Lenox Ornament

Lenox Ornament

Peabody Hotel

History

Inside the Peabody

The original Peabody Hotel was built by Robert Campbell Brinkley in 1869. Before it opened, Brinkley found out about the death of George Peabody. Out of respect for Peabody, who contributed much to the South, he named his new hotel "The Peabody".

The original Peabody Hotel, located at the corner of Main and Monroe streets, was highly successful. The former President of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis resided there in 1870 when he worked in Memphis as president of an insurance company. The original Peabody Hotel closed in 1923. The current Peabody Hotel building, on Union Avenue, was built in 1925 on the previous site of the Fransioli Hotel, which looked just like the original Peabody Hotel. Designed by Chicago architect Walter W. Ahlschlager, the Italian Renaissance building holds historical and cultural significance; it has been said that the Mississippi Delta "begins in the lobby of the Peabody Hotel (in Memphis) and ends on Catfish Row in Vicksburg".

Prior to the mid-1960s, alcoholic beverages were sold in Tennessee only as sealed bottles in licensed liquor stores. The Hotel Peabody had a bar, The Creel, for its patrons on those days. Patrons would bring a bottle, acquired elsewhere, into The Creel, and the bartender would tag the bottle for later retrieval. The bartender would then mix drinks from the patron's bottle on request.

The Peabody again closed in the early 1970s, generally an era of urban blight for many American cities. The Jack Belz family purchased the hotel from the county in 1975 for $400,000 and spent the next several years and $25,000,000 renovating the landmark structure. The grand reopening in 1981 is widely considered in Memphis as a major stimulus and inspiration for the downtown revitalization that followed and still continues.

Similar Peabody Hotels are operated by the Peabody Hotel Group in Little Rock, Arkansas and Orlando, Florida. The Peabody Hotel Group Brand Management Division owns and operates properties under different brand names in Massachusetts, Tennessee, South Carolina and Arkansas.

The Peabody Hotel in Memphis is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Peabody Ducks

The Peabody Ducks in the Fountain

The Peabody is probably best known around the world for a custom dating back to the 1930s. The General Manager of the time, Frank Schutt, had just returned from a weekend hunting trip in Arkansas. He and his friends found it amusing to leave their live decoy ducks in the hotel fountain. The guests loved the idea, and since then, ducks have played in the fountain every day.

In 1940, a Bellman by the name of Edward Pembroke volunteered to care for the ducks. Pembroke was given the position of "Duckmaster" and served in that position until 1991. As a former circus animal trainer, he taught the ducks to march into the hotel lobby, which started the famous Peabody Duck March. Every day at 11:00 a.m., the Peabody Ducks are escorted from their penthouse home, on the Plantation Roof, to the lobby via elevator. The ducks, accompanied by the King Cotton March by John Phillip Sousa, then proceed across a red carpet to the hotel fountain, made of a solid block of Italian travertine marble. The ducks are then ceremoniously led back to their penthouse at 5:00 p.m.

Ducks marching back to the elevators

Over the years, The Peabody Ducks have gained celebrity status with television appearances (along with their Duckmaster) on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, Sesame Street, and the Oprah Winfrey Show. They have also appeared in People magazine.

The position of "Duckmaster" at the Peabody Memphis is one of only three such positions in the world, the other two being the Duckmasters in the Orlando and Little Rock Peabody Hotels. Celebrities have also assumed the role of Honorary Duckmaster from time to time, including Paula Deen, Joan Collins, Molly Ringwald, Kevin Bacon, Emeril Lagasse, Patrick Swayze, Queen Noor of Jordan, Oprah Winfrey, and Gayle King.

The custom of keeping ducks in the lobby fountain may date back even further than the 1930s. A pre-1915 postcard highlights the ducks playing in the fountain, and one source claims the custom goes back to the hotel's opening in 1869.

However, the Peabody itself claims the duck tradition to have started in 1933, as on December 3rd, 2008 they unveiled a new "Duck Palace" located on the rooftop, for the 75th anniversary of the duck tradition. The 24 by 12 foot enclosure features granite flooring, ceiling fans, a scale replica of the hotel, a fountain decorated with a pair of bronze ducks, and a large viewing window for guests to see them in their new home. The Duck Palace cost approximately $200,000 to construct.

Design features

The Peabody Hotel's most recognizable features are large red neon "The Peabody" signs atop the Skyway Ballroom and the central elevator shaft.

The top floor, the Skyway, contains a lounge/bar area, ballroom, and Plantation Roof, which offers stunning views of the surrounding Memphis skyscrapers. The rooftop is often used as a space for bands and other musical acts, especially during the Thursday night "Rooftop Parties" in the summer months.

In the elevators, one must press "S" to access the top floor. If this floor were numbered, one would press "13" to reach it, but due to superstitions regarding the number thirteen, management decided to call the top floor "the Skyway."

Facts

During the Big Band era, the Skyway was the place to be at night. The ballroom was one of only a handful of sites in America that CBS broadcast live from weekly. Regular headliners included Tommy Dorsey and the Andrews Sisters. Today, the Skyway is known throughout Memphis for its legendary Skyway Sunday Brunch with champagne served promptly at 12 noon.

Hotel floor layout

13 (S) - The Plantation Roof, Duck Palace, The Skyway Ballroom, The Penthouse (not used)

12 - The Peabody Club, The Presidential Suite, Club Level Guest Rooms

11 - Standard Guest Rooms, Junior Suites, Romeo and Juliet Suites

10 - Standard Guest Rooms, Junior Suites, Celebrity Suites

09 through 04 - Standard Guest Rooms

03 - The Peabody Executive Conference Center

02 (M) - Mezzanine Level, The Peabody Grand Ballroom, Venetian Room, Continental Ballroom, Louis XVI Room, Forest Room, Hernando DeSoto Room, The Tennessee Exhibit Hall, The Peabody Memorabilia Room, Francis Scott Key Piano, Business Center, Hotel Kitchens, Banquet Offices

01 (L) - The Grand Lobby, Chez Phillippe, Cappriccio Grill, The Lobby Bar, The Corner Bar, Peabody Deli and Desserts, The Grand Galleria of Shops, Guest Registration, Valet, Concierge, Bell Stand

LL - Lower Level (Basement), Administrative Offices, Gould's Day Spa and Salon, Peabody Athletic Club, Shoeshine Parlor, Hotel Pool

References

^ a b c d Peabody Hotel History

^ United States Census, 1870, Tennessee, Shelby Co., 4-WD Memphis, Peabody Hotel, Series: M593 Roll: 1562 Page: 147.

^ Fransioli Hotel History

^ Faragher, Scott; Katherine Harrington (2002-11-18). The Peabody Hotel. Arcadia. ISBN 0738514535. 

^ Cohn, David (1935). God Shakes Creation. Harper & Brothers.  and Schmidt, William E. (1986-10-05). "Memphis' Grand Hotel". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=travel&res=9A0DE2DC153DF936A35753C1A960948260. Retrieved 2008-09-11. 

^ The Peabody Ducks

^ a b Peabody Press Release: New Duckmaster Takes the Lead at the Peabody Memphis - May 14, 2007

^ Parfitt, Ginny; Mary L. Martin (2005). Memories of Memphis: A History in Postcards. Schiffer Publishing, Ltd. p. 48. ISBN 0764322885. 

^ Gilding the nest: Peabody spares no expense in building a quacktacular rooftop roost - Commercial Appeal

^ Peabody Rooftop Parties Schedule

External links

Official site

Peabody Hotel Group

Interview with Assistant Duck Master

v  d  e

City of Memphis & Memphis metropolitan area (counties in TN, MS and AR)

Memphis topics

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Downtown | Midtown | North Memphis | South Memphis | East Memphis

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Belle Meade - Berclair - Binghampton - Central Gardens - Chickasaw Gardens - Cooper-Young - Cordova - Douglass - Evergreen - Frayser - Harbor Town - Hickory Hill - High Point Terrace - Hollywood - Hyde Park - Lenox - Medical District - Mud Island - Normal Station - Nutbush - Orange Mound - Parkway Village - Raleigh - Riverside - Sherwood Forest - South Main - Uptown - Victorian Village - Vollintine Hills - Whitehaven - Wolfchase

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metro area

landmarks

Tennessee: Art Museum of the University of Memphis - AutoZone Stadium - Bartlett Museum - Beale Street - Bellevue Baptist Church - Belz Museum - Botanic Garden - Brooks Museum - Burkle Estate - Central Station - Children's Museum - Chucalissa Museum - Cotton Museum - Davies Manor - Dixon Gallery and Gardens - Downtown Trolleys - Elmwood Cemetery - FedExForum - Fire Museum - Graceland - Liberty Bowl Stadium - Libertyland - Lichterman Nature Center - Lincoln American Tower - Magevney House - Mallory-Neely House - Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park - Memorial Park Cemetery - Memphis Cotton Exchange - Memphis International Airport - Memphis Motorsports Park - Memphis National Cemetery - Memphis Zoo - Mississippi River - Mississippi River Park - Mud Island Monorail - National Civil Rights Museum - National Ornamental Metal Museum - Oaklawn Garden - Orpheum Theatre - Overton Park - Peabody Hotel - Pink Palace - The Pyramid - Rhodes College - Rock N' Soul Museum - St. Jude Children's Research Hospital - St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral - Shelby Farms - Stax Museum - Sun Studio - Tennessee Brewery - T. O. Fuller State Park - Tom Lee Park - Union Station - University of Memphis - Victorian Village - Wolf River

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Arkansas:     Marion - West Memphis

Metro area counties

Tennessee: Shelby - Fayette - Tipton   Mississippi: DeSoto - Marshall - Tate - Tunica   Arkansas: Crittenden

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U.S. National Register of Historic Places

Keeper of the Register  History of the National Register of Historic Places  Property types  Historic district  Contributing property

List of entries

National Park Service  National Historic Landmarks  National Battlefields  National Historic Sites  National Historical Parks  National Memorials  National Monuments

Categories: Skyscrapers in Memphis, Tennessee | Hotels in Memphis, Tennessee | National Register of Historic Places in Tennessee | 1869 establishments | 1925 establishments | Shelby County, Tennessee
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