Here I am at The Peabody Hotel in Memphis Tennessee. We lived, worked and attended school in Memphis years ago, my how downtown has changed. When we checked in for some reason we were comped and upgraded to the special floor, with complimentary breakfast in the morning; complimentary coffee and tea mid-morning; complimentary hors-d'oeuvres, fruits, cheeses, in the evening; not only chocolates on our pillow at night, but petite fours, chocolate covered strawberries, and other dainties with a note containing the next day's weather forecast; our own fluffy robes; a 38 inch flat screen TV plus the TV in the bathroom. Wow, could we get used to this!
The march of the Peabody Ducks to and from the Grand Lobby is one of the highlights for visitors. They don't appear to be afraid or frightened by the huge crowds of people or the flash from numerous cameras and phones.
The ducks and the hotel have a long, interesting and very historic history. Named for George Peabody, as in George Peabody College for Teachers in Nashville Tennessee, there are some amazing facts:
Hubby and I took a stroll down to world famous Beale Street after our delish dinner at one of the hotel restaurants. The street was blocked off to cars and people were everywhere, enjoying the great sounds of Blues and Rock-n-Roll coming from most of the eclectic establishments. What a great evening, warm weather, no rain, great music, and the best hubby in the world. Life truly is good and treats like this are to be savored.
From Wiki:
The original Peabody Hotel was built by Robert Campbell Brinkley in 1869. Before it opened, Brinkley found out about the death of George Peabody. Out of respect for Peabody, who contributed much to the South, he named his new hotel "The Peabody".[1]
The original Peabody Hotel, located at the corner of Main and Monroe streets, was highly successful. The former President of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis resided there in 1870 when he worked in Memphis as president of an insurance company.[2]. The original Peabody Hotel closed in 1923[1]. The current Peabody Hotel building, on Union Avenue, was built in 1925 on the previous site of the Fransioli Hotel, which looked just like the original Peabody Hotel[3]. Designed by Chicago architect Walter W. Ahlschlager, the Italian Renaissance building holds historical and cultural significance;[4] it has been said that the Mississippi Delta "begins in the lobby of the Peabody Hotel (in Memphis) and ends on Catfish Row in Vicksburg".[5]
Prior to the mid-1960s, alcoholic beverages were sold in Tennessee only as sealed bottles in licensed liquor stores. The Hotel Peabody had a bar, The Creel, for its patrons on those days. Patrons would bring a bottle, acquired elsewhere, into The Creel, and the bartender would tag the bottle for later retrieval. The bartender would then mix drinks from the patron's bottle on request.
The Peabody again closed in the early 1970s, generally a era of urban blight for many American cities. The Jack Belz family purchased the hotel from the county in 1975 for $400,000 and spent the next several years and $25,000,000 renovating the landmark structure. The grand reopening in 1981 is widely considered in Memphis as a major stimulus and inspiration for the downtown revitalization that followed and still continues.
Similar Peabody Hotels are operated by the Peabody Hotel Group in Little Rock, Arkansas and Orlando, Florida. The Peabody Hotel Group Brand Management Division owns and operates properties under different brand names in Massachusetts, Tennessee, South Carolina and Arkansas.
The Peabody Hotel in Memphis is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Peabody Ducks
The Peabody is probably best known around the world for a custom dating back to the 1930s. The General Manager of the time, Frank Schutt, had just returned from a weekend hunting trip in Arkansas. He and his friends found it amusing to leave their live decoy ducks in the hotel fountain. The guests loved the idea, and since then, ducks have played in the fountain every day.[1]
In 1940, a Bellman by the name of Edward Pembroke volunteered to care for the ducks. Pembroke was given the position of "Duckmaster" and served in that position until 1991. As a former circus animal trainer, he taught the ducks to march into the hotel lobby, which started the famous Peabody Duck March[1]. Every day at 11:00 a.m., the Peabody Ducks are escorted from their penthouse home, on the Plantation Roof, to the lobby via elevator. The ducks, accompanied by the King Cotton March by John Phillip Sousa, then proceed across a red carpet to the hotel fountain, made of a solid block of Italian travertine marble. The ducks are then ceremoniously led back to their penthouse at 5:00 p.m.[6]
Over the years, The Peabody Ducks have gained celebrity status with television appearances (along with their Duckmaster) on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, Sesame Street, and the Oprah Winfrey Show. They have also appeared in People magazine. [7]
The position of "Duckmaster" at the Peabody Memphis is one of only three such positions in the world, the other two being the Duckmasters in the Orlando and Little Rock Peabody Hotels. Celebrities have also assumed the role of Honorary Duckmaster from time to time, including Paula Deen, Joan Collins, Molly Ringwald, Kevin Bacon, Emeril Lagasse, Patrick Swayze, Queen Noor of Jordan, Oprah Winfrey, and Gayle King. [7]
The custom of keeping ducks in the lobby fountain may date back even further than the 1930s. A pre-1915 postcard highlights the ducks playing in the fountain, and one source claims the custom goes back to the hotel's opening in 1869.[8]
However, the Peabody itself claims the duck tradition to have started in 1933, as on December 3rd, 2008 they unveiled a new "Duck Palace" located on the rooftop, for the 75th anniversary of the duck tradition. The 24 by 12 foot enclosure features granite flooring, ceiling fans, a scale replica of the hotel, a fountain decorated with a pair of bronze ducks, and a large viewing window for guests to see them in their new home. The Duck Palace cost approximately $200,000 to construct. [9]
sounds like you had the time of your life - i've always wanted to see the ducks up close and personal - they are so danged cute!
i watched a special on the peabody a few years ago on one of the travel channels or it could have been the history channel.
Posted by: nancz | April 30, 2009 at 11:32 AM
nancz: It's great, but I may have to go on a diet by the weekend, ha.
The food is so good, I never want to cook again.
(Hubby are you listening???)
Posted by: Debbie | April 30, 2009 at 12:57 PM
Never heard of the Peabody or the ducks. Wow, what a place, thanks Debbie.
Posted by: MK | May 01, 2009 at 06:35 AM
If you don wanna cook anymore, I can head for Hardee's and the Deerfield Inn.
Posted by: Grouchatola | May 03, 2009 at 10:11 AM
Grouch:
No need to head for Hardees or the Deerfield. There's no place like home WITH you and Penny.
Posted by: Debbie | May 03, 2009 at 10:21 AM