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| Attraction Guide : Beale Street  'If
Beale Street could talk, married men would take their babes and walk.'
That was local blues composer WC Handy's Beale St, circa 1915. In its
turn-of-the-century heyday, Beale St was the hub of social, civic and
business activity for the city's large African-American community and
much of the middle South.Today, the Disneyfication of the two-block strip of Beale between 2nd and 4th Sts might give some travelers the blues. The rough and tumble barrooms and brothels of yore have been replaced by swanky clubs, restaurants, souvenir shops and neon signs - something of a blues theme park. But it's hard to find fault with the district's safe, comfortable and locally owned and operated nightlife. Between 2nd and 3rd, musical notes embedded in the concrete mark the Walk of Fame, where some of Memphis' finest musicians are honored. The Beale St Police Museum exhibits such criminalia as the extradition order for James Earl Ray, Martin Luther King Jr's convicted assassin. Schwab's Dry Goods Store, in the family since 1876, is the only remaining original business on Beale St. Schwab's fills three floors with voodoo powders, handcuffs, clerical collars, saucepans and the largest collection of hats in town. Tucked in behind Beale St at 3rd is the Gibson Guitar Plant, where many of the guitar models made famous by local artists are made. Within the plant, the Smithsonian Institution's Rock 'n' Soul Museum examines the social and cultural history that produced the music of the Mississippi Delta. Between 3rd and 4th Sts, the WC Handy statue overlooks a park named after the composer, where an amphitheater hosts outdoor concerts and New Year's Eve celebrations. Also on the block are the shotgun shack where Handy raised six children, and the Center for the Study of Southern Folklore. The nonprofit center, in an old dry-goods store, has excellent exhibits on art and music, and features live performances. Sun Studio Sun bills itself as 'the most famous recording studio in the world' - considering its roster of alumni, it's a fair claim. Among the luminaries who recorded here are Howlin' Wolf, BB King, Ike Turner, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison and, of course, Elvis Presley. The room with its warped tiles remains active today, though the 'tour' (30 minutes of standing around) is a bit moribund. Still, you'll get to hear great vintage audio clips and breathe the hallowed air. The studio is less than a mile east of downtown; as the neighborhood it's in is a little sketchy, you're best off taking a cab. Graceland  Elvis
Presley's home for 20 years, Graceland is part shrine, part museum, all
tacky. You'll see the all-white living room, the jungle den, the cobalt-blue
drapes, the peacock stained glass, the 15ft (5m) couch, the interior waterfall
and the green shag carpeting on the ceiling. A visit to Graceland is a
mind-bending multimedia experience, with a free 22-minute film, a tour
narrated by Presley's former wife, Priscilla Presley, car and airplane
collections and a gift shop. There's a reasonable fee for touring the
house itself, plus additional costs for seeing the car and plane collections.
Unless you enjoy standing for hours in long lines, it's probably best
to avoid going on January 8, when Memphis celebrates Elvis Presley Day,
or August 15, which is the anniversary of Presley's death. Graceland is
a few miles south of downtown and is accessible by car or cab.National Civil Rights Museum This outstanding museum is in the Lorraine Motel, where the Reverend Dr Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated in 1968. The motel now houses exhibits on key events in the civil rights movement that led to the end of legal segregation in the mid-1960s. The museum is a few blocks south of Beale St. Full Gospel Tabernacle Soul and R&B legend the Reverend Al Green holds forth at the Tabernacle, where he preaches and sings on Sundays. A formidable choir backs him up when the hymns start to flow. This is a house of worship, though, and visitors should dress neatly, have at least a dollar per adult for the collection plate and be ready for over a 2-hour sermon. The Tabernacle is a few miles southwest of downtown. Chucalissa Archaeological Site & Museum This reconstructed 15th-century Native American village sits on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi. The village sits atop ancient moundworks unearthed during construction of the nearby state park. A central plaza once used for ceremonies, dances and games is surrounded by thatched houses that would have belonged to the chieftain, shaman and craftspeople. The buildings sit on elevated earthworks that also served as burial grounds. Museum exhibits, crafts demonstrations and a knowledgeable staff tell the story of the sophisticated Mississippian civilization that once dominated the southeastern US. One highlight is an enclosed cutaway trench revealing the sequential layering of one ancient mound. The Spring Powwow is held on Mothers' Day weekend (late May or early June), and a Choctaw festival featuring native dances, crafts and foods happens the first weekend in August. The site is about 10mi (16km) southwest of downtown; it's accessible by car. Getting There & Away : Memphis is a hub for air and train travel and is also easily accessible by interstate freeway. You can even arrive by boat on a cruise from New Orleans. Riverboat excursions up the Mississippi start in New Orleans and make several stops, including Memphis. Memphis International Airport is 20 minutes southeast of downtown via I-55. It is served by Northwest, American, Delta, TWA, United, US Airways and 25 regional carriers. The Greyhound route between Memphis and Nashville is served by eight buses daily; the trip takes about 4 hours. The route between Memphis and New Orleans is served by four buses daily. A sorely needed renovation of Central Station on S Main St restored the 191,000-sq-ft (17,750-sq-m) building to its original 1914 splendor. In addition to improving Amtrak passenger comfort and convenience, the renovated station includes retail and office space and a residential development. It connects with the Main St trolley. Amtrak runs a passenger service through Memphis on the City of New Orleans from Chicago. The airport is about 20mi (32km) from downtown via freeways, and transportation options are limited. Taxis leave from outside baggage claim, and many hotels provide free shuttle service for guests. Public transit is cheap but extremely troublesome. Catch the No 32 bus outside baggage claim (the far island, beyond where the taxis and shuttles stop). The bus first heads east then stops in midtown, necessitating a transfer to a bus that's headed downtown. Most travelers rent cars to get to their destination. Getting Around Memphis International Airport is 20 minutes south of downtown by car. The best way to get beyond the downtown and Beale St areas is to go by car. Rental agencies are located at the airport. City buses connect the airport with downtown, but they're not useful for much else. Trolleys serve Main St downtown, and riverboat cruises ply the Mississippi. Memphis is easy to get around by bicycle, provided you're not visiting during the sweltering summer, but rentals are hard to find. Cycling isn't part of the local culture, and there are no bike lanes or other special provisions for riders. |
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