Memphis, Tennessee

For the ancient Egyptian capital, see Memphis, Egypt.

For other uses, see Memphis (disambiguation).

Memphis, Tennessee
City
Flag of Memphis, Tennessee Flag Official seal of Memphis, Tennessee Seal
Nickname(s):  The River City, The Bluff City
Location in Shelby County and the state of Tennessee
Country	United States
State	Tennessee
County	Shelby
Founded	1819
Incorporated	1826
Government
• Mayor	W. W. Herenton (D)
Area
• City	313.8 sq mi (763.4 km2)
• Land	302.3 sq mi (723.4 km2)
• Water	15.4 sq mi (40.0 km2)
Elevation	337 ft (103 m)
Population  (2006)
• City	670,902
• Density	2,327.4/sq mi (898.6/km2)
• Metro	1,260,581
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
Area code	901
FIPS code	47-48000Template:GR
GNIS feature ID	1326388Template:GR
Website	http://www.memphistn.gov

Memphis is a city in the southwest corner of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. Memphis rises above the Mississippi River on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff just below the mouth of the Wolf River. As of 2006, Memphis had an estimated population of 670,902, making it the largest city in the state of Tennessee, the second largest in the southeastern region (only to Jacksonville, Florida), and the 17th largest in the United States . The greater Memphis metropolitan area area, including the adjacent areas of Mississippi and Arkansas, has a population of 1,260,581. This makes Memphis the second largest metropolitan area in Tennessee, surpassed only by metropolitan Nashville. Memphis is the youngest of Tennessee's four major cities (traditionally including Knoxville, Chattanooga, and Nashville). A resident of Memphis is referred to as a Memphian and the Memphis region is known as the Mid-South.

History

Mississippi River landing, Memphis, 1906

The Memphis area was first settled by the Mississippian Culture and then by the Chickasaw Indian tribe.

European exploration came years later, with Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto believed to have visited what is now the Memphis area as early as the 1540s. By the 1680s, French explorers led by René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle built Fort Prudhomme in the vicinity, the first European settlement in what would become Memphis, predating English settlements in East Tennessee by more than 70 years.

Despite such early outposts, the land comprising present-day Memphis remained in a largely unorganized territory throughout most of the 18th century, while the boundaries of what would become Tennessee continued to evolve from its parent — the Carolina Colony, later North Carolina and South Carolina. By 1796, the community was the westernmost point of the newly admitted state of Tennessee.

Cotton merchants on Union Avenue, Memphis in 1937

Memphis was founded in 1820 by John Overton, James Winchester, and Andrew Jackson and was incorporated as a city in 1826. The city was named after the ancient capital of Egypt on the Nile River.

The cotton economy of the antebellum South depended on the forced labor of large numbers of African-American slaves, and Memphis became a major slave market. Slaves seeking their freedom turned to the Underground Railroad to escape to the free states of the North, and the Memphis home of Jacob Burkle was a way-station on their route to freedom.

At the time of the American Civil War, Memphis was already an important regional city because of its river trade and railroad connections, particularly the Memphis and Charleston Railroad, completed in 1857. Tennessee seceded from the Union in June 1861 and Memphis briefly became a Confederate stronghold. Union forces captured Memphis from Confederacy in the Battle of Memphis on June 6, 1862, and the city remained under Union control for the duration of the war, except for a dramatic raid conducted by Nathan Bedford Forrest. Memphis became a Union supply base and continued to prosper throughout the war.

Extensive yellow fever epidemics in the 1870s (1873, 1878, 1879) devastated the city. At that time it was not understood that this fatal disease was carried by a mosquito vector, so public health measures were unsuccessful. So many died or fled the epidemics that in 1879 Memphis lost its city charter and until 1893 Memphis was governed as merely a taxing district. Eventually improvements in sanitation removed the breeding grounds of the mosquito vector and the city began to grow again. In 1897, Memphis' pyramid-shaped pavilion was a conspicuous part of the Tennessee Centennial exposition.

Memphis grew into the world's largest spot cotton market (over 40% of the nation's crop was traded here) and the world's largest hardwood lumber market. Into the 1950s, it was the world's largest mule market. From the 1910s to the 1950s, Memphis was a hotbed of machine politics under the direction of E. H. "Boss" Crump. During the Crump era, Memphis developed an extensive network of parks and public works as part of the national City Beautiful Movement. During the 1960s the city was at the center of civil rights issues, notably the location of a sanitation workers' strike. Memphis is also where Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968 at the Lorraine Motel, the day after giving his prophetic "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech at the Mason Temple.

Jazz musician, Memphis, 1939

Memphis is well known for its cultural contributions to the identity of the American south. Beginning in the early 20th Century Memphis became famous for the innovative strains of African-American music, including gospel, blues, jazz, soul, and Rhythm and Blues genres, a tradition that continues to this day. Many notable blues musicians grew up in and around the Memphis and northern Mississippi, and performed there regularly. These included such musical greats as Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, B.B. King, and Howlin' Wolf. The first African American-formatted radio station, WDIA, was founded in the city in 1947 by Bert Ferguson and John Pepper, and included a young B. B. King as disc jockey. B. B. King's moniker was derived from his WDIA nickname 'Beale Street Blues Boy', a reference to Memphis' Beale Street on which many nightclubs and blues venues were located. The young Elvis Presley frequently listened to gospel and soul music, and many of his early recordings were inspired or written by African-American composers and recording artists in the Mid-South area.

In addition to a rich musical heritage, Memphis also boasts a long culinary legacy dominated by regional barbecue. Memphis barbecue is rendered distinct by its sole usage of pork (as opposed to beef), focus on rib and shoulder cuts of meat, and multiple locally-owned barbecue restaurants. Celebration of this local dish reaches its climax each year in May, when the Memphis in May Festival holds its annual World-Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest.

Geography and climate

The Mud Island monorail on Front St in downtown Memphis

Memphis is located at 35°7′3″N 89°58′16″W.Template:GR According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 763.4 km² (313.8 mi²). 723.4 km² (302.3 mi²) of it is land and 40.0 km² (15.4 mi²) of it (5.24%) is water.

Climate

Memphis has a humid subtropical climate, with four distinct seasons. The summer months (late May to late September) are persistently hot (between 68 °F [20 °C] and 95 °F [35 °C]) and humid due to moisture encroaching from the Gulf of Mexico. Afternoon thunderstorms are frequent during some summers, but usually brief, lasting no longer than an hour. Early Autumn is pleasantly drier and mild, but can remain hot until late October. Abrupt but short-lived cold snaps are common. Late Autumn is rainy and colder, December being the third rainiest month of the year. Fall foliage becomes especially vibrant after the first frost, typically November, and lasts until early December. Winters are mild, but cold snaps can occur. The official all-time record low temperature was -13.0 °F (-25.0 °C), which occurred on December 24, 1963. Mild spells are sometimes warm with temperatures as high as 75 °F (23 °C) during January and February. Snowfall is not abundant but does occur during most winters, with an annual average of 5.7 inches (14.4 cm) at the airport. Spring often begins in late February or early March, following the onset of a sharp warmup. This season is also known as "severe weather season" due to the higher frequency of tornadoes, hail, and thunderstorms producing winds greater than 58 mph (93 km/h). Average rainfall is slightly higher during the spring months (except November) than the rest of the year, but not to any noticeable extent. Historically, April is the month with the highest frequency of tornadoes, though tornadoes have occurred every month of the year. Memphis is sunny approximately 64% of the time.

Non-metric source

Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Avg high (°F)	49	54	62	73	81	89	92	90	84	74	62	52	72
Avg low (°F)	32	35	43	52	61	69	73	71	64	52	42	35	53
Rainfall (in)	4.7	4.5	5.2	5.6	4.9	3.9	3.9	3.4	3.2	2.9	4.8	5.3	52.4

Metric source

Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Avg high (°C)	9	12	16	22	27	31	33	32	28	23	16	11	22
Avg low (°C)	0	1	6	11	16	20	22	21	17	11	5	1	11
Rainfall (mm)	110	110	130	140	120	90	90	80	80	70	120	130	1330

Cityscape

View of the three bridges spanning over the Mississippi, as viewed from the Tom Lee Park, west of downtown Memphis.

The city of Memphis is located in southwestern Tennessee and sits on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River. It is the regional hub for a tri-state area of Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee. Interstate 40 enters the city from the northeast, and loops above the central part of the city, exiting across the Mississippi River and travelling to the west. Interstate 55 approaches the city from the south and connects with I-240, which completes the loop around central Memphis with I-40, and also leaves to the west. U.S. Highway 72 leaves the city traveling to the southeast. The west end of U.S. Highway 78 begins in Memphis, TN on Linden Avenue at the intersection of 2nd Street. As it leaves Memphis, US 78 follows Lamar Avenue, historically known as Pidgeon Roost Road for the nestings of passenger pigeons formerly in the vicinity. The east end of U.S. Highway 78 terminates in Charleston, South Carolina.

Aquifer

Shelby County is located over four natural aquifers, one of which is recognized as the "Memphis sand aquifer" or simply as the "Memphis aquifer." This particular water source, located some 350 to 1100 feet underground, is stated to contain more than 100 trillion US gallons (380 km³) of water by Memphis Light, Gas, and Water, which draws, verifies the cleanliness of, and distributes the water to over 250,000 customers. Furthermore, in the time since the tapping of the well in 1887, the aquifer has only descended 125 feet, suggesting a reliable water source in Memphis for years to come. Most Memphians recognize this as their primary water source, and take great regional pride in their possession of the aquifer. Memphis water is notably soft, low in mineral content, and free of toxic substances.

Sections and suburbs

See also: Memphis metropolitan area

The core of Memphis is marked by five major districts, with smaller districts lying within their borders. These are Downtown, Midtown, North Memphis, South Memphis, and East Memphis. In recent decades the city has expanded further by annexing adjacent territories, so these names can be somewhat misleading to those who are unfamiliar to the area.

Sections and neighborhoods

Annesdale Park Annesdale Snowden Belle Meade Berclair Binghamton Buntyn Central Gardens Chickasaw Gardens Cooper-Young Cordova Douglass Downtown (see Medical District, Mud Island) East Memphis Evergreen Frayser Harbor Town Hickory Hill Highpoint Terrace Hillshire Hollywood Hyde Park

Idlewild Laurelwood Lenox Orange Mound Parkway Village Raleigh Richwood North Memphis Midtown Normal Station Nutbush *Scenic Hills South Bluffs South Main Arts District South Memphis (see Southside) The Village, East Memphis Uptown Victorian Village Watkins & Brown Westwood Whitehaven Wolfchase Walkerhomes

People and culture

Demographics

City of Memphis Population by year
1830	663
1840	1,799
1850	8,841
1860	22,623
1870	40,226
1880	33,592
1890	64,495
1900	102,320
1910	131,105
1920	162,351
1930	253,140
1940	292,942
1950	396,000
1960	497,524
1970	623,520
1980	646,356
1990	610,337
2000	650,100
2006	670,902

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 650,100 people, 250,721 households, and 158,455 families residing in the city. The population density was 898.6/km² (2,327.4/mi²). There were 271,552 housing units at an average density of 375.4/km² (972.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 61.41% African American, 34.41% White, 1.46% Asian, 0.19% Native American, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.45% from other races, and 1.04% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.97% of the population.

There were 250,721 households out of which 31.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.1% were married couples living together, 23.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.8% were non-families. 30.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.9% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.18.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.9% under the age of 18, 10.8% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 19.7% from 45 to 64, and 10.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 89.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $32,285, and the median income for a family was $37,767. Males had a median income of $31,236 versus $25,183 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,838. About 17.2% of families and 20.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.1% of those under age 18 and 15.4% of those age 65 or over.

Crime

While in 2004, violent crime in Memphis was at a record low for more than a decade, that trend has changed. In 2005, Memphis was ranked the 4th most dangerous city with a population of 500,000 or higher in the U.S. Crime in Memphis increased in 2005, and has seen a dramatic rise in the first half of 2006. Nationally, cities follow similar trends, and crime numbers tend to be cyclic. Local experts and criminologists cite as possible causes to the rise in crime in Memphis to gang recruitment, and to a reduction of federal funding by 66% to the Memphis Police Department.

In the first half of 2006, robbery of businesses increased 52.5%, robbery of individuals increased 28.5%, and homicide increased 18% over the same period of 2005. The Memphis Police Department has responded with the initiation of Operation Blue C.R.U.S.H. (Crime Reduction Using Statistical History), which targets crime hotspots and repeat offenders. Memphis ended 2005 with 154 murders, 2006 ended with 160 murders. In 2006, the Memphis metropolitan area ranked second most dangerous in the nation.

Metropolitan area

Hernando de Soto Bridge and the Memphis skyline photographed from the Arkansas side.

The Memphis Metropolitan Area (MSA), the 42nd largest in the United States, has a 2003 population of 1,239,337, and includes the Tennessee counties of Shelby, Tipton, and Fayette, as well as the Mississippi counties of DeSoto, Marshall, Tate, and Tunica, and the Arkansas county of Crittenden.

Cultural events and fairs

One of the largest celebrations in Memphis is Memphis in May. The month-long series of events promotes Memphis' heritage and outreach of its people far beyond the city's borders. Each year, Memphis in May honors a different country, highlighting various aspects of the honored nation's history and culture. Since its founding, the economic and educational impact of Memphis in May has given a significant boost to the city each spring. The celebration includes a diverse mix, beginning during the first weekend of the month at Tom Lee Park, the site of the Beale Street Music Festival. During International Week, the city focuses on its honored country, part of a larger program in coordination with area schools to broaden cultural awareness among students. Other signature events of Memphis in May include the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest (the largest pork barbecue cooking contest in the world) and the closing event of the month — a performance of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra on the river called the Sunset Symphony.

Carnival Memphis (formerly known as the Memphis Cotton Carnival), is a series of parties and festivities staged every year by the Carnival Memphis Association and its member krewes (similar to that of Mardi Gras) during the early summer. Carnival salutes various aspects of Memphis and its industries, and is reigned over by the current year's secretly selected King & Queen of Carnival. Fall brings the Mid-South Fair to the city each year.

An arts festival, the Cooper-Young Festival, is held annually in September in the Cooper-Young district of Midtown Memphis. The event draws artists from all over North America, and includes art sales, contests, and displays. Since the late 1980s the Cooper-Young Festival has grown into one of Memphis' most anticipated events, with over 50,000 guests in recent years enjoying a mix of art, music and crafts presented by over 300 artisans from around the country. The festival celebrates the arts, people, culture and Memphis heritage. In addition to art, the festival includes sales of clothing, jewelry, live music, and gay novelty items.

As a result of Hurricane Katrina, in August 2005 Memphis co-hosted the Voodoo Music Experience, normally the centerpiece of Halloween festivities in New Orleans, Louisiana. In 2006 the annual musical event returned to New Orleans.

The arts

Memphis is the home of founders and establishers of various American music genres, including Blues, Gospel, Rock n' Roll, and "sharecropper" country music (in contrast to the "rhinestone" country sound of Nashville). Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, and B. B. King were all getting their starts in Memphis in the 1950s. They are respectively dubbed the "King" of Country, Rock n' Roll, and Blues. Other famous musicians who either grew up or got their starts in the Memphis area include the Box Tops, the Gentrys, the Grifters, Aretha Franklin, Carl Perkins, John Lee Hooker, Justin Timberlake, Howlin' Wolf, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Charlie Rich, Lucero (band), Al Green, Muddy Waters, Big Star, Tina Turner, Roy Orbison, Willie Mae Ford Smith, Sam Cooke, Booker T. and the MGs, Otis Redding, Arthur Lee, The Blackwood Brothers, Isaac Hayes, Rufus Thomas, Carla Thomas, The Staple Singers, Sam and Dave, Three 6 Mafia, DJ Squeeky, 8 Ball & MJG,Yo Gotti, Elise Neal, Shawn Lane, Terry Manning, The Sylvers, Steve Cropper, Anita Ward and "Father of the Blues" W.C. Handy.

The Highland Strip is an area located near the University of Memphis and is known as a haven for the college crowd. Venues such as Newby's bring in local musicians as well as nationally touring acts on a weekly basis.

Well-known writers from Memphis include Civil War historian Shelby Foote and playwright Tennessee Williams, who wrote his first play on Snowden Street and saw it performed on Glenview Street.

Memphis has also had a significant impact in the world of photography, William Eggleston, the pioneer of color photography as a serious artistic medium and considered one of the greatest photographers of all time, still lives and works in Memphis. A number of younger photographers, including Huger Foote, are Memphians. Some other notable Memphis photographers are fashion photographer Jack Robinson and civil rights-era artist Ernest C. Withers.

In the last decade, the art scene in Memphis has exploded. The independent art scene has centered primarily in South Main, located in downtown Memphis on the trolley line. More than a dozen art galleries have moved into the neighborhood, fueling a redevelopment boom that has expanded into new residential construction. Perhaps the most interesting conversion has been the Power House, a former power plant near Central Station that has been transformed into contemporary art space. The Cooper-Young neighborhood in Midtown is also home to several art galleries. The Edge is a nascent arts neighborhood, located at the edge of downtown near Madison Avenue, Marshall, and Union Avenue. The Edge is home to Memphis' Black Repertory Theater, world-famous Sun Studios, and Delta Axis, among others.

Media

The Memphis regional market is the forty-fourth largest designated market area (DMA) in the nation, with 657,670 homes (0.597% of the total U.S.). Several media outlets in print, broadcast and internet cover varying segments of the market.

Newspapers

• The Commercial Appeal — daily (Sunday-Saturday); general news. The Commercial Appeal is Memphis' largest and most widely circulated newspaper.
• The Daily News — daily (Monday-Friday); legal records.
• Memphis Business Journal — weekly; business and economic news.
• The Memphis Flyer — weekly; politics, arts and entertainment, lifestyles.
• The Shelby Sun-Times — weekly; East Memphis and eastern Shelby County community news.
• The Tri-State Defender — weekly; African-American community news.
• La Prensa Latina — weekly; Hispanic community news, Spanish-English bilingual.

Magazines

• The Downtowner - monthly; community interests; focus on the downtown area.
• Main Street Journal - monthly; news, entertainment and politics.
• Memphis Magazine - monthly; general community interest, arts and entertainment, lifestyles.
• Memphis Parent - monthly; family issues and interests.
• RSVP Magazine — monthly; society and philanthropy events.

Television

A wide variety of local television stations also serves the market area. The major network television affiliates are WMC 5 (NBC), WREG 3 (CBS), WPTY 24 (ABC), WHBQ 13 (FOX), WLMT 30 (CW)), and WPXX 50 (MyNetworkTV). The area is also served by two PBS stations: WKNO 10 and WLJT 11.

Radio

Diverse formats can be found on the radio dial throughout the Memphis area. Two of the several stations of note include WMC-FM (99.7 FM, popularly known as FM 100), a leading Hot AC station; and the historic WDIA-AM (1070 AM), the first African-American-operated radio station in the US. WHER the first "All-Girl" radio station was founded in Memphis by record producer Sam Phillips in 1955. WHBQ-AM and WMPS-AM broadcasting personalities Rick Dees, Wink Martindale, and Scott Shannon are now nationally known.

Religion

Asian-American Tombstones in Elmwood Cemetery, Memphis

Since its founding, Memphis has been home to persons of many different faiths. An 1870 map of Memphis shows religious buildings of the Baptist, Catholic, Episcopal, Methodist, Presbyterian, Congregational, and Christian denominations and a Jewish congregation. Today, places of worship exist for Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus.

Baron Hirsch Synagogue, which was founded in Memphis in the late 19th century, has the largest congregation of Orthodox Jews in the United States.

Bellevue Baptist Church is a Southern Baptist megachurch in Memphis that was founded in the early 20th century. Its current membership is approximately 27,000. For many years, it was led by Adrian Rogers, a former three term president of the Southern Baptist Convention.

The international headquarters of the Church of God in Christ, one of the fastest growing sects of Christianity and the largest Pentecostal denomination in the United States, is also in Memphis. The headquarters, Mason Temple (named after the denomination's founder, Charles Harrison Mason), is where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech the day before he was killed.

Tallest buildings

Name	Stories	Height (in feet)
One Beale (proposed)	30	435
100 North Main	37	430
Morgan Keegan Tower	23	403
Clark Tower Executive Suites	32	400
One Commerce Square	31	396
Sterick Building	31	365

Economy

The city's central location has led to much of its business development. Located on the Mississippi River and intersected by two Interstate highways and seven major U.S. highways, Memphis is ideally located for commerce among the transportation and shipping industry. The city is also home to the world's busiest cargo airport, in terms of tonnage, which serves as the primary hub for FedEx shipping. Due to its location, more major metro areas can be reached overnight from Memphis than any other city in the central U.S. Memphis has also developed as a major manufacturing center of textiles, heating equipment, pianos, and automobile and truck parts. Memphis Light, Gas and Water ("MLG&W") is also one of the largest municipal utilities in the United States.

Memphis is home to a growing number of nationally and internationally known corporations, including approximately 150 businesses from 22 countries. This includes the corporate headquarters of FedEx Corporation, AutoZone Incorporated and International Paper. It is also, home to Fred's Stores headquarters, a company which was named as one of the five fastest growing chain-stores by Forbes Magazine. Other corporations with a major presence in the area include Back Yard Burgers, Belz Enterprises, Buckeye Technologies, First Horizon National Corporation, Guardsmark, Hohenberg Bros. Co., Harrah's, Hilton, ServiceMaster, and Morgan Keegan & Company, Inc. Northwest Airlines also operates a major hub at Memphis International Airport, with daily nonstop flights to Amsterdam.

The entertainment and film industry has also developed in recent years in the city. Several major motion pictures have been filmed in Memphis in recent years, including Making the Grade (1984), U2: Rattle & Hum, (1988) Mystery Train (1989), Great Balls of Fire! (1989), Trespass, (1991) The Firm (1993), A Family Thing (1996), The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996), The Rainmaker (1997), Cast Away (2000), The Queens of Comedy (2001), 21 Grams (2003), Hustle & Flow (2005), Walk the Line (2005), Forty Shades Of Blue (2005), and Black Snake Moan (2007).

The city appeared in the top eight of the 50 best major metro areas in the U.S. for starting and growing a business in 2000, according to Inc. magazine. Southern Business and Development magazine ranked Memphis as one of the most successful models for economic development in the south, also recognized the city as one of the top ten markets over the past decade. In October 2002, Ebony Magazine has cited Memphis as a city for its outstanding African-American leadership. Memphis also had the highest rate of high technology start-up operations over the last three years among the nation's 60 largest metro areas, according to Brandow Company research.

Fortune 500 Companies

Memphis is the corporate international headquarters of several corporations. Two of them, FedEx and International Paper, are 2006 members of the Fortune 100. Memphis has four members in the Fortune 500: AutoZone, ServiceMaster, FedEx, and International Paper. Two other businesses, First Horizon National Corporation (575) and Fred's Stores are in the Fortune 1000.

Infrastructure

Government

Memphis is governed by a mayor and thirteen council members, six elected at large from throughout the city and seven elected from geographic districts. In 1995, the council adopted a new district plan which changed council positions to all districts. This plan provides for nine districts, seven with one representative each and two districts with three representatives each.

The current mayor of the city of Memphis is Dr. W. W. Herenton, a formidable and controversial local political figure. Dr. Herenton is currently serving his fourth consecutive term as Mayor. He was elected for the first time in 1991, when he became Memphis' first elected black mayor. (J.O. Patterson, Jr., had previously served as mayor on an interim basis, thus preventing Herenton from actually being the first black mayor.) Prior to his election, Dr. Herenton served for 12 years as the superintendent of Memphis City Schools.

In recent years, there has been discussion of the potential of a merger of Shelby County and Memphis into a metropolitan government, similar to that in Nashville.

Memphis politics have been very racially--and ideologically--polarized for many years. Most whites have supported the Republican Party since the 1960s, while most blacks have remained loyal to the Democratic Party. A major influence in Memphis' black politics is the Ford family of funeral directors, whose political prominence dates to the Crump era. The best-known member of this family is Harold Ford, Sr., who represented most of Memphis in the U.S. House from 1975 to 1997. His brother, John, was a state senator for 30 years and is currently at the center of the Tennessee Waltz scandal.

The greater part of Memphis is within the Ninth Congressional District, which is represented by the liberal Democrat Steve Cohen. Cohen is the first white Democrat to represent a significant portion of Memphis in over 40 years. The previous representative, Harold Ford, Jr., unsuccessfully ran for the Senate seat vacated by Bill Frist. Much of east Memphis is in the 7th District, represented by the conservative Republican Marsha Blackburn.

Academic institutions

Early nursing class in Memphis.

The city is served by Memphis City Schools while surrounding suburbs in other areas of Shelby County are served by Shelby County Schools.

Colleges and universities located in the city include the University of Memphis (formerly Memphis State University), Rhodes College (formerly Southwestern at Memphis), Le Moyne-Owen College, Crichton College, and Christian Brothers University. Some smaller specialty colleges are also located in Memphis, including Harding University Graduate School of Religion, Memphis Theological Seminary, Memphis College of Art, and Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary. The major community college is Southwest Tennessee Community College.

Memphis is also home to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, a world class medical research facility. 1996 Nobel Laureate Peter Doherty conducts research at this facility. There are also several other major medical teaching institutions in the city, including the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (Colleges of Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy and Allied Health Sciences), the Southern College of Optometry and the Baptist Memorial College of Health Sciences.

The University of Tennessee College of Dentistry was founded in 1878 making it the oldest dental college in the South, and the third oldest public college of dentistry in the United States. The Memphis Training School for Nurses, progenitor of the School of Nursing, was chartered September 28, 1887.

Transportation

Memphis trolley on the Riverfront loop

Interstate highways I-40, its spur highway I-240 and I-55 are the main freeways in the Memphis area. The interstates of I-40 and I-55 (along with rail lines) cross the Mississippi at Memphis into the state of Arkansas. Future interstate highways I-22 and I-69 are also planned to converge into the Memphis area.

Amtrak's City of New Orleans stops at the Memphis, Tennessee station in 2005.

A large volume of railroad freight traffic moves through Memphis, thanks to two Mississippi River railroad crossings and the convergence of east-west rail routes with north-south routes. Memphis had two major rail passenger stations, Memphis Union Station, razed in early 1969, and Memphis Central Station , which has been renovated and serves Amtrak's City of New Orleans route between Chicago and New Orleans. Amtrak Train 59, the southbound City of New Orleans, is scheduled to depart Memphis at 6:50am daily with service to Greenwood, Yazoo City, Jackson, Hazlehurst, Brookhaven, McComb, Hammond, and New Orleans. Amtrak Train 58, the northbound City of New Orleans, is scheduled to depart Memphis at 10:40pm daily with service to Newbern-Dyersburg, Fulton, Carbondale, Centralia, Effingham, Mattoon, Champaign-Urbana, Kankakee, Homewood, and Chicago.

Public transportation in the Memphis area is provided by the Memphis Area Transit Authority, which provides the area with buses and a downtown trolley system that is also in the process of expanding into a regional system.

Memphis is served by Memphis International Airport, which handles more cargo than any other airport in the world as of 2007.

Bridges

File:154146pv.jpg

Memphis-Arkansas Memorial Bridge, Frisco Bridge, Harahan Bridge

Four rail and highway bridges cross the Mississippi River at Memphis. They are, in order of construction: the Frisco, Harahan, Memphis-Arkansas, and Hernando de Soto Bridges. The piers of the first three bridges had to be lined up for river navigation as they were built side-by-side at a narrow point in the river.

The Frisco Bridge (May 12, 1892) was the longest bridge in North America when it opened and was originally called the Great Bridge at Memphis. This cantilever truss steel railroad bridge was built between 1888–1892. It was designed by George S. Morison, who also designed the Taft Bridge in Washington D.C.

The Harahan Bridge (July 14, 1916) is a trestle railroad bridge to which later were added narrow, one-way wooden cantilevering roadways along the outsides of bridge so it could be used for cars. In 1928, sparks from a train ignited and set on fire to one of the wooden plank roads. Today, only trains use the Harahan Bridge but there are plans to add a pedestrian walkway and bike path.

View of the Hernando de Soto Bridge from the Tennessee side of the river.

The Memphis-Arkansas Bridge (December 17, 1949), originally named E. H. Crump Bridge, carries Interstate 55 and has a pedestrian walkway. The bridge was built between 1945–1949 and is the longest Warren truss- style bridge in the United States. It is listed on the National Historic Register.

The Hernando de Soto Bridge (August 2, 1973) with its steel arches carries I-40. In 1986, "M" shaped lights became part of the bridge and a Memphis landmark. The Guinness Book of World Records list the deSoto bridge for its unique structural "letter" shape. In 2001 the mysterious disappearance and death of Harvard University biophysicist Don Wiley, whose abandoned car was found on the bridge, brought the Hernando de Soto Bridge national headlines.

Name	Nickname	Length (in feet)	Date Opened
Frisco Bridge			12 May, 1892
Harahan Bridge			14 July, 1916
Memphis-Arkansas Memorial Bridge	"Old Bridge"	5220.7 ft. long	17 December, 1949
Hernando de Soto Bridge	"New Bridge"; "Dolly Parton Bridge";"M Bridge"	3.3 miles long	2 August, 1973

Tourism and recreation

Museums and art collections

Many museums of interest are located in Memphis, including the National Civil Rights Museum, located in the former Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. It includes a historical overview of the American civil rights movement, ranging from the abolishment of slavery to more modern themes such the GLBT movement. On Martin Luther King Day, a yearly parade and celebration happens outside the room where Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot.

The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, founded in 1916, is the oldest and largest fine art museum in the state of Tennessee. The Brooks' permanent collection includes works from the Italian Renaissance and Baroque eras to British, French Impressionists, and 20th-century artists (including regional artists like Memphian Carroll Cloar). It is located in Overton Park, which is also home to the Memphis Zoo, the Overton Shell Auditorium, and the Memphis College of Art.

A smaller art museum, the Dixon Gallery and Gardens in east Memphis focuses on impressionism and has several works by Monet, Degas and Renoir. It also includes four outdoor gardens with Greco-Roman sculptures.

Downtown Memphis is home to the Peabody Place Museum, the largest collection of 19th century Chinese art in the nation. The Art Museum at the University of Memphis is home to the largest collection of Egyptian antiquities in the South.

The Children's Museum of Memphis offers interactive and educational activities for children to take part in. Permanent exhibits include a skyscraper maze, an airplane cockpit (donated by FedEx), a fire engine, an art studio, grocery store, and, most recently, a mechanic's garage sponsored by AutoZone, Inc.

File:Elvis publicity photo.jpg

Young Elvis Presley

Graceland, the former home of Rock 'n' Roll legend Elvis Presley, is one of the most visited houses in the United States (second only to the White House), attracting over 600,000 domestic and international visitors a year. Featured at Graceland are two of Presley's private airplanes, his extensive automobile and motorcycle collection and other Elvis memorabilia. Elvis, along with family members including his mother and father, are buried next to the Graceland estate in the Meditation Garden. Celebrations at Graceland include the annual Graceland Christmas lighting ceremony in November, Elvis' birthday in January and Elvis Week in August, commemorating Presley's life and career on the anniversary of his death. The Heartbreak Hotel, located across the street, is named after a popular Elvis hit. Graceland is now a National Historic Landmark.

Also commemorating the city's musical heritage, the Stax Museum of American Soul Music is home to a broad collection of artifacts, photographs, exhibits, commentary, and music. Along with the legendary Stax Sound, the museum also spotlights the music of Muscle Shoals, Motown, Hi and Atlantic. This year, Memphis Celebrates 50 Years of Soul.

The National Ornamental Metal Museum is the only museum in North America dedicated to the preservation and exhibition of fine metalwork. The site is situated on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River and includes historic buildings, a working blacksmith shop and foundry, and a sculpture garden. Every October, the Museum hosts an annual Repair Days Weekend, during which the public can get broken metal items fixed and observe skilled metalsmiths at work.

The Pink Palace Museum and Planetarium, serves as the Mid-South's major science and historical museum, and features exhibits ranging from archeology to chemistry. It includes America's third largest planetarium and an IMAX Theatre. The Pink Palace also contains a variety of exhibits relating to Memphis history. One exhibit features a replica of the original Piggly Wiggly store, the first self-service grocery store, commemorating the invention of the supermarket by Memphian Clarence Saunders in 1916. Saunders built the Pink Palace mansion as his own residence in 1923, but lost the home because of financial reversals on Wall Street. The original main entrance lobby of the Pink Palace features a three-panel mural by Memphis artist Burton Callicott. The murals commemorate the discovery of the Mississippi River near the site of Memphis by the Spanish conquistador Hernando DeSoto and his men and their encounters with Native Americans. The three murals were commissioned in 1934 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Callicott, who died in 2004, taught at the Memphis College of Art.

The Memphis Walk of Fame is a public exhibit located in the Beale Street historic district, which is modelled after the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but is designated exclusively for Memphis musicians, singers, writers, and composers. Honorees include W. C. Handy, B. B. King, Bobby Blue Bland, and Alberta Hunter among others.

The Gibson Guitar Factory & Showcase is a guitar manufacturing plant where visitors can learn how the famous Gibsons are meticulously crafted, and listen to live showcases of local and world-renowned talent. Famous Gibson musicians include B. B. King, Les Paul, Chuck Berry, Carl Perkins, and Scotty Moore.

Mud Island Mississippi River Park. View shows a model of the City of Memphis and part of the scale model of the Mississipi River.

Mud Island River Park and Mississippi River Museum is located on Mud Island in downtown Memphis. The Park is noted for its River Walk, a 2112:1 scale (30 inches=1 mile) working model showing 1000 miles of the Lower Mississippi River, from Cairo, Illinois to New Orleans, Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico. The Walk stretches roughly 0.5 miles, allowing visitors to walk in the water and see models of cities and bridges along the way. The Gulf of Mexico section was once used as a waterpark named Bud Boogie Beach. The museum offers 18 galleries of regional history and features an indoor life-size replica of a civil war era riverboat.

Victorian Village is a historic district of Memphis featuring a series of fine Victorian-era mansions, some of which are open to the public as museums.

The Cotton Museum, located in Memphis, Tennessee, USA, is a museum that opened in March 2006 on the old trading floor of the Memphis Cotton Exchange at 65 Union Avenue in downtown Memphis.

The mission of the Cotton Museum at the Memphis Cotton Exchange is to share the story of the cotton industry and its many influences on the daily life, arts, and the development of this region. The museum highlights artifacts through interpretive exhibits, educational programs, and research archives that help tell the story of cotton and cotton trading, from crop to becoming fabric.

The Cotton Museum preserves the history of the cotton business and it's impact on economics, history, society & culture, and science & technology. It is an excellent field trip for middle schoolers and older, and a great beginning for tourists, giving visitors context for other attractions in the city.

Other museums in the area include the Fire Museum and Memphis Rock 'n' Soul Museum.

Performing arts

The Memphis area is home to many of West Tennessee's larger performing arts organizations, such as the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, which performs at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts downtown. Ballet Memphis is the region's only professional ballet company and performs at the Orpheum Theatre. The Ford Foundation awarded Ballet Memphis one of its prestigious challenge grants in 2001, and has praised the organization as a national treasure of the cultural world. Opera Memphis, the region's opera company, performs at the Clark Opera Memphis Center in East Memphis. Other major theatres in the city include Playhouse on the Square, Circuit Playhouse, Theatre Memphis, and Theatre Works. Memphis also features classes and performances from the Memphis Improvisational Theatre. The Memphis Comedy & Improv Alliance provides information on improv and comedy performances throughout the area.

Parks, gardens, and cemeteries

View from the Riverfront Park onto the Memphis skyline, the Pyramid Arena in the background

Major Memphis parks include W.C. Handy Park, Riverfront Park, Tom Lee Park, Audubon Park, Overton Park including the Old Forest Arboretum of Overton Park, the Lichterman Nature Center, and the Memphis Botanic Garden. Shelby Farms park, located at the eastern edge of the city, is one of the largest urban parks in America. Historic Elmwood Cemetery is one of the first rural garden cemeteries in the South, and contains the Carlisle S. Page Arboretum.

Other points of interest

Blues fans can visit Beale Street, where a young B.B. King used to play his guitar. He occasionally still appears there at the club bearing his name, which he partially owns. Street performers play live music, and bars and clubs feature live entertainment around the clock. Today, Beale Street is the most visited tourist attraction in the state of Tennessee, and considered to be the busiest street in the southern United States, behind only Bourbon Street in New Orleans.

Pyramid Arena

Sun studios was where Elvis first recorded "My Happiness" and "That's When Your Heartaches Begin". Other famous musicians who got their start at Sun include Johnny Cash, Rufus Thomas, Charlie Rich, Howlin' Wolf, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis.

The Center for Southern Folklore highlights southern artists and musicians through public performances and exhibitions. The Center's archival collections contain thousands of photographs, recordings, and films. The Memphis Music and Heritage Festival, held each Labor Day weekend, is hosted an organized by the Center.

Live From Memphis highlights local artists, musicians, and filmmakers through various public events and online, where you can always catch a large and varied collection of Memphis arts in all of its forms. The Music Video Showcase, held each October in conjunction with the Indie Memphis Film Festival, is hosted an organized by Live From Memphis, as is the Li'l Film Fest, a quarterly themed-based festival.

The Memphis Zoo, which is located in midtown Memphis, features many exhibits of mammals, birds, fish, and amphibians from all over the world. The most popular exhibits are the Cat House, which is the fifth oldest in the United States, and the zoo's panda exhibit, which is one of only a handful in North America.

Adventure River Water Park in the Eastern part of the city and Libertyland Amusement Park, formerly located at the Midsouth Fairgrounds, have been closed. The Libertyland rides were sold after a long legal battle. Maywood Beach, a water park in Memphis suburb of Olive Branch, Mississippi, closed in 2003. This left the entire metro area without a Water park or Amusement park.

Other Memphis attractions include the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium (also at the Midsouth Fairgrounds), Mud Island, Detour Memphis - an art and performing space, the Lichterman Nature Center - a nature learning center, the Pyramid Arena, FedExForum, and the Memphis Queen riverboat cruises.

Sports

Memphis is home to several professional sports teams. The Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association is the only one of the "big four" major sports leagues in the city. The team plays at the FedExForum downtown. Several minor league teams also call Memphis home, including the Memphis Redbirds of the Pacific Coast League, a Triple A baseball farm team for the St. Louis Cardinals. The Redbirds play at AutoZone Park, a state-of-the-art baseball-only venue downtown.

The Memphis RiverKings are a professional hockey team of the Central Hockey League. The Memphis Panthers are a football team that play in the North American Football League. The RiverKings play at the DeSoto Civic Center in nearby DeSoto County, Mississippi. The Panthers play at Halle Stadium. Memphis is also home to the Memphis Blues, a professional Rugby team, which plays at Tobey Field in Midtown, Memphis.

Memphis also has a fertile history when it comes to pro wrestling. The sport's greatest name to come out of the city is Jerry "The King" Lawler. Other greats who started out in Memphis include Hulk Hogan, The Undertaker, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Mick Foley, "Macho Man" Randy Savage", and Ric Flair. Memphis has two pro-wrestling organizations, Power-Pro Wrestling which is filmed in the Cook Convention Center in downtown Memphis, and Memphis Wrestling which is filmed in the Desoto Civic Center in Desoto County.

Memphis is also home to Memphis Motorsports Park, just north of the city on the outskirts of Memphis and Millington, TN. The venue has a 3/4-mile paved oval track that annually hosts 2 NASCAR-sanctioned events, a Busch-series race (the Sam's Town 250) and a Craftsman Truck series race (the O'Reilly 200). It also has a 1/4-mile drag strip that annually hosts the NHRA POWERade O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals, as well as locally-sanctioned events that run from February to November.

Golf is a very popular form of recreation in Memphis, which has eight municipal courses. There are over 45 public and private golf courses in the Memphis Metropolitan Area. Memphis is home to the annual Stanford St. Jude Championship, a regular part of the PGA TOUR.

Club Sport League Venue Memphis Grizzlies Basketball National Basketball Association FedExForum Memphis Redbirds Baseball Pacific Coast League AutoZone Park Memphis RiverKings Ice Hockey Central Hockey League DeSoto Civic Center Memphis Panthers Football North American Football League Halle Stadium Memphis Blues Rugby USA Rugby South Tobey Field

See also

• List of famous people from Memphis
• List of mayors of Memphis
• Memphis Mafia

Sister cities

Memphis has two sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI):

• Kanifing (Gambia)
• Kaolack (Senegal)

Geo-Locations

Latitude Longitude

35°09′11″N 90°03′53″W - Hernando de Soto Bridge (I40)

35°09′08″N 90°02′40″W - St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

35°08′52″N 90°03′06″W - 100 North Main Street, Tallest Building in Memphis

35°08′22″N 90°03′06″W - Beale Street Visitors Center

35°08′20″N 90°02′15″W - Sun Studio

35°08′03″N 90°03′28″W - Lorraine Motel

35°07′23″N 90°04′31″W - National Ornamental Metal Museum

35°02′51″N 90°01′29″W - Graceland Mansion

External links

• Official City Government Website
• Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau
• Memphis Chamber of Commerce
• Template:Wikitravel

References

Template:USLargestCities