MemphisMemphis
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Memphis_skyline_pyramid.jpg
Author: Thomas R Machnitzki
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Memphis is the largest city in Tennessee, and the third largest in the Southeast United States. The city has a population of about 670,000, within a metropolitan area of 1,281,000 people. It is the second largest metropolitan in Tennessee after Nashville.

Memphis is the youngest of the four major cities of Tennessee, the others being Nashville, Knoxville and Chattanooga. The city is located on a buff rising from the Mississippi River. It was a site of a Chickasaw Native American settlement when Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto arrived there in the 16th century.

The city of Memphis was founded by John Overton, James Winchester and Andrew Jackson in 1819. As it was located beside a mighty river, it was named Memphis after the ancient Egyptian city beside the Nile. Due to its location high above the Mississippi River, Memphis was flood free, making it ideal for a transportation hub. Memphis had the only railroad across the southern states to be constructed before the Civil War.

By the turn of the 20th century, Memphis had become the largest market for cotton and hardwood lumber. In the 1950's, it also had the largest mule market in the world. The city was a base for the civil rights movement. It was also in Memphis that Martin Luther King, Jr., was assissinated, on 4 April, 1968.

Memphis is itched into the American culture as the hotbed for music, having produced numerous musical greats such as Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, B.B. King, and more.

Hernando de Soto Bridge, between West Memphis, Arkansas, and Memphis, TennesseeHernando de Soto Bridge, between West Memphis, Arkansas, and Memphis, Tennessee
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hernando_de_Soto_Bridge
Author: USchick
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Graceland, home of the late musical legend, Elvis Presley, in Memphis, TennesseeGraceland, home of the late musical legend, Elvis Presley, in Memphis, Tennessee
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Graceland2008.jpg
Author: jbcurio
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Travel to Memphis

By Plane
Memphis International Airport is the world's busiest cargo airport, being the primary distribution center for FedEx. It is also a hub for Delta Airlines, which controls 90% of all air passenger traffic passing through the airport.

To leave the airport, you have the option of taking the taxi or limousine or renting a car. There are also shuttle services for hire, if you come in a group. These can be prearrange.

Taxi
The taxi booth is at the Terminal B baggage claim area on the ground floor. The approximate far to downtown Memphis is $30.00.

Car Rental Here are some of the car rental companies. The companies are located outside the airport. You can use the courtesy phones within the baggage claim area to contact them, and they will send a courtesy shuttle to fetch you. As the rental charges different company to company, check around.

  • Alamo Phone: (901) 345 0070, (800) 462 5266

  • Avis Phone: (901) 345 6129, (800) 577 1521

  • Budget Phone: (901) 398 8888, (800) 527 0700

  • Dollar Phone: (901) 346 3290, (800) 434 2226

  • Enterprise Phone: (901) 396 3736, (877) 283 0898

  • Hertz Phone: (901) 345 5680, (800) 654 3131

  • National Car Rental Phone: (901) 345 0070, (888) 501 9010

  • Thrifty Phone: (901) 345 0170, (877) 283 0898

Tennessee Welcome Sign on the Hernando de Soto BridgeTennessee Welcome Sign on the Hernando de Soto Bridge
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tn_welcome.jpg
Author: Scott5114
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By Road
Interstate 40 and 55 are the two highways to Memphis. Parking in Memphis is usually free outside of downtown. By Train
Amtrak has a service going up and down the Mississippi, from Chicago to New Orleans, passing through Memphis.

Travel within Memphis

The most practical way to move about Memphis is to drive, as the bus service in the city is quite inadequate.

Places of Interest in Memphis

  1. Beale Street
    Historic street in Memphis.

  2. W.C. Handy's Home
    Museum exhibiting the memorabilia of the person known as "Father of the Blues".

  3. AutoZone Park
    Stadium of the Memphis Redbirds baseball team.

  4. Peabody Hotel
    Landmark hotel in Memphis.

  5. National Civil Rights Museum
    Museum that was once the motel where Dr Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated.

  6. Memphis Rock-n-Soul Museum
    Museum that fuses history and race with music with outstanding success.

  7. Mud Island
    Island with the Mississippi River Museum, with exhibits ranging from steamboat replica to Native American artifacts.

  8. Cednter for Southern Folklore
    A place to view and appreciate everything Southern.

  9. Sun Studio
    Studio where some of the most famous musicians in the world have recorded.

  10. Graceland
    Estate of the late Elvis Presley

  11. Full Gospel Tabernacle Church
    Church led by Reverend Al Green who left a successful recording career to lead a church.

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Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.
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