back next 1     Memphis, Bike Night, Trolley, Victorian Village, Davies Plantation, Photos Imagetripping sells beautiful framed distintive images of Memphis at night, Victorian Village, Davies Plantation and the Cotton Museum. Many of the images in this gallery were captured during a visit to Memphis in early May, 2013. Memphis is known for the Blues and Barbeque. Most people visit Memphis to see Graceland, Sun Records, and the Stax Museum of American Soul Music. My visit to Memphis was to capture the old and the new South. Yes, I did visit the previously mentioned tourist spots. I was out to capture the old South by collecting images of the spectacular Davies Manor Plantation, virtually an intact plantation built and operating a decade before the Civil War started. Other historic sites captured included homes dating to the 1850's in the Victorian Village Historic District. This included the Handwerker Gingerbread house constructed in 1890 that is behind the grand The Woodruff-Fontaine House constructed in 1872. The Village is home to The Mallory-Neely House, the only historic property in Memphis to retain most of its original furnishings. It is located at 652 Adams and was built in 1852. The home features copper trim and a beautiful lavendar exterior. Another historic site in Memphis that should not be missed is the Cotton Museum and Cotton Exchange. This features everything one would like to learn about cotton from field to fabric, slaves used to plant, harvest and process crops, Civil war, and modern growing and business practices of this key crop. The annual National Cotton Council's one-of-a-kind beauty pageant: the "Maid of Cotton." was held for 54 years; 1939-1993. During the Depression, a group of Memphis businessmen formed the first Cotton Carnival to promote the use and wearing of cotton products which would in turn, lead to increased demand and stimulate sales. It worked, as people began to demand more cotton products from socks to ball gowns and the rest as they say, is history. The celebration included a King, Queen, and Royal Court. The Royal Court was made up of young women. The Queen was a young lady from a "good" family, and the King was a prominent business leader from the current year's saluted industry. Twelve Grand Krewes of Carnival held coronations, parades and parties celebrating their Kings, Queens and Courts as well. Though not official, the Cotton Carnival was for all intents and purposes, for whites only. Beale Street dentist, Dr. R.Q. Venson, founded what would become the Cotton Makers Jubilee in 1935, reflecting the contributions of African-Americans to the cotton industry. It opened with a big parade and ran concurrently with Cotton Carnival. W.C. Handy routinely returned to Memphis for the event each year. The Jubilee enjoyed its most successful years from 1948 to 1958, considered the Golden Years. There were only two occasions in the past when no activities took place: during World War II, and in 1968 when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. Other festivals began to take the place of Carnival, such as the Memphis in May International Festival. In 1982, Cotton Carnival and Cotton Makers Jubilee joined together to become Carnival Memphis The new South - modern Memphis features images collected at night of Beale Street BBQ and Blues establishments, the Main Street Trolley , Main street outdoor dining, and the famous Bike Night held on Wednesday evenings from April to September. Email me if you are interested in Biker and Biker Chick images. An absolute must see is the Belz Museum of Asian and Judaic Art. This museum houses a collection of Chinese artwork from the Qing Dynasty. Having visited the Forbidden City, I was amazed at the volume of work on display. In addition, the Belz museum features many works of contemporary Jewish artists living and working in Israel. I have not placed any of these images on this web site since I honor copyright protection of all artist's work. A useful web site; Memphis Museums Site