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Real Estate & Homes in Memphis - Tennessee - Memphis, Tennessee homes and communities
Memphis
Where the River Meets the Blues
Memphis proper is not very large, but within its boundaries you'll find the basis for the blues, as a music form, as a part of America and as a way of life. That's probably why Memphis is mentioned more in song lyrics more than Paris, New York, London or San Francisco — in fact, more than any other place in the world. Memphis is also the center of the shipping business for the United States and, in many cases, the world. Memphis did not just happen. It was a planned community, founded by Gen. James Winchester, Judge John Overton and no less than President Andrew Jackson. It was surveyed and designed in 1819. When it was first “opened,” Memphis consisted of four blocks and a population of about 50. It was incorporated in 1826. From this humble beginning, it's hard to imagine a city that would have an international effect on music and transportation, but that's what happened. Almost from day one, Memphis’ location next to the Mississippi destined it to be a shipping giant. The cotton that was grown and shipped north from here brought in enough money that the Southern states had to coax Memphis to come along when the Civil War began. In the early 1950s, it was still the leading center for the shipment of mules! Today, it is still proving itself as a city of superlatives.
Let's Start with the Blues
If you time it right, you can have an experience unique to Memphis. Walk down close to the Mississippi — it's the central point of the area — and when you get within a few blocks, you can hear the sound of a calliope (not a recording, either; the real thing) coming from one of the Delta Queen Steamship Company's riverboats. The riverboats travel through town on a regular basis, from New Orleans through Memphis and all the way to Minneapolis/St. Paul at the beginning of the river. There are 10 stops in all on the routes, along the Mississippi and its tributaries. There are three boats: the Delta Queen, the Mississippi Queen and the American Queen, the latter of which is the largest steamboat ever built.
When you look over the bluffs on the river and see one of these magnificent river cruisers, it's easy to imagine that you have momentarily stepped back 100 years or more. These are no tourist day travelers. All three are extremely authentic and luxuriously appointed. From the calliope, you may recognize “Here Comes the Robert E. Lee” or “Let Me Call You Sweetheart” as the songs waft across the water and linger on the high-steeped bank. This is a part of the music of Memphis. Now, turn and walk away from the river, toward Beale Street. On your right you will see a Gibson Guitar factory. From inside these buildings come the instruments used by blues, jazz, country and even classical musicians all over the world. Once you enter, you will hear how beautifully that electricity of the instruments and the electricity of the music work together. This is another part of the music of Memphis. And you have only begun.
A Walk Down Beale Street
While it is straight as the neck on a Gibson guitar and only a few blocks long, Beale Street offers up a winding, crazy story about how this small city came to be the headquarters for one of America's true art forms.
In early times, Beale Street was the home of the Memphis elite, those who made their fortune on the wharfs along the river, but in 1879, an epidemic of yellow fever almost closed the city down, and for a time forced Tennessee to take away the town charter. After that, there was nothing left on Beale Street but the dregs — the dock workers, the down-and-out — all of those who made the coming of the blues not only inevitable but necessary.
A songwriter named W.C. Handy lived at No. 352 Beale St. He made his living writing and playing at the dives and juke joints that lined the street. In 1909, Handy was commissioned to write a campaign song for a man named Crump. The piece helped to get the man elected mayor. “Boss Crump” and his followers ran the city from 1910 to 1954, but his theme song was forgotten. So Handy took it, rewrote the lyrics and sold it as “The Memphis Blues.” This was the beginning of the blues in song and subject. Thus, a new moment in the history of music was opened. Even today, Beale Street's appearance could be easily thrown aside; it looks like many other streets in Memphis as well as other cities across the country. But as you walk down it, you will begin to hear music. There on your right is B.B. King's, a nightclub belonging to its namesake, who came to learn the blues on this very stretch of pavement. The street is a cacophony of restaurants and stores, offering everything from gilt statues of the blues greats to barbecued ribs with a free dish of gumbo on the side.
Soon, you will come upon A. Schwab’s, in the same space it has occupied since 1876. If you need something, it is probably hidden somewhere in the piles of merchandise that probably have not been inventoried in 100 years. On one side are the voodoo necessities. On the other side are ancient postcards and 99-cent neckties. Over in the next room are cast iron bells and toys in yellowing boxes from other eras. And you still haven't left the first floor. On the way up the stairs, next to the water fountain, you'll see a second fountain in disrepair — proof that Jim Crow once shopped here, too. You won't find another store like A. Schwab’s anywhere. It is more like a museum that sells its exhibits. How they are replaced is anyone's guess. Once you get back out on Beale, you can continue past more shops, bars and restaurants. A park is named for Robert Church, the South's first black millionaire and a founder of the NAACP. In the middle of the park, there is a statue of W.C. Handy, the man without whom Beale Street would be just another street (if anything at all).
Memphis Fast Facts
Location: Memphis is located on the far west side of the state, closely bordered by Arkansas across the Mississippi River and Mississippi.
Nickname: Bluff City
Total area: 296.35 square miles
Population: 650,100
Total housing units: 271,552
Temperatures: High temp in July, 81.2°F; low temp in January, 41.2°F
Annual precipitation: 48.06 inches
The FedEx Connection
Memphis is home base for FedEx, an idea that has changed the world of transportation as well as commerce throughout the world. Rumor has it that the founder of the company turned the idea for an air freight company in as his master thesis and got as “C.” Now there is a professor who has trouble looking at himself in the mirror every morning! Since beginning in 1973, FedEx has become the world's largest express transportation company. Started in Memphis, it now has additional headquarters in Hong Kong, Toronto, Brussels and Miami. Annual revenues are counted in the multibillions of dollars annually. FedEx employs 138,000 people worldwide and serves 365 airports. There are 368 white, blue and orange FedEx planes; more than 35,000 delivery trucks; and 1,200 service centers. In the United State alone, FedEx drivers cover 2.7 million miles per day.
But in Memphis, this is only part of the story. Thanks to Fed Ex and a fairly central location, Memphis is the biggest business distribution center in the country. Memphis International Airport, with the special boost of FedEx, is the busiest cargo airport in the world. It is also the largest truck distribution center; with almost 200 of the most sophisticated trucking terminals you will find anywhere. The trucks in question here are “smart” trucks, 18-wheelers that are handled by GPS and computers to the point that the main office in Memphis can tell not only precisely where a truck is located, it can tell if a truck's engine is running or not, and turn it on or off, no matter where in the country it is. All four of the major railroads have yards in Memphis, with trains coming and going to and from places all over the country, 24 hours a day.
There are also parcel centers for every major mail-order company in the country, from L.L. Bean to Williams-Sonoma, Nike, Disney and Sears, adding to Memphis’ job base and population growth. In fact, Memphis is home to 130 million square feet of warehouse space, more than any city its size and possibly more than any city of any size. Carrying on the Memphis legacy as a shipping powerhouse, FedEx — and its ground freight partners — have changed the world, just a few miles inland from the Mississippi where it all started. And the riverboats are still playing “Waiting for the Robert E. Lee.”
Where Do Memphians Live?
Memphis is going through the same sort of transformation one can find in many American cities. Developers have found that it is cheaper to go out to the city limits and beyond and build new housing than it is to try and rebuild at the inner city. Therefore, while many Memphians work in the downtown area or close to it, most live in suburbs such as Cardova, Bartlett, Collierville and Germantown. The suburbs are growing like crazy in the formerly open country surrounding Memphis proper. They are taking over overworked farmland and areas that no one found a reason to live in, until better roads made it more popular.
To most people, Memphis is an office during the week and a place to visit on the weekends. But there are other options coming on the rise. There is some gentrification, both with the reconstruction of old warehouses into apartments and condominiums, and in new construction, such as one will find at South Bluffs. This is a gated community in sight of the river, containing houses of various price points as well as some beautiful apartments. There is also Peabody Place, a mixture of offices, condominiums, apartments and stores that has been put together right in the middle of downtown. For those who don't want to become suburbanites, these offer a very viable option (though at this time, it is still necessary to drive some distance to find grocery stores and the other amenities that have chosen to relocate to the ‘burbs).
There is also Mud Island, a piece of ground built out of centuries of silt set right on — and in — the Mississippi. One can rent an apartment or buy a pretty spectacular home and have the sound of the river on their front porch. While “Mud Island” would seem an odd address in most places, it holds a certain panache when it kisses the banks of the mighty Mississippi. The city has also built Mud Island Park, a collection of museums, restaurants, walks, hiking and biking trails, and various venues of concerts and such. Peabody Place and Mud Island are still seen as somewhat experimental to the locals; time will tell how they will fare in the end.
Restaurants
When you talk about food in Memphis, the first thing that comes to mind is barbecue. And Memphis barbecue is plentiful and different from what you're going to find anywhere else. The chief purveyor of this taste treat is a small restaurant in a downtown building, reached by going down an alley and down a dark stairway. It's called The Rendezvous (the locals call it “The 'Vous”), and it serves up Memphis’ version of what has been called the “most regional food in the world.” The barbecue at The Rendezvous (and in Memphis in general) isn't seasoned with a liquid sauce, but a dry “rub.” As any connoisseur will tell you, a rub is a mixture of spices that are applied before and after the meat is grilled, then exposed to the flames and smoke (but it's not smoked — though the room appears to have been) of a hot wood fire.
The seasoning mixture is part of the mystery, but there is a distinct flavor of cloves, something you don't usually find. There is a sauce on the table that you can slather on if you like, but the rub is the thing at The ‘Vous. And it's drawn barbecue nuts from all over the world for years. A dry rub is also the way to go at the Cozy Corner, though the flavor is, again, all its own. And while The Rendezvous likes to stick to its ribs, the Cozy Corner will barbecue just about anything, including chicken; rib ends (called “rib tips” in the real barbecue world); and, of all things, bologna.
At Jim Neely’s Interstate Bar-B-Que, you can find that sauce you might have been looking for, and you'll find it on everything, including a specialty known as barbecued spaghetti, which is just what it sounds like (How do you spell “barbecue?” It depends on what block you're standing on.)
Not everyone in Memphis eats barbecue, no matter what you might be told. There are restaurants of all kinds, just like everywhere else. But there are some specialties. One of the more unusual (and popular) of these is served up at an unpretentious little place on Union Avenue called The Cupboard, which specializes in vegetables. This isn't the sort of vegetarian restaurant you might expect to find on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, filled with high-society literati worried about eating animals. This is the home of the Southern vegetable plate, found in down-home restaurants from Atlanta to Natchez, born of a need for food after the Civil War (or, as they like to call in the South, “The War of Northern Aggression”). It consists of a plate of boiled vegetables (three, five, eight or more) and a piece of cornbread used to sop up the “pot liquor,” juice from the collard greens, turnip greens, squash, tomatoes, yams — whatever happens to be in the garden. On the side, the Southern specialty of carrot and raisin salad and a glass of sweetened iced tea finish the picture.
Another local favorite is the Arcade, an old-fashioned Southern diner that sits right across the street from the old railway station. This is the home for grits, macaroni and cheese, metalloid, mashed potatoes, and country ham with red-eye gravy. Cornbread comes with virtually everything. You'll find a place like the Cupboard and the Arcade in virtually any Southern city you visit, though they may not show up on the tourist map. But if you show up, you'll be as welcome as anyone in the place. The Old South still lives at the dinner table.
Elvis, Inc.
One cannot talk about the city of Memphis without talking about Elvis Presley, a poor boy who grew up in the Memphis projects and became a phenomenon and a legend who still pervades the city today. Here, Elvis is actually a business. Elvis Presley, Inc. is taken care of by his former wife, Priscilla, and benefits his daughter, Lisa Marie, and others who have in one way or another gained a share of the legacy. No. 1 on the list of Elvis’ marks on the Memphis landscape is, or course, Graceland. This place that became home to the King of rock and roll offers a pilgrimage to those who still honor, and even worship his music, his story and even the man himself.
No matter how human he seemed to become at death, he will always be alive in some people's hearts (and there is always a tabloid article telling them he is still alive, hiding out, and waiting for his moment to return as the rock and roll messiah). The mansion itself is somewhat old-fashioned looking now from the outside. The neighborhood is not the best in town. Across the street is the proclaimed Heartbreak Hotel. Graceland is a house filled with reminiscences: rooms and rooms of gold and platinum albums, lime-green carpet, Naugahyde chairs, memorabilia and pictures of Elvis with every form of royalty in the world. Those who come to visit often stand in line as long as they spend inside the home, but few utter a complaint. Out in back is his grave and well as the grave of his beloved mother.
Downtown, there is what may even be a more poignant symbol of the King: a block of tenements where he grew up. They sat for years untouched and forgotten, but plans are under way to make them into another tribute. One can almost see the 18-year-old Elvis, guitar in hand, walking up Union Street to Sun Studios to record “That's All Right Mama,” his first, but certainly not his last, hit. On Beale Street, there is a restaurant called Elvis Presley’s Memphis. It is housed in the building that once contained the department store where he bought the clothes that changed the way America's, then the world's young people dressed. The menu is unusual and fun in that it contains many of the slightly strange foods that Elvis always loved. Try a fried banana and peanut butter sandwich, or fried pickle chips. By the way, it does belong to Elvis Presley, Inc. If one hangs around downtown for long enough, one might actually find someone who knew the King when he was a truck driver. But it could take a while.
Sun Studios
Sun Studios didn't create Elvis, and he didn't create Sun Studios. But together, they took on the world of music and won. This little brick building at 760 Union St. is unquestionably where rock and roll began. It was the first place that performers like Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley stood in front of a microphone and recorded this new form of music that would later become a ruling force in the world. When one visits the place, there is a shock at how simple it is. Rough-hewn, one might say. Unfinished, coarse — much like the music that was created there. And is still created there at times, by new stars who want to be able to say, “I was there.” It is truly an icon.
All Things Memphis
Here are some other interest points about a city that tends to defy description: it all depends on where one stands on the river. The American Civil Rights Museum: In 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. came to Memphis to try and mediate a strike against the city by garbage workers who wanted to unionize. While staying at the downtown Lorraine Motel, he was shot and killed. That hotel is now the American Civil Rights Museum and one of the most unusual monuments of its kind anywhere in America. The motel has been preserved precisely as it looked the day of the shooting. Even the cars in the parking lot are of the same make and vintage as those that one sees in the news photos inside. It is almost hard to find, because it has been changed so little it looks a great deal like an operating hotel. This is one of the must-sees on a Memphis trip.
The Peabody Hotel: Memphis has many fine hotels, but none finer or more interesting than the Peabody. Right in the middle of downtown, it has been restored to the grandeur it must have had the day it opened. But that's not the complete reason to visit. The ducks are. Twice a day, in the morning and the afternoon (inquire at the desk for exact times), to the tune of a John Phillips Sousa march, a group of ducks who live on the roof of the hotel are brought to the lobby and paraded along a red velvet carpet, looking for all the world as if they own the place. They march in a perfect line and hop into their favorite spots in the fountains around the stately furniture. Crowds always gather to watch this procession, and it is certainly worth the trip. By the way, the Peabody also has a location in Orlando, but it just can't hold a candle to the original.
An Earthquake in Memphis: Most people are not aware of the fact that Memphis (as well as parts of Missouri and Illinois) are built on a fissure called the New Madrid Fault. While normally quiet, it occasionally kicks up and can make quite a mess. About 100 years ago, an earthquake in Memphis was so severe that it caused the Mississippi to run backwards for several miles, forming a new lake. (The New Madrid Fault has also caused this to happen in St. Louis.)
The Pyramid: With an Egyptian name like “Memphis,” one needs a pyramid, and Memphis has one. Located on the Mississippi and visible from several parts of town, the huge pointed glass structure is a venue for sports and music attractions.
Memphis in May: Every May, the people of Memphis take four days and kick up their heels in Tom Lee Park, next to the river. There is plenty of music, blues and otherwise; barbecue; dancing; exhibits; and virtually everything that is fun in Memphis. This is one time when the people who live in the suburbs come in to enjoy the city.
Tom Lee Park: Tom Lee was a man who died rescuing dozens of people from a sinking steamboat on the Mississippi in 1925. He was proclaimed “Memphis’ Greatest Hero,” and a beautiful park featuring walking and running paths and a river view was named after him. Why was he considered the greatest hero? Tom Lee could not swim.
The Trolleys: Memphis has a system of trolleys that, while great for tourism, also offer a real service for those who live and work in the downtown area. The system that is in use is old, but the cars have been restored and are kept in very good condition. And they're free!
Highway 61: This famous runs from Memphis to Natchez, Miss. It includes more music and more legends about the blues than one will find anywhere, including the infamous crossroads that were written and sung about by Robert Johnson, and early blues master. If you're a fan, it makes for an amazing trip. (Don't expect a lot of touristy stuff — this is the real thing.)
Tunica: Gambling is illegal in Tennessee; it doesn't even have a lottery. But no more than 20 miles away is Tunica, Miss., where one can find casinos galore and gambling of all kinds. It's a favorite weekend trip of Memphians, possibly because of the naughty little pleasure of doing something you're not supposed to (although it's completely legal). In any case, it's a great place to people-watch (and lose a few dollars as your payment).
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital: When one thinks of medicine and Memphis, the first thing that comes to mind is St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Named for the patron saint of lost causes, St. Jude’s annually cares for – and, in some cases, cures — children with deadly diseases from around the world. Perhaps the most amazing thing about the hospital is that it turns no child away.
If insurance stops paying, St. Jude will take over the cost. If there is no insurance, St. Jude will pay the entire cost without any obligation to the family. There have been an enormous number of breakthroughs in pediatric medicine made by the hospital, which literally has no equal anywhere on the planet.
The founder is listed as Danny Thomas, who donated hundreds and thousands of hours in helping to open and maintain the hospital during his life. His daughter Marlo has now taken over part of this role. St. Jude is something of which the people of Memphis are rightfully proud. It is a lesson in humanity from which anyone can learn.
Education
The Memphis City Public School system is rated well among programs of its type, but as in many cases, the majority of tax dollars for education have been shifted to the outlying communities where most of the population is now living. The city has several highly respected colleges and universities, including Rhodes College, founded in 1848; Christian Brothers University, founded in 1871; LeMoyne-Owen College, founded in 1871; University of Tennessee College of Medicine, founded in 1911; and the University of Memphis, founded in 1912. There are also associate schools, such as State Technical Institute, founded in 1968, and Shelby State Community College, founded in 1972.
Where is Memphis?
Written by Stephen Heller exclusively for HomesParadise.com.
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