While Memphis is best known for Graceland , Sun Studio , and Stax , there ’s much more to explore that lurks just under the airfoil . From little - known river - viewing vantage points to creepy abandoned body structure to hidden works of beautiful art , there are treasures located all over our fair city . Here ’s a guide to a few of Memphis ' hidden gems .
Pedestrian walkway over the Mississippi River
DowntownDowntown ’s fancy hotel – the Peabody , the Madison – advertise sweeping Mississippi River views from their rooftop terraces . But for the most expansive position of the muddy Mississippi , you ’ve got to take the air out over the river itself . There are two interstate bridges that lead from Memphis over the river into Arkansas , the older of which follow the path of I-55 and is aptly make the Memphis & Arkansas Bridge ( but local call it the Old Bridge ) . Unlike the newer I-40 Hernando de Soto Bridge , the Old Bridge has a walker walkway on either side . you could bilk from Memphis to Arkansas safely on foot since the walkway is shielded from dealings by a concrete barrier . Once you take the air out onto the core of the nosepiece , stop and take in amazing view of the winding , muddy river . The experience is both peaceful ( from the lightly lapping wave of the river ) and chaotic ( from the constant rumble of semi motortruck only a few foot away ) . For the really brave , there ’s a small alloy plate about halfway down the bridge . raise it to expose a shortsighted ravel leading down to a terrace on one of the bridgework reinforcement . We ’re not sure how effectual it is , but if you really want a gorgeous river persuasion , you could , in hypothesis , climb up down a few rungs to get at the bench .
Crystal Shrine Grotto
East MemphisIn the heart of Memorial Park Cemetery in East Memphis is a craggy , man - made , hillside cave fill with five tons of quartz crystal and numberless sculptures depicting religious scenes . Some of the artwork was produce in 1938 by Mexican artist Dionicio Rodriguez , who had been commissioned to progress several sculptures throughout the cemetery . After Rodriguez ’ death , sculptors David Day and Luther Hampton contributed to the cave as well . Even if you ’re not typically into religious iconography , it ’s knockout not to be move by the sheer beauty of the whole thing . Memorial Park is n’t the form of place you ’d expect to find such folk - art treasures . It ’s a well - maintained , still - in - use burial land that feature modest grave markers rather than some turn - of - the - century graveyard with monolithic and unique monuments . But that ’s probably what makes Crystal Shrine Grotto all the more special . The Grotto was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991 .
Bettis Family Cemetery
MidtownThe urban landscape of Memphis has certainly changed over the past century , and the midpoint city area that cover Midtown was once debate the the rural fringe of the city . The Bettis family is believe to be the second family to resolve on the bluffs after the 1818 treaty with the Chickasaws that eventually laid the foundation for Memphis to become a city . Tillman and Sally Bettis ( and their nestling ) experience on a farm on the estate that ’s now home to the Cash Saver foodstuff store – which , by the fashion , is well get it on for its massive craft beer excerption and growler store . When Sally died in 1826 , she was bury on the estate , and Tillman follow suit when he passed in 1854 . Their family line plot hold out years of urban sprawl and development . The former Piggly Wiggly market store ( now Cash Saver ) built a rampart around the plot , and a historical marker tells the Bettis ’ taradiddle .
Marine Hospital
DowntownThis long - abandon , three - account infirmary on the river bluff would make the double-dyed setting for a repulsion film set in an former asylum . It was used to treat US Marines back in the late 1800s , and the campus features an eery and decrepit main infirmary building , a nurse ’s building , and a maintenance structure . A local developer have the belongings and finally plans to rehab the hospital and convert it into apartment or condominium , so trespassing to explore the grounds is a big no - no … BUT it ’s deserving the thrust downtown to snap a few icon from the sidewalk . And while you ’re in the neighborhood , check out the National Ornamental Metal Museum next door . The museum ’s grounds are deposit on the river bluff and offer a gravid place to unstrain and watch over the rate of flow of the muddy Mississippi . Across from the museum is Chickasaw Heritage Park , menage to monolithic , ancient Native American mounds that some say engagement back to 1000 AD .
The Mississippi River Group Camp
MillingtonDeep in the heart of Meeman - Shelby Forest State Park sit down a creepy sometime campsite that ’s literally crumble back into the Earth . Multiple log cabin have tear - out windows , and a few , located on the edges of steep J. J. Hill , have collapsed as the hillside has erode over the years . The sometime dining G. Stanley Hall is still in good condition , and because the doors have been go out open , anyone can simply take the air indoors and step back in meter to a Clarence Shepard Day Jr. when Boy Scouts and other campers likely gathered for evening meal . Most of the cabin are subject too , and the adventurous can digress within for a peek . The Mississippi River Group Camp was closed to campers more than a 10 ago , and the state of Tennessee , which maintains the land the summer camp pose on , just stop keeping the dimension up . The cabins were manufacture by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s and were one of many standardized campsites across the country build under President Franklin D. Roosevelt ’s New Deal .
V&E Greenline
MidtownThis 1.7 - mile rail - to - trails pedestrian way scarper directly through Midtown ’s historic Vollintine - Evergreen neighborhood . Since it darts along an erstwhile rail track , much of the crushed rock path is positioned behind houses . Many portion of the track are completely shaded by old trees , and one area is practically a tunnel through a canopy of tree that have develop into one another . prosaic bridges cross over Lick Creek in two piazza along the itinerary , and public artwork is positioned along the lead . Check out the Blue Men statues – a exercise set of large sketch - like blue people with planter on their forefront , who regrettably do n’t bang on large pliant jugs – on the far western end or artist Jeannie Tomlinson Saltmarsh ’s kinetic fish sculptures near one of the Lick Creek bridges . In the center head of the way of life , there ’s a floral garden , where you ’re sure to see butterflies and picnickers on sunny saltation days .
Aretha Franklin’s House
South MemphisOne would think that the childhood place of the Queen of Soul would be kept up regularly , and possibly even converted into a museum . But the modest shotgun house at 406 Lucy Ave in South Memphis has seen no R - E - S - atomic number 15 - E - C - T ( sorry not sorry ) , and it ’s falling into disrepair . The window are boarded , and no study has been done on the vacant structure for years . Yet still , it ’s worth driving by to glimpse the home where Franklin spend the first yr of her aliveness . parole has it that a group may be looking into salvage the home in the near future .
Wolf River on Shelby Farms Greenline
East MemphisThe Wolf River run from Holly Springs , Mississippi up through Memphis and eventually flows into the Mississippi River , but many parts of the Wolf are hidden from view since it lean to snake through more rural and wooded area of Shelby County . However , the easterly end of the Shelby Farms Greenline , a seven mile , paved bike and pedestrian route , offers a glance of the swampy river . A longsighted greenline nosepiece over the Wolf has multiple sentinel item , and at any time , walker and cyclists may see swimming turtles , various waterfowl , or serpent . The path is just feet from the interstate highway at some point , but the traffic is mostly shielded from your panorama by the woodwind that surround the river .
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Crystal Shrine Grotto|Katie Smith/Thrillist
Katie Smith/Thrillist
Katie Smith/Thrillist
Katie Smith/Thrillist
Katie Smith/Thrillist
Katie Smith/Thrillist
Katie Smith/Thrillist
Katie Smith/Thrillist
Katie Smith/Thrillist