and-a-half month run 675,000 people visited," said Twyla Dixon, Wonders' Director of Marketing.
Will Wonders never cease? Not by the stunning exhibits they've brought to Memphis which include the Titanic, Imperial Tombs of China, Czars-400 Years of Imperial Grandeur, the Etruscans, Catherine the Great, the Masters of Florence-Glory and Genius of the Court of Medici and, soon, the Art of Motorcycles. There is great stuff in the Pyramid of Memphis.
Not far away is a cluster of art and cultural museums and exhibits that rival collections in major galleries in Europe. With a $4 million annual budget, the Brooks Museum of Art is housed in a stately building designed by architect James Gamble Rogers.
The Brooks has a collection of 8,000 objects, so many that the museum can only display 12 to 15 themed exhibits at any one time. The English portrait gallery and fine decorative arts collections as well as an eclectic African collection are renowned.
Fine Food and Fine Art
Save time for lunch at the Brushmark Restaurant at the Brooks. If the weather is nice, reasonably priced sandwiches and salads are served on a patio covered with a large tent awning for comfort from the sun.
The Peabody Hotel prides itself on its elegant cuisine. Brunch in the Skyway Ballroom on the roof every Sunday starts at 10:30 a.m. Brunch at The Peabody is a gathering place for people in Memphis who are treated to salmon—smoked and fresh—stone crab claws, leg of lamb, beef tenderloin, and breakfast fare of omelets and waffles. Champagne and desserts, which I didn't have room for, abound and are decorated to please the eye and palate. A stroll on The Peabody roof garden that overlooks the city with views of the Mississippi is a fine way to exercise after the meal.
The taste of Memphis is echoed with elegant dining in Peabody's Chez Philippe or their Italian steak house Capriccio Grill. Capriccio has private dining facilities for parties or groups.
Steak and ribs is signature fare at Isaac Hayes. Dining with a blues or jazz combo is a fun evening. For just plain Memphis barbecue and simple fare, the Cozy Corner on North Parkway is a popular eat-in or take-out. Memphis dining is a feast, and the city's art is a treasure.
The Peabody Place Museum is housed on the basement level of a large complex of buildings that has taken an entire section of the city. The complex has been turned into a shopping mall with fast food dining, movie theaters, and an extraordinary oriental art collection.
Sculptures in jade and ivory, massive and miniature, beckon study of the artisan's hand. One large sculpture of horses in jade must have required a carver's lifetime to complete. The artifacts challenge the eye. Donated by the Belz family, this compilation has so many artifacts that China itself could not boast such an extraordinary collection.
Nearby is the Center for Southern Folklore, where typical southern food is prepared which may include turnip greens and corn bread. At luncheon on lucky days when a school group is scheduled, a jazz musician plays and sings. Kids are invited up on stage to do their musical thing. Folk art is for sale and funky displays are everywhere.
Dixon Display
While Memphis is known for blues, many colors cover the walls of the Dixon. Subdued and brash colors of impressionists from Renoir to Sisley, from Monet to Manet, are set in a comfortable museum that seems more like a parlor than an institution. The Dixons made their money in cotton. When they died in 1974, their stately Georgian mansion and its 17-and-a-half acres of magnificent gardens were turned into a museum. The Dixon is a delight—from its architecture to old timber southern red oak and hickory woodland gardens. There is a cutting garden and greenhouse where the Memphis Garden Club toils to provide elegant flowers and plants to decorate the museum.
"The Dixons left twenty-eight paintings to the museum. We now have more than 2,000 pieces," said Jay Kamm, Dixon's director. "We did it by buying collections, like our German porcelain collection. Acquiring collections is the way the museum has been able to move along and have one of the best collections in the South," Kamm added. There are treasures in the Dixon, not the least of which are on the floors. Antique Persian carpets were part of the Dixon household. A world-class Renoir on the wall, 100 Daumier lithographs (once part of the Armand Hammer collection), impressionist masterpieces, and comfortable chairs and sofas to sit on and admire the works all make the Dixon one of the world's great art museums.
For those who enjoy gardens, make contact with Diane Reed the horticulturist, who has a keen knowledge about the plantings. Diane willingly and enthusiastically shares her vast horticultural savvy with visitors to the Dixon.
Art and Learning
Memphis is no slouch when it comes to education. The Memphis College of Art offers four-year degree programs and masters programs in fine arts. The college is open to visitors. Contemporary works as well as student art classes in metal working, paper making, photography and painting are among the shops visitors can enjoy, freely interacting with students.
Civil Rights History
There is nothing so stark as the Lorraine Motel on Mulberry Street. While it is not far from The Peabody Hotel where distinguished visitors stayed in Old South luxury, the Lorraine Motel remains as it was on that day in 1968 when the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. was shot on the balcony outside his humble room in the black-only motel.
The National Civil Rights Museum is sited in this place where history in America was changed forever by an assassin's bullet. "The Lorraine Motel was one of the few black owned motels in the South. Aretha Franklin, Duke Ellington stayed here. It was owned by Walter and Lorraine Bailey," said Gwen Harmon, Director of Marketing at the National Civil Rights Museum.
"After the assassination of Dr. King nobody wanted to stay here. The motel was in foreclosure. The community bought it out of foreclosure in 1982. Originally it was thought that the building should be razed. A consultant from the Smithsonian came and said, 'No. You must keep it just as it is'," Harmon explained.
The drama is evident. The museum houses a collection of photographs and mementos of the civil rights movement. There are audio and visual presentations. A White House tape recording of the telephone conversation between then-president John F. Kennedy and Alabama Governor George Wallace during the midst of college integration is dramatic. A burned-out Greyhound bus reminiscent of the violence that accompanied protest marches throughout the South is a stark reminder of the depth of hatred and violence that accompanied the struggle for equality. A re-creation of a lunch counter where men and women engaged in a sit-in and were beaten by violent thugs is also on display. A city bus stands as mute evidence to the courage of Rosa Parks who refused to give up her seat during segregation.
In 2002, an exhibition was opened in the old rooming house where James Earl Ray stayed. The bathroom window and setting is preserved. A view of the Lorraine Motel across the street from the window is the same view the killer had when he aimed his rifle and murdered the famed civil rights leader in 1968.
There is nothing more evocative of the pathos of injustice than a lettered panel beneath an old photograph that reads: "Between 1882 and 1968, there were 4,743 lynchings in the United States."
Amazing Memphis will continue...