Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Nickname(s): The River City, The Bluff City | |
 Location in Shelby County and the state of Tennessee | |
| Country State Counties | United States Tennessee Shelby County |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | W. W. Herenton (D) |
| Population (2005) | |
| • City | 680,768 |
| • Metro | 1,230,303 |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (CST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| Website | http://www.cityofmemphis.org/ |
Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, of which it is the county seat. As of 2005, the city had a population of 680,768 within the city limits, making it the largest city in the state of Tennessee and the 17th largest in the United States. The greater Memphis metropolitan area had a population of 1,230,303. This makes Memphis the second largest metropolitan area in Tennessee, surpassed only by metropolitan Nashville. Memphis is on the Lower Chickasaw Bluff above the Mississippi River, at the mouth of the Wolf River.
History
The Memphis area was first settled by the Chickasaw 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. [1]
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.
Memphis was founded in 1819 and incorporated as a city in 1826, taking its name from the ancient capital of Egypt. At the conclusion of the Battle of Memphis on June 6, 1862 during the American Civil War, Union forces captured Memphis from Confederate control. Yellow fever epidemics in the 1870s greatly reduced the population for many years thereafter. In 1897, Memphis' pyramid-shaped pavilion was a conspicuous part of the Tennessee Centennial exposition. From the 1910s to the 1950s, Memphis was a hotbed of machine politics under the direction of E. H. "Boss" Crump. The city was at the center of civil rights issues during the 1960's, notably as the location of a sanitation workers' strike. Memphis is also known as the place where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968 at the Lorraine Motel.
Geography and climate
Memphis is located at 35°7'3" North, 89°58'16" West (35.117365, -89.971068)Template:GR. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 763.4 km² (294.8 mi²). 723.4 km² (279.3 mi²) of it is land and 40.0 km² (15.4 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 5.24% water.
Climate
Memphis has a mid-latitude, moist subtropical climate, with four distinct seasons. There are mild winters and hot summers. Spring and autumn can be varied and unpredictable with severe weather, such as thunderstorms and strong winds. Summers are very humid due to moisture encroaching from the Gulf of Mexico (often from the remnant effects of hurricanes), even though the temperature rarely gets very high. This makes it feel hotter than it is. Winters, by contrast, can be chilly with temperatures below freezing occurring fairly regularly. Average annual snowfall is 5.7 inches (14.4 cm). There is plenty of rain to keep the region green. Memphis has sun for approximately 64% of the year. The highest recorded temperature was 108.0°F (42.2°C) on July 13, 1980. The lowest recorded temperature was -13.0°F (-25.0°C) on December 24, 1963.
Cityscape
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.
Sections/ Suburbs
Memphis is marked by six major districts, with smaller districts lying within their borders. These are Downtown, Midtown, North Memphis (Raleigh), South Memphis, Southeast Memphis (Cordova), and East Memphis.
Sections/ Neighborhoods
- Annesdale Park
- Annesdale Snowden
- Berclair
- Central Gardens
- Chickasaw Gardens
- Cordova (Southeast Memphis)
- Douglass
- Downtown (see Medical District, Mud Island)
- East Memphis
- Evergreen
- Frayser
- Harbor Town
- Hickory Hill
- High Point Terrace
- Idlewild
- Lenox
- Midtown (see Cooper-Young)
- Orange Mound
- Raleigh (North Memphis)
- South Bluffs
- South Memphis (see Southside)
- Uptown
- Victorian Village
- Whitehaven
Suburbs
People and culture
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there are 650,100 people, 250,721 households, and 158,455 families residing in the city. The population density is 898.6/km² (2,327.4/mi²). There are 271,552 housing units at an average density of 375.4/km² (972.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 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. 2.97% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 250,721 households out of which 31.3% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.1% are married couples living together, 23.8% have a female householder with no husband present, and 36.8% are non-families. 30.5% of all households are made up of individuals and 8.9% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.52 and the average family size is 3.18.
In the city the population is 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 are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 32 years. For every 100 females there are 89.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 84.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $32,285, and the median income for a family is $37,767. Males have a median income of $31,236 versus $25,183 for females. The per capita income for the city is $17,838. 20.6% of the population and 17.2% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 30.1% of those under the age of 18 and 15.4% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Metropolitan area
The Memphis Metropolitan Area (MSA), the 41st 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. 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 honors a foreign 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 FedEx St. Jude Classic (a PGA Tour golf tournament), and the closing event of the month — a performance of 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.
In the Cooper-Young district of Midtown Memphis, the Cooper-Young Festival, an art festival which is also held annually on the intersection of Cooper Street/Young Street, and draws in artists from all over North America, and includes art sales, contests, and displays. In addition to art, the festival includes sales of clothing, jewelry, live music, and gay novelty items.
As a result of Hurricane Katrina's impact on New Orleans in August 2005, Memphis became the first city to co-host the Voodoo Music Experience, a gathering of musicians that typically is a centerpiece of New Orleans' Halloween festivities. Performers gathered both in New Orleans' Riverview Park and in Memphis' Auto Zone Park in late October 2005. Plans have not yet been announced regarding the 2006 event.
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 Aretha Franklin, Carl Perkins, John Lee Hooker, Justin Timberlake, Howlin' Wolf, Jerry Lee Lewis, Al Green, Muddy Waters, Tina Turner, Roy Orbison, Willie Mae Ford Smith, Sam Cooke, Booker T. and the MGs, Otis Redding, The Blackwood Brothers, Isaac Hayes, Rufus Thomas,Three 6 Mafia, Eightball & MJG, the Box Tops, the Gentrys, Isaac Hayes, and "Father of the Blues" W.C. Handy.
"One Last Bridge," written by native Memphian, composer and pianist David Saks and performed by the late Tommy Ruble, was Memphis's official song of 1990.
Memphis is also a literary mecca. Tennessee Williams had his first play written and performed in Memphis (on Snowden Street and Glenview Street respectively). William Faulkner wrote most of his literary works in Oxford, Mississippi. Alex Haley, author of Autobiography of Malcolm X and Roots, was from Henning, Tennessee.
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 CA, as it is popularly known, 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
- Memphis Magazine — monthly; general community interest, arts and entertainment, lifestyles.
- Memphis Parent — monthly; family issues and interests.
- RSVP Memphis — 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), WPTY 24 (ABC), WREG 3 (CBS), WHBQ 13 (FOX), and WLMT 30 (UPN & (WB)). 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), a leading Hot AC station; and the historic WDIA-AM (1070 AM), the first African-American-operated radio station in the US. WHBQ-AM and WMPS-AM had radio personalities such as Rick Dees, Wink Martindale, and Scott Shannon who formerly worked there that are now known nationally in radio and broadcasting.
Tallest Buildings
| Name | Stories | Height (in feet) |
|---|---|---|
| 100 North Main | 37 | 430 |
| Commerce Square | 31 | 396 |
| Sterick Building | 31 | 365 |
| Clark Tower | 32 | 365 |
| Morgan Keegan Tower | 23 | 341 |
Tourism/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. A yearly parade and celebration happens outside the room where Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot, on Martin Luther King Day.
The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, founded in 1916, serves as the region's major art museum. It is located in Overton Park, in Midtown and is adjoined to Memphis College of Art, which also contains a small gallery of student-made artwork.
A smaller art museum, the Dixon Gallery and Gardens focuses on impressionism and has several works by Monet, Degas and Renoir, and aside from impressionist artwork, includes four outdoor gardens, with Greco-Roman sculpture.
The Children's Museum of Memphis features many interactive exhibits, including a simulated grocery store, a wood skyscraper maze, roughly 5 stories high, and full-scale models of a fire truck and an airplane fuselage.
Graceland, which is the second most visited house in the United States (after the White House), attracts over 20,000 individual visitors a year, from many different countries. It is the former home of Rock n Roll legend Elvis Presley, and contains a guided tour of the estate, which includes Elvis memorabilia, and facts, and a hotel called Heartbreak Hotel located across the street named after a popular Elvis hit. Celebrations include the annual Graceland Christmas lighting, and memorial services on the week of Elvis's birthday.
Owing to the city's musical heritage, the Stax Museum of American Soul Music[2] 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.
The National Ornamental Metal Museum[3] 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 museum, and features exhibits ranging in topics from archeology to chemistry. It also includes America's third largest planetarium, as well as an IMAX Theatre.
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 blues musicians, and composers. Names include B.B. King, and Aretha Franklin, among others.
Mud Island Mississippi River Park and Museum is located on Mud Island in downtown Memphis, and includes an actual-sized Titanic replica, and facts on the Mississippi River. The Park is noted for its River Walk, a 2112:1 scale (30 inches=1 mile) model showing 1000 miles of the Lower Mississippi River, from Cairo, Illinois to New Orleans, Louisiana. The Walk stretches about 0.5 miles, allowing visitors to walk in the water and see models of cities and bridges along the way.
Other museums in the area include the Fire Museum[4], the Memphis Museum Hall of Fame, Gibson Guitar Museum & Showcase, 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. 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.
Parks
Major Memphis parks include W.C. Handy Park, Riverfront Park, Tom Lee Park, Audubon Park, Overton Park, the Lichterman Nature Center, and the Memphis Botanic Garden.
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 a club bearing his name, which is partly owned by him. 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, second being Bourbon Street.
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 Memphis Zoo, which is located in midtown Memphis, features many exhibits, of mammals, birds, fish, and amphibians, from all regions of 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 two in North America.
There is Libertyland Amusement Park and the adjacent Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, Mud Island, Detour Memphis - an art and performing space, Lichterman Nature Center - a nature learning center, The Pyramid, the FedEx Forum, and the Memphis Queen Riverboat.
Sports
Memphis is home to several professional sports teams. The Memphis Grizzlies are the only major league, professional sports team in the city. They are a basketball team in the NBA, and play at 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 Xplorers are an arena football team that play in the Af2 league. Both the RiverKings and Xplorers play at DeSoto Civic Center in nearby DeSoto County, Mississippi. Memphis is also home to the Memphis Blues, a professional Rugby team.
Memphis is considered a pro wrestling history ground. The sport's greatest name to come out of the city is Jerry "The King" Lawler. Many greats started out their careers in Memphis; among these names include Hulk Hogan, The Undertaker, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, 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.
Club Sport League Venue Logo Memphis Grizzlies Basketball National Basketball Association FedEx Forum Memphis Grizzlies Logo Memphis Redbirds Baseball Pacific Coast League AutoZone Park Memphis Redbirds Logo Memphis RiverKings Ice Hockey Central Hockey League DeSoto Civic Center Memphis RiverKings Logo Memphis Xplorers Arena football Arena Football League DeSoto Civic Center Memphis Grizzlies Logo
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 utitilites 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 two major Fortune 500 companies, including FedEx Corporation and AutoZone Incorporated. A third company, International Paper, recently announced on August 16, 2005, that it will be relocating its global headquarters from Stamford, Connecticut. 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 Tennessee Bank, 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 Mystery Train (1989), Great Balls of Fire! (1989), Memphis Belle (1990), The Firm (1993), A Family Thing (1996), The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996), The Rainmaker (1997), Cast Away (2000), 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.
Infrastructure
Government
Since 1966, Memphis has been governed by the "weak mayor" form of mayor-council government. The new city charter provided for the election of 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 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 county and city government of Shelby County and City of Memphis into a metropolitan government, similar to that in Nashville.
Memphis politics are very racially polarized. 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.
Most of Memphis is located in the majority-black 9th District, currently represented by Democrat Harold Ford, Jr., the current Democratic frontrunner for the Senate seat of Bill Frist. Much of eastern Memphis is in the 7th District, represented by Republican Marsha Blackburn.
Academic Institutions
The city is served by Memphis City Schools while surrounding suburbs in other areas of Shelby County are served by Shelby County Schools. Several colleges and universities are also located in the city, including the University of Memphis (formerly Memphis State University), Rhodes College (formerly Southwestern at Memphis), Le Moyne-Owen College, and Christian Brothers University. Some smaller specialty colleges are also located in Memphis, including Harding University Graduate School of Religion, 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.
Transportation
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. The future interstates of I-22 and I-69 are also planned to converge into the Memphis area.
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 1968, and Memphis Central Station, which has been renovated and serves Amtrak's City of New Orleans route between Chicago and New Orleans.
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.
Bridges
The four bridges that cross the Mississippi River from Memphis are the Hernando De Soto, Harahan, Frisco and the Memphis Arkansas Bridge. All the bridges' piers had to be lined up for river navigation.
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 and designed by George S. Morison. (Morison also designed the Taft Bridge in Washington D.C.).
The Harahan Bridge (July 14, 1916) is a trestle railroad bridge which later added a narrow, one-way wooden cantilevering roadways along the outsides of bridge so it can be used for cars. In 1928, sparks from a train ignited and set on fire to the wooden plank road. Today, only trains use the Harahan Bridge but there are potential plans of adding a pedestrian walkway and bike path along the bridge.
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, the "M" shape lights became part of the bridge and Memphis landmark. The Guinness Book of World Records list the deSoto bridge for its unique structural "letter" shape. Most recently, the mysterious death of Dr. Don Wiley placed the Hernando de Soto Bridge into national headlines as well as spawning international urban legends and conspiracy theories.
| 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"; "M Bridge" | 3.3 miles long | 2 August, 1973 |
See also
Sister cities
Memphis has two sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI): Kanifing (Gambia) and Kaolack (Senegal).
External links
Definitions from Wiktionary
Media from Commons
News from Wikinews
Quotations from Wikiquote
Texts from Wikisource
Textbooks from Wikibooks
Resources from Wikiversity
- Official City Government Website
- Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau
- Memphis Chamber of Commerce
- Memphis History
- Pink Palace Museum
- Stax Museum of American Soul Music
- Template:Wikitravel
