Beale Street, Memphis

Cruising Beale Street. When you cruise Beale you do it at such a pace it takes atleast an hour to walk the two blocks. It seems as the night wears on it takes longer than that. The pace in Memphis is sloooooooow. The heat and humidity necessitate that. Be sure to stroll down the middle of the street and not on the sidewalk. Tourist stick to the sidewalks until there are enough locals in the street. Just kidding. Locals habitate Beale Street as much as the tourists.
I have been here long enough to see the rebirth of Beale Street. In the early 80's Beale was downtrodden and then some business men here decided to revive it. You can see just about anything on Beale some nights. There are acrobatic kids that do somersaults on the street for tips. They have been doing this for years and are quite good. Some of them have gone off to college and come back for guest appearances. There is almost always a band playing the blues in Handy Park.

Beale Street has recently (June, 2001) made the street 21 or older access. Liquor is sold on the street.

The Beale Street District is the BEST if you want to hear great music, while walking around drinking your beer (or some other strange concoctions!). The city blocks off Beale Street (from 2nd Street to 4th Street, I believe) and you can walk from bar to bar, or stop and listen to the misc bands playing all along the way (the best place to hear music is the WC Handy Park. There's a band that plays blues music there all the time; it's free, they're good and it's great people watching. People of all colors, shapes and sizes are just dancing their little hearts out and it's just great fun.).

You also can't miss stopping in at the Center for Southern Folklore and check out their mini-blues museum, or listen to Mose Vinson play the piano and sing in the great bluesman style.

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We used some of our time in the afternoon to see Beale Street. We found parking on the street but the area was not good. We were pestered by street people. There is a large statue to Elvis on Beale Street. We saw and could smell lots of restaurants on the walk to The Peabody.

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Beal street is a very colorful street in down town Memphis
At day time it is easy to find some street's music, and at night? lots of clubs, great mood and lovely Memphis accent ....

"Walkin' with my feet 10 feet off of Beale"

THE center of blues and jazz in Memphis. Just be careful if you keep going on Beale - it turns pretty rough-looking. Stick to the crowded areas.

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Beale Street is nestled in the downtown area. You can reach Beale Street on the Main St. Trolley Line.

The trolley drops you off near the Orpheum Theater side of Beale Street.

3 blocks and 30 nightclubs.... This is where you go for a fun night out in Memphis!

ELVIS MEMORABILIA
ALL HIS MUSIC