Marker #15; Visioneers at Brooks; Architects at the Cotton Museum

Marker #15 is in front of the Mid-South Cotton Growers Association Building on Monroe just east of Front. Cotton and Architecture seem to be a loose theme today as you will see later in the post.

Owing to the fact that the last two Micro Cinema Club screenings I attended at Power House were so outstanding, I am looking forward to Thursday night in Midtown. Indie Memphis and Brooks Museum of Art are hosting the Memphis premiere of "Visioneers" this Thursday, July 16th at 7:30 pm at the Brooks Museum.

The Indie Memphis website describes this feature film as: "a quirky black comedy set in the near-future concerning a curious spike in cases of spontaneous human combustion. The Jeffers Corporation is the largest business in the history of mankind, and they got that way thanks to their strict philosophy of happiness through mindless productivity. But when people begin literally exploding, Jeffers Corporation Level Three TUNT George Washington Winsterhammerman (Zach Galifianakis) begins to fear that his time will come sooner rather than later."

Admission is $5/ Free for Indie Memphis and Brooks members.

Also this Thursday at noon, architects Joey Hagan and David Schuermann of Architecture, Inc. will present “Let’s Talk Architecture and Preservation” at the Cotton Museum, 65 Union Avenue (at Front). A slideshow and discussion will center on some of the challenges their firm has faced in making solid re-adaptive use choices in redevelopment of structures that are over one hundred years old. The focus will be on some of their projects in the neighborhood around the Cotton Museum, as well as a few other buildings in the area.

The Corkscrew - Ladies Day Tuesday: 10% off all wine

Orpheum Art Auction; Marker #14 is M.I.A.

David Lynch's, "Evening at the Eiffel Tower", one of many works of art up for bid at the Orpheum Art Auction. Posted with permission.

The 2009 Orpheum Art Auction featuring artwork from local artists is this week. The auction will be at the Orpheum Thursday, July 16th; silent auction and live auction preview starting at 5 pm; the live auction begins at 7 pm. 75% of the selling price goes back to the artist and the remaining 25% goes to the Orpheum’s student art programs and their ongoing restoration.

I would love to post a picture of marker #14, but it's not on the north west corner of Third and Union where the map I have shows it should be. Right now that corner is covered in scaffolding and a plywood tunnel like walkway due to the repairs being done to part of a wall at the Benchmark Hotel that fell earlier this year. It did not appear that any of the sidewalk had been devastatingly damaged enough for the bronze plaque to have disintegrated into dust. However, I have a list of the markers and what is printed on each of them. Marker #14, should it exist and I believe it must, reads:

"In the basement of the Lyceum Theater, at the Amateur Athletic Club, Memphians could take a plunge into the city's first modern-style swimming pool in 1891."

Watermelon Martini; Marker #13 - Original Peabody Blueprints

My nice neighbors left a giant watermelon on my door step yesterday. As I cut into it, the thought of sipping on a watermelon martini seemed like the right thing to do. So into the blender went some fleshy pink melon with a little crushed ice then it was poured into a shaker with some vodka, shaken a bit and finally poured into my favorite martini glass. Liquid summer.


Um, I think I may need more vodka.

Today's marker is Marker #13, another one at the Peabody Hotel:

Marker #12; Center for Southern Folklore Gets a Piece of the Pie

Marker #12, in front of the Peabody's north entrance, is a quote from a book called "God Shakes Creation":



The Center for Southern Folklore on Main Street is getting a piece of $296 million in stimulus money. The Center's mission is to promote and preserve Southern music, food, culture and traditions. Most notably, the Center hosts the Memphis Music and Heritage Festival downtown on Main Street every year on Labor Day weekend. See the Commercial Appeal article about the stimulus funds.

Marker #11 Alligators and Enlisted Men; All of My Purple Life; Getting Human

Today's marker is a bit hard to read due to the fact that sometimes debris gets stuck around the raised letters and they look a little fuzzy, even in person. The first lines read "Everyone knows that ducks swim in the Peabody's fountain, but for a short time in the 1930s ..." I think the rest is fairly legible.



The CCC has posted their exhaustive list of what's going on downtown this weekend. One stand out is the Prince Tribute at the New Daisy:


A friend forwarded this link to me http://www.gethuman.com. It's a website that lists the phone numbers of many large companies and the prompts to hit to bypass the droning menu options and connect directly to a person. It's good to bookmark as the way to get a person on the line is not always "0". Anyway, it helped my friend get to a person as the system she was going through disconnected her twice.

Marker #10 answers the question: What's the deal with all the markers?; Sweet Things; Dogs on Restaurant Patios

Marker #10, the explanatory marker, is at the southwest corner of Third and Union. Shouldn't this have been Marker #1?


I revisited Beignets last night and have to remark on how great that place is. It's a rare mix of good food, attentive staff, lively customers, a well thought out lay out, good background music and attractive interior design. In other words it's a convivial atmosphere.

I went there with a dreamy notion that I might have some beignets. As I perused the menu full of luscious treats, I hearkened back to my trip and the 10 pounds I gained and have not yet lost. So, a cup of vegetable soup took the place of the beignets. Recently, my sister and her family were here and they were looking for a place to get dessert downtown. I've been thinking that through and have come up with some good suggestions if you find yourself down here with a sweet tooth:

Beignets, 124 G.E. Patterson
What they offer:
Beignets, naturally
Beignet Pyramid - beignets with powered sugar and chocolate drizzled over them
Italian Creme Tort
Bread Pudding
Ice Cream
A variety of pastries

Crepe Maker, 175 Peabody Place, http://www.crepemaker.com/
What they offer (a Nutella lover's paradise)
Crepe w/ Nutella
Crepe w/ Nutella & strawberries
Crepe w/ banana, walnuts, cinnamon, sugar and liqueur
other crepes that sound equally delicious

Cheesecake Corner, 113 G. E Patterson
What they offer (take a wild guess):
Many, many flavors of the richest, most dense, velvety textured, decadent cheesecake anywhere. Really.


Peabody Deli and Desserts in the Peabody Hotel - a variety of cakes, pies and pastries



The Commercial Appeal ran an article today about a new law that allows dogs on restaurant patios in Shelby County. The law went into effect July 1st, though Poppy has been frequenting patios around downtown for many years. During my past couple of trips to Italy I have seen dogs in shops and restaurants, all well behaved of course. On this last trip there was a beautiful golden retriever in Zara sifting through a sale table with its mama. Very civilized! The article mentions the European attitude towards dogs as well as the rules of bringing your dog with you to a restaurant patio.

Marker #9; MFD Pinch District; William Eggleston

Marker #9 at the northwest corner of Union and Second:

A view of the block mentioned in the marker:


Speaking of fire, the photo below is of the interesting logo I saw on the Memphis Fire Department Fire Station #1's fire engine. It's a skull wearing a derby hat with a four leaf clover on the hat band and the Pyramid and bridge behind it. The skull menacingly says "Come On With It!", presumably to a fire threatening destruction. Station #1 is in the Pinch District which was one of the earliest neighborhoods in what is now the north side of downtown Memphis. Once inhabited by Irish, Jewish, Italian, Russian and Greek immigrants, the nickname for the neighborhood was "Pinch-gut" attributed to the poor, starving Irish population. The moniker Pinch endures to this day. I have not noticed station logos on other fire trucks around town but maybe there are a few.



Yesterday I happened to run across the item that Memphis photographer William Eggleston was the topic of an interesting All Things Considered show on NPR recently. His work is currently on exhibit at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.