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| Overview |
Memphis and its surrounding metropolitan area is home to over one million people, the 40th largest metropolitan area in the U.S. Located on the Mississippi River just east of Arkansas and north of Mississippi, Memphis is in the southwest corner of Tennessee. The areas that make up the Memphis MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area) are the counties of Crittenden, Desoto, Fayette, Shelby and Tipton.
Memphis
is a dynamic city with lots to see and do. The FedEx
Forum Arena which opened in 2004 added to the resurgence
of Downtown Memphis. Shops and eateries are thriving as
the Forum plays host to tremendous crowds as home to the
Memphis Grizzlies NBA basketball team as well as the
national powerhouse University of Memphis Tigers
basketball team. Other events include major concerts
like The Rolling Stones, Elton John, and Destiny's
Child, along with major boxing events, ice shows, the
circus and more.
Turn-of-the-century trolley cars, restored to their former elegance, have returned to Main Street. They follow the same paths of their post-Civil War, mule-drawn predecessors, providing down town workers and visitors with convenient transportation and an exciting way to see the sights.
Down on Beale Street, music lovers from around the world come to
sample the blues, jazz and rock 'n' roll, and if they're lucky, catch legendary B. B. King and his guitar "Lucille" entertaining at his Beale
Street club. Likenesses of W C. Handy and Elvis look on as both young and old watch the streets where Handy, Memphis Minnie and Howling Wolf made their mark.
Beale Street is a favorite of both local and national blues artists who
play in the many nightclubs or in Handy Park The city's musical past is chronicled at the Memphis Music and Blues Museum where you'll hear rare recordings and see vintage memorabilia from Sun Studios and Stax Records.
The
Memphis Cook Convention Center features the new,
state-of-the-art 2,100 seat Cannon Center for the
Performing Arts, home of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra.
The center also features over 300,000 square feet of
meeting and exhibit space.
In Midtown, people are restoring homes to their original splendor in the historic Cooper-Young neighborhood, which is near the Overton Square entertainment district and and local colleges and universities. New businesses, restaurants, nightspots and galleries have opened. The vintage clothing stores, coffee houses and art galleries featuring local work give the area a distinctive bohemian feel. Every year, residents open their homes for tours and stage a popular street festival.
In
the eastern part of the city, Germantown and more
recently Collierville are experiencing unprecedented
growth as new neighborhoods seem to spring up overnight,
along with schools, restaurants, and shopping centers
including the new regional Avenue of Carriage Crossing
786,000 square foot open air center. Southwind, located
just south of Germantown, is an upscale community that
is home to both families and businesses as well as the
PGA Tournament Players Course.
With an average temperature of 62 degrees, Memphis has year-round easy living. The moderate climate allows golf and other outdoor activities to be played during all seasons. Sixty-four percent of daylight hours are sunny (more than Miami). Almost all precipitation is rain, with a few snowflakes in the winter months.
Visitors are quick to notice how the city is blanketed with trees, which makes the spring and fall seasons especially breathtaking. Memphis' geography is ideal for trees, shrubs and plants. The soil, a mixture of deep silt and clay, holds enough moisture to sustain the most majestic
of trees. |
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