Discover the Museums of Downtown Memphis: A Feast for Your Eyes

There's a little bit of everything and more than you might realize.

No trip to downtown Memphis would be complete without visiting the National Civil Rights Museum, a Smithsonian Affiliate located in the former Lorraine Motel (450 Mulberry Street). Additionally, though, downtown Memphis offers a dozen beauties nearby with one-of-a-kind collections in music, ancient history, civil rights, sports cars, Victorian-era homes, fire trucks, and even metal-working that you don't want to miss.

Disclaimer: All information is accurate at publication; however, many museums are facing staffing issues and remaining safety concerns and are adjusting their operational hours and safety requirements accordingly. Please verify information with the museums themselves. It's advised you have a mask in your pocket just in case. If you want to ride the trolley (or any public transport), you'll need one.

Belz Museum

The Belz Museum EntryPhoto courtesy of The Belz Museum

The unassuming frontage does the collection inside no justice. For all points and purposes, the museum is in the basement of an apartment building. Most of the exhibits were originally the personal collection of local entrepreneur, Jack A. Belz, and his wife, Marilyn, who have since donated them to the foundation that runs the museum. What started as three small rooms when it opened in 1998 is now about 24,000 square feet and 1,400 items. There are five permanent galleries (3 Asian, 1 Judaic, and the Holocaust Memorial Gallery), and various special exhibits are brought in throughout the year.

Located at 119 South Main Street, the Belz Museum is closed on Mondays but open to the public Tuesdays through Fridays from 10am to 3pm and on Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 5pm. The last tickets are sold an hour before closing. There's a lot to see, and you can easily spend a few hours getting soaking up the details and the history. Visit their website for operating hours and ticket prices ($4-6, depending).

Center for Southern Folklore

Montage of events at the Center of Southern FolklorePhoto courtesy of the Center of Southern Folklore (2016)

In 1972, Judy Peiser and William Ferris came together to create the cultural non-profit based here in Memphis. A lot more goes on in this little space than most people realize. While it is indeed a museum containing a large archive of video and music recordings, photographs, films, art, posters, and more, it's also a store that promotes local artists and a cafe' that hosts live blues, folk, Latin, and jazz music on the weekends. Historically, the Center has sponsored the annual Memphis Music and Heritage Festival on Labor Day weekend, so check to see if that's back up and going on your visit.

Literally a few suites south of the Belz Museum is the Center for Southern Folklore. Unfortunately, their website has been unpublished, but you can connect to them through their Facebook page or, of course, just walk right in. On Monday through Friday, you can swing by starting at 11am and hang out until 6pm, if you'd like. On Saturday, their hours are 2pm-11pm, while Sunday is a short day from 2pm-6pm. (Please note: at time of publication, hours fluctuated for staffing issues and safety measurements.)

Edge Motor Museum

Edge Motor Museum (street view) at night.Photo courtesy of Edge Motor Museum

This isn't just any car museum. The Edge Motor Museum is a preservation effort focusing on American-made sports cars, established to preserve historic vehicles while also teaching guests the history of the times from which these incredible machines emerged. It's fascinating to see how so much changed in just a few short decades. The collection is a collaboration between hand-selected acquisitions, as well as vehicles on loan from private owners and estates.

Open daily with varying hours (check online here), the Edge Motor Museum offers children's tickets at $5 and adult tickets at $10, but a family can get in for $30. The museum offers membership options with member perks, too. When you're finished here, you can walk a few hundred feet down the street to world-renowned Sun Studio.

Sun Studio

Front of Sun StudioPhoto courtesy of Sun Studio

Known as the "Birthplace of Rock-n-roll," Sun Studio's list of famous names who've come through this building is long and impressive. This 45-minute tour will even make you feel like a star. You'll stand in the same spot where Elvis first recorded and listen to stories of all the country, gospel, rock, and blues legends who've cut records here. The tour guides are quite knowledgeable, and as they take you through decades worth of memorabilia and share the stories that go with it, you'll find yourself transported.

Sun Studio opens daily from 10am-6pm for touring, with the last group taken through at 515pm. Additionally, if you're looking to cut an album, it's still a functioning studio, and you can make your claim to fame after touring hours by appointment. Tickets are $15 for adults, $13 for students, and $10 for kids ages 5-11. Everything you need to know can be found on their site. Make sure you swing through the gift shop for some Sun swag on the way out!

Stax Museum of American Soul Music

Front of Stax Museum of American Soul MusicPhoto courtesy of Stax Museum

This place is something special, and with all of its community outreach programs and ways to be involved, it's more than a museum. Because much of Stax music was based in gospel, your tour starts out in an authentic, circa-1906 Mississippi Delta church reassembled right in the heart of the museum. From there, you wander through a maze of music history and memorabilia while learning about all of the people involved in bringing the Stax sound to life. You can even bust a move under the disco ball on their dance floor.

Stax offers a wide variety of packages for touring options, based on what you're looking to get into. One of them (The Music and the Movement) works in conjunction with the National Civil Rights Museum, giving you access to both landmarks, and the Backstage Pass is for the music lover, bringing you Stax, Sun Studio, the Memphis Rock 'n' Soul Museum, and Graceland all in one ticket. The history of Stax is rich, making this museum a must-see! Open 10am-5pm every day but Monday, Stax will let kids ages 9-12 in for $10 and adults for $13. (Various discounts are available and kids 8 and under get in free.)

Memphis Rock 'n' Soul Museum

Memphis Rock 'n' Soul MuseumPhoto by Thomas R Machnitzki (2009)

Located on the world-famous Beale Street, the Memphis Rock 'n' Soul Museum is the best of all music worlds. This collection is special in that the entire exhibition was researched and developed by the Smithsonian Museum and then donated back to the city from which was born. Rock 'n' Soul is an educational experience for all ages going far beyond the music to bring the history back to life. They describe themselves as telling "the story of musical pioneers who, for the love of music, overcame racial and socio-economic barriers to create the music that shook the entire world."

Currently, the museum is open Wednesday through Sunday from 10am-5pm. Tickets for children 5-17 are only $10, adults are $13, and there are a variety of discounted tickets offered. They have partnerships with local hotels for discounted stays if you're touring Rock 'n' Soul as a group that could be handy.

The Blues Hall of Fame Museum

The Blues Hall of Fame MuseumPhoto by John Phelan (2017)

The Blues Hall of Fame Museum is one experience in Blues history of the many organized by The Blues Foundation. The Blues Foundation, which "preserves blues heritage, celebrates blues recording and performance, expands worldwide awareness of the blues, and ensures the future of the uniquely American art form," hosts competitions, awards ceremonies, community outreach events, and educational programs throughout the year. Many of the exhibits in this museum are one-of-a-kind, so a stop here is a must for any music lover.

Located on 421 South Main Street, the museum is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10am-5pm and Sunday from 1pm-5pm. (They're closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.) Children 12 and under get in free and everyone else is $10.

The Fire Museum of Memphis

The Fire Museum of MemphisPhoto courtesy of The Fire Museum of Memphis

The Fire Museum offers a look into the history of the Memphis Fire Department. The location itself has a rich history, too. Per their own site, visitors get to "step back in time to a turn-of-the-century firehouse, fight the flames of a burning skyscraper from a snorkel basket simulator, take a look at the horse-drawn era of firefighting from the horse’s perspective, test your ability to find an escape route to survive a fire, feel the heat of the Fire Room, learn about the most devastating fires in the history of Memphis, discover the proud history of Memphis’ first African-American firefighters, and many more hot attractions" making it a fun, interactive and educational adventure for the whole family.

Currently, they're open Monday through Saturday from 9am to 4pm with the last admission one hour before closing. Adults 12 and up can get in for $10, kids 3-12 get in for $8, and the littlest ones get in free. They have a $30 family pack for a family of 4 and additional discounts for service people and seniors.

The Withers Collection Museum and Gallery

Then and now: Withers' Studio and The Withers Collection Museum and GalleryPhoto courtesy of The Withers Collection Museum and Gallery

There is so much history packed into this 7,000sqft space on historic 333 Beale Street. This was Dr. Earnest C. Withers' last photography studio before his passing in 2007. His impressive 60-year career focused largely on the Civil Rights movement. Some of his most important pieces came from the Montgomery bus boycott, documenting Emmett Till, witnessing the Memphis sanitation strike, and following the Negro league baseball. In 2010, it was made known that the Federal Bureau of Investigations hired him as an informant of the movement, a position he held for roughly 20 years, offered to him after he took his first picture of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The collection here is one-of-a-kind, as Withers had access to people and events others weren't granted. The stories are both uplifting and heartwrenching; you won't walk away without learning and feeling. The museum also uses its space to educate the community and continue to advocate for civil rights, mostly through weekly panel discussions on topics like financial literacy and applying to college, as well as conversations about racial equality. As of publication, the museum is working on restaffing but expects to be open on Tuesday through Saturday from noon-7pm and Sundays from 1pm-6pm. They are closed on Mondays. You can visit them online to verify hours (although it's highly recommended that you call for the latest information). You can also use that link to explore Withers' impressive digital gallery of nearly 2 million photographs.

Slave Haven - The Burkle Estate

Burkle Estate (Slavehaven) in Memphis, Tennessee. Front view of the main building.Photo by Thomas R Machnitzki (2008) - Used with permission.

When cotton was king in the South, there was high demand for free labor. Because of its geographical situation, Memphis quickly became the state's largest slave-trading center. Despite that, people attempting to seek liberation often found good company among the local members of the abolitionist movement.

One such person was German immigrant, baker, and livestock trader, Jacob Burkle, whose unassuming little house near the Mississippi River became a safe space along the Underground Railroad. Today, it's a museum set up in memory of those who passed through, as well as to those who never made it so far. The tour begins by descending through the cellar doors into the spaces where fugitives were harbored until they could make it to freedom. The house itself is an educational journey into both the time period as well as the anti-slavery movement and the continued struggle today. The museum has seasonal hours, so you'll want to check out their site before setting out.

The National Ornamental Metal Museum

The National Ornamental Metal Museum CompoundPhoto courtesy of The National Ornamental Metal Museum

Another rare gem, tucked under the trees on the river's edge, The National Ornamental Metal Museum is truly unique. It's worth a visit just to see the historic buildings that make up the museum compound, and their view of the river is unmatched. In 1976, after meeting the requirements of the Heritage and Conservation Act, the non-profit Metal Museum educational foundation set to renovating and preserving this 3.2-acre space. In February 1979, they opened to the public.

It's honestly difficult to concisely explain the nature of this compound. The renovations have made the buildings into a foundry, a blacksmith shop, artists' residences, a library, a museum, and then some. Visitors can go in for a look at the day's projects, watch students being taught to use the shop, or even become students themselves. Or, if you prefer, you can simply tour the grounds and have a picnic lunch under the trees at Fort Pickering, once the fortress of Chickasaw chief Chisca featuring two ceremonial mounds built in the 1500s. The area is rich with history, and you could easily make a day of visiting this beautiful, unmatched space.

They're closed to tours on Mondays and holidays, but would love to have you Tuesdays through Sundays from 11am-5pm. Also, they host Tennessee Thursdays, where adults over 18 with a valid TN ID get in free. Visitors under the age of 17 without a TN ID only need to have an adult TN resident with them for free entry. Every day is free admission for active-duty military and their families (with valid ID). Y'all -- go check this one out. You won't be disappointed. Adults are $8 and kids are $4.

Victorian Village

The James Lee House B&B (foreground) and the Woodruff-Fontaine House (left)Photo courtesy of VictorianVillage Memphis (2016)

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Memphis' Victorian Village was once a collection of beautiful mansions built in the mid-1800s by wealthy Memphians with diverse backgrounds in both their personal-professional lives as well as their architectural tastes.

Today, we have the clapboard cottage Magevney House that still stands as one of the oldest residences in Memphis at 198 Adams Avenue. It was the home to Eugene Magevney, an Irish immigrant who settled in Memphis in 1833, where he became a teacher and a civic leader. An important landmark for local Catholics, it's documented as hosting the first Catholic mass, the first priest-officiated Catholic wedding, and the first Catholic baptism in the city.

The mansions themselves are just down the street. What's amazing about these homes-turned-museums is that they have their original furnishings and interiors. It's like the residents just disappeared. The Mallory-Neely House at 652 Adams Avenue is also a museum open to the public, and the Mollie Fontaine Taylor House (679 Adams Ave) is now Mollie Fontaine's Lounge and you can pop over for dinner and cocktails. One home, the Woodruff-Fontaine (680 Adams Ave), is even rumored to be haunted!

If you'd like a taste of the life, the Harsson-Goyer-Lee House at 690 Adams Avenue is now a bed-and-breakfast called The James Lee House. James Lee, a riverboat captain educated at Princeton, bought the home in 1890 and in 1925 it became the James Lee Memorial Art Academy. The city took ownership of the home in 1929, but after moving the academy in 1959, the home sat vacant for nearly 60 years until 2012, when private investors saved it and turned it into the glorious tribute it is today.

There are too many wonderful reasons to go visit these homes to list in just a small brief, so I hope you'll visit their sites for more history and photos, as well as current operating hours and safety guidelines, and then make a trip over to wander through another time and place.

The Peabody Hotel Memorabilia Room

The Peabody Hotel - Old stamped metal room keyPhoto courtesy of The Peabody Hotel

Last but not least, and quite new to this author despite living in this city for nearly 30 years, there is a "memorabilia room" in the Peabody Hotel on the mezzanine level, northwestern corner. It houses a small but impressive collection of artifacts from over the course of the hotel's long history donated by previous guests and important items saved by the hotel staff themselves.

A post on their Facebook page explains that "The Peabody Memorabilia Room is home to our historic artifacts. Step inside to be taken back in time by our hotel history video and be surrounded by stories, photos, porcelain china, sterling silver serving ware, room keys, and bills from the 1950s with $5 room nights. If you have any Peabody artifacts that you would like to donate, please email us at pr@peabodymemphis.com."

Definitely make sure you read the letter from hotel manager Gary Belz to Charles Roseman, the executive chef at Chez Philippe, explaining why that French fine-dining restaurant won't serve duck, even though it's traditional French cuisine.

Follow me to see more articles like this.

...

Follow

This is original content from NewsBreak’s Creator Program. Join today to publish and share your own content.