MEMPHIS BUCKET LIST

Here are sites every out-of-towner should visit

You don't have to be Wednesday Addams to appreciate the beauty and history of Memphis' oldest public graveyard. Established in 1852, this 80-acre spread of markers, monuments, obelisks and statuary was intended as a park for the living as well as for the dead; the latter population numbers 75,000-plus, and counting (Elmwood still is an active cemetery, so to speak). Among the "tenants": Confederate soldiers and officers; Yellow Fever victims; unidentified slaves; mayors and governors; authors of books; madams of brothels, self-made millionaires, and more. Self-guided and group tours are available.

For more information, visit elmwoodcemetery.org.

A. Schwab

The official address for Fedexforum is 191 Beale, so anyone attending NCAA Tournament games at the arena will automatically spend a lot of time on Beale Street. But many ticketholders also are likely to hit the Beale Street Entertainment District for food and drink and especially the blues music that has made Beale one of the most famous streets in America. While "Walking in Memphis," as Marc Cohn sang, don't bypass the historic "dry goods" store at 163 Beale: A. Schwab (informally known as "Schwab's"), which was founded in 1876 and moved to its current address in 1911.

Certain to delight yard sale aficionados, pack rats and connoisseurs of the eccentric, the store's inventory represents a higgledy-piggledy potpourri of toys, souvenirs, tchotchkes and other collectible bric-a-brac, including, and most notably, a large collection of voodoo and "hoodoo" items: love candles, potency potions, tarot cards, mojo bags, "High John the Conqueror" roots and other hexes, jinxes, charms and spells. Folks with a sweet tooth also will appreciate Schwab's: the store contains an oldfashioned soda fountain.

For more information, visit a-schwab.com.

Graceland

So, you're in Memphis. To watch some basketball. At Fedexforum. h But remember, you're in MEMPHIS. So you should do more than watch basketball. h Here is a list showcasing a lucky 7 attractions that should be on anyone's Memphis bucket list. Not 7 hidden gems or 7 underappreciated obscurities but 7 places that people who've never been to Memphis and might never come back might want to check out. h To avoid charges of favoritism (even though it's obvious that Graceland, for example, is more of a must-see than a colossal sporting goods emporium), we've listed these places chronologically, based on when each one became open to the public.

Built in 1939, bought by Elvis Presley in 1957 and opened to the public in 1982, five years after Elvis' world-shocking death at 42, the Colonial

Revival mansion that was formerly home to Elvis, his wife, Priscilla, and the couple's only child, Lisa Marie, is frequently said to be the most-visited residence in the U.S., after the White House. In addition to the mansion, with its peacock stained-glass windows, its famous "Jungle Room" and its "Meditation Garden" containing the Presley family graves, visitors to the Graceland "campus" can tour Elvis' two private jets (the Hound Dog and the Lisa Marie) and the numerous exhibits in the Elvis Presley's Memphis complex, which showcase Elvis' vehicles and costumes along with memorabilia from other stars, including a John Lennon piano and platform demon boots that belonged to KISS bassist Gene Simmons.

For more information, visit graceland.com.

National Civil Rights Museum

Constructed around what peace-and-justice activists have called the "sacred ground" of the Lorraine Motel, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968, the National Civil Rights Museum opened in 1991 as the first institution of its kind, devoted to chronicling "the American civil rights movement" and "the ongoing struggle for human rights" (to quote the mission statement). The museum's annual Freedom Award has honored the likes of Oprah, Bono, the Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela, but the exhibits mostly focus on community rather than celebrity, celebrating the power of the marchers, lunch-counter protesters, "Freedom Riders" and others who refused to surrender their dignity even when losing their liberty (a replica cell commemorates King's famous "Letter from a Birmingham Jail"). Prepare to be enlightened, angered, awed and moved.

For more information, visit civilrightsmuseum.org.

Stax Museum of American Soul Music

Resurrected from the broken bricks and razed walls of the original Stax studio at 926 E. Mclemore, in the heart of the neighborhood known as "Soulsville," this remarkable attraction educates and edifies even as it offers a nonstop series of irresistible artifacts and interactive stations testifying to the appeal of the Black musical artform known as "soul." The music's great interpreters are celebrated: Otis Redding, Al Green, Booker T. & the MG'S, and so on. You'll see Isaac Hayes' gold Cadillac, alongside his golden Oscar for "Shaft"; a glittery Tina Turner shimmy dress; a cape that belonged to "The Funkiest Man Alive," Rufus Thomas; and even a "Soul Train" dance floor (feel free to do the bump, the robot or the Funky Chicken).

For more information, visit staxmuseum.com.

Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid

If Fedexforum didn't exist, it's possible some of this

year's NCAA Tournament games would be held in that arena's predecessor: the Pyramid, built in 1991 on the riverfront (about 1.5 miles north of Fedexforum's future location) to be a distinctive showpiece connecting Memphis to its namesake city in ancient Egypt. The original home of the Memphis Grizzlies and a past home of the Memphis Tigers basketball team, the Pyramid hosted men's tourney games in 1995, 1997 and 2001; but after Fedexforum became the city's new indoor sports arena, the Pyramid was mostly vacant until 2015, when it was reopened as a particularly vast and dramatic Bass Pro Shops, complete with the company's usual assortment of hunting, fishing and camping goods, plus a hotel (Big Cypress Lodge), a bowling alley, an alligator exhibit and a bar/restaurant, located in the pointy top of the Pyramid, accessible only by a 280-foot-tall freestanding elevator that is said to be the highest in the world. The bar encircles a large fish

tank, while adjacent to the restaurant are a pair of outdoor observation decks (for those who aren't scared of heights).

For more information, visit stores.basspro.com.

Big River Crossing

One of Memphis' newest attractions is a treat for the eyes and a boon for the heart (and other assorted muscles). Spanning the Mississippi River, the "Big River Crossing" is an almost mile-long bridge for pedestrians and cyclists that connects Memphis to Arkansas. Running alongside the historic Harahan Bridge, the crossing opened in 2016, to provide "dramatic views" of the "ever-changing landscape" of the Tennessee and Arkansas riverfronts, and the mighty Mississippi in between.

For more information, visit bigrivercrossing.com.

THE COMMERCIAL APPEAL FILES A. Schwab is located at 163 Beale St. in Downtown Memphis. AT TOP: Lane College's Aaron Thomas imagines himself riding a bus with Rosa Parks during a visit to the National Civil Rights Museum for members of the Lemoyneowen and Lane College men's basketball teams.

THE COMMERCIAL APPEAL FILES Memphis' oldest active cemetery is Elmwood Cemetery, which saw its first burials in 1852. The cemetery was founded by a group of 50 Memphians who each contributed $500 to purchase the initial 40 acres.

DAY/THE COMMERCIAL APPEAL CHRIS Jeff Kollath, the museum director for the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, climbs up a ladder to finish spelling out Tina Turner's name on the Memphis museum's marquee in remembrance of her and Floyd Newman on May 25, 2023. Turner, a two-time Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Famer, a 12-time Grammy winner and one of the most enduring hitmakers in history, and Newman, a baritone saxophonist and key figure in the development of Stax Records, both died earlier that week.

THE COMMERCIAL APPEAL FILES Spanning the Mississippi River, the "Big River Crossing" is an almost mile-long bridge for pedestrians and cyclists that connects Memphis to Arkansas.

KATHERINE BOMBOY/NBC Post Malone and Riley Keough in front of the Graceland mansion in Memphis, where NBC'S "Christmas at Graceland" filmed.

THE COMMERCIAL APPEAL FILES The National Civil Rights Museum is located at 450 Mulberry St. in Memphis.