Thing for Guests to do When They Visit Memphis

Memphis, Tennessee is located in the south west corner of Tennessee with Arkansas and Mississippi as its neighbors. Memphis is right in the heart of the south, and it has tons to offer to visitors When a city is chocked full of interesting history and culture, it is no wonder why people flock there to experience what Memphis is really like. Some of the biggest tourist attractions include Graceland, The Pink Palace Museum, the National Civil Rights Museum, and the Mud Island River Park. There is no shortage of history to be learned.

Graceland is the former home of Elvis Presley. It is a large mansion that used to house The King of Rock and Roll. It was opened to the public in 1982, was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1991, and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 2006. Elvis Presley, his parents, and his grandmother are all buried on the property, and there is even a memorial gravestone for Presley’s twin brother that was a stillborn. It is one of the most visited private homes in the nation, trailing behind the White House, and the Bltmore Estate.

The Pink Palace Museum is part of the Pink Palace Family of Museums that is maintained by the city of Memphis. The Pink Palace Mansion was given to the city of Memphis in the 1920’s because its owner, the founder of Piggly Wiggly, had financial troubles with Wall Street. It opened as the Memphis Museum of Natural History and Industrial Arts in 1930. The museum has artifacts ranging from a replica of the first Piggly Wiggly store all the way to fossils and pre-Columbian artifacts.

The National Civil Rights Museum is located where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. On April 4, 1968, MLK Jr. was shot in front of his motel room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. Now, the motel is part of the museum, as there are two other buildings on the adjacent property that serve as part of the museum. Not only did the motel house guests, it also housed full time residents. The last resident was Jacqueline Smith, a housekeeper for the motel. In 1973 when she was asked to leave so that the motel could be turned into a museum, she barricaded herself in her room and had to be forcibly evicted.

When visiting Memphis there is no shortage of history to be learned, or interesting sights to see. Whether it be where the King of Rock and Roll lived, or even the replica of the first Piggly Wiggly, which was founded in Memphis by a Memphian, there is always something to see. And who would not want to see the National Civil Rights Museum? That is something that is incredibly cherished and changed our country for countless numbers of people. Visiting Memphis is like a walk down this nation’s memory lane.