Annie of
Little Rock Daily Photo posted this great view of the M Bridge, taken as she was coming over the bridge from Arkansas coming into Memphis. It showed the Pyramid Arena on the left, and I thought that you might enjoy seeing a different view of that here today.
The Pyramid is a sports and entertainment/mulit-purpose arena that was built in 1991, and is jointly owned by the City of Memphis and Shelby County. The pyramid design was chosen as a reference to Memphis' namesake, Memphis, Egypt, which is home to ancient pyramids. It is the third largest pyramid in the world, and is higher---at 32 stories---than both the Statue of Liberty and the Taj Mahal. This photo was taken from the residential side of Mud Island, and you can see the
Mud Island Marina, operated by the
Memphis Yacht Club, in the foreground.
This arena was the home of the
University of Memphis Tigers basketball team (currently #1 in the nation) for many years, and at that time was nicknamed the "Tomb of Doom", and it was also home for several years to the Wonders Cultural Series. It has been a popular choice for many local high school and college graduations. We saw both my sister (college) and my older son (high school) graduate there, and also took our sons to many ice shows and circus performances there when they were younger.
When the FedEx forum was recently built for the
Memphis Grizzlies pro basketball team, the contract was written that the Univ. of Memphis Tigers would also play at the Forum, and that most major ice, circus, and music shows would also use that venue. I will try to post a photo of the Forum in the next day or two. Currently, the Pyramid isn't being used for anything, except occasionally for stage sets for movies being filmed in Memphis. Ideas for future use of the Pyramid have included an indoor theme park, a Memphis branch of the
Smithsonian, and most recently
Bass Pro Shops has expressed an interest in locating a superstore there.
I would hate to see this facility go...it's unique to Memphis, and an eye-catching part of our skyline.
What do you think might be a good use for this attractive structure?
Here is a nice little place to take a break, right on the banks of the Mississippi River. This park is on Mud Island in the downtown area of Memphis. You can find more information about Mud Island here. In this photo, the river is to the left and the residential area is to the right. This park is usually very busy with people walking or playing with their dogs, jogging or skating, riding bikes, having a picnic, or flying kites. The day we visited it was windy and cold, so I'll have to take another photo for you during a busy Spring day (that's a good enough excuse to make a repeat visit!).
