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The Peabody Hotel |
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...and
the famous ducks in Historic-Memphis |
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The
Peabody is a luxury hotel and no hotel in Memphis history has
more "magic" associated with its name nor more memories
associated with it.
The most recognizable features of the hotel today, are
the large red neon "The Peabody" sign atop the Skyway
Ballroom, and the famous Peabody ducks. But there was an
earlier Peabody on Main Street - the first luxury hotel,
dating from 1869. While so much of early Memphis History
has been "demolished", today's Peabody on Union continues to
offer world class accommodations. This page covers the
entire history of the grand old Peabody Hotel. |
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Special
Thanks to The Memphis Peabody for many of the key photos on
this page. |
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George
Peabody |
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The
original Peabody Hotel was built by Robert Campbell Brinkley in
1869. When the hotel opened on the corner of Main
& Monroe it immediately became the social and business hub
of Memphis. Robert originally planned to name the
hotel "Brinkley House" but changed the name to honor
George Peabody, a wealthy man who made major contribution
to Southern institutions. Brinkley had met George
Peabody on a ship bound for England in the mid 1860s.
He was on his way to find financing for a stretch of
railroad linking Little Rock to Memphis. The two men
became friendly and by the time the ship docked, Peabody
had invited Brinkley to be a guest at his estate. |
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George
Peabody |
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By
the time Brinkley returned to Memphis, he not only had
secured his railroad financing, but with Peabody's help,
had the $60,000 to build his grand Memphis hotel, which he
planned to name "Brinkley House". But
Peabody died in England 9 months before the new hotel opened and
during this period Brinkley changed the name of the hotel
to "Peabody" to honor his friend.
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The Peabody |
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When Peabody died in England, the Dean of Westminster
offered burial in the Abbey, but George's will stated that
he wished to be interred in his hometown of Danvers,
Massachusetts. So with the approval of Queen
Victoria, a temporary period of burial in the Abbey was
decided as a mark of great respect for George Peabody in
1869.
Later, Prime Minister William Gladstone arranged for
Peabody's remains to be returned to America on HMS
Monarch, the newest and largest ship in the Royal Navy. |
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Temporary burial in Abbey |
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Peabody Hotel opens 1869 |
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On February 5, 1869, The Peabody had a grand opening.
It was the beginning of "better times, after the Civil
War, and the following years of Reconstruction.
Those Memphians who looked to the future, found it in
The Peabody. And it was a financial success from
the day it opened. |
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Peabody 1888
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Peabody 1891 |
Peabody 1891 |
Peabody 1895 |
Peabody 1899 |
Peabody 1906 |
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Shortly after the hotel opened, Robert Campbell Brinkley
presented
the hotel to his daughter Anna Overton Brinkley and her fiance
Robert B. Snowden as a wedding gift.
For
the next 96 years the Snowden family, in one way or another,
will have a connection to the Peabody Hotel. |
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Anna Snowden |
Robt B. Snowden |
Robt C. Brinkley |
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The
hotel was magnificent. It
had 75 gas-lit rooms with private bathrooms, a first class
dining room, shops, entertainment, a large and beautiful
lobby, as well as a grand ballroom, where lavish balls were
held. It was the place to see and be seen. The hotel was highly successful.
Guests paid $3 to $4 for a room with meals included in the
price. Guests here included Presidents Andrew Johnson and
William McKinley and Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee and
Nathan Bedford Forrest. |
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1868 Dining Rm |
1868 "Brinkley" |
1868 OPEN |
1868 |
1869 Ad |
1869 Feb Ball |
1883 |
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Peabody
Addition ...Lowenstein's
and the
Fransioli Hotel |
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After
the turn of the century, the Peabody constructed a
$350,000 addition at the back. It was an all steel
structure - the first of its kind in Memphis. But it
wasn't enough. In 1923 , hotel management decided it was
time for a new and larger building and closed the old Main
Street Peabody. They had negotiated with Lowenstein's who
wanted to take over the corner and build a grand new department
store. A
block away, at 2nd and Union, a new, bigger and better
Peabody is scheduled to open within 2
years ...
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New Wing...1908 |
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New ...1908 |
1911 |
1913 |
1920 New Hotel? |
Lowenstein's 1926 |
Brinkley
Center today |
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The
Fransioli Hotel was located on the corner of 2nd and Union from 1883 to 1923. It had 4 floors and 100 "large and airy
rooms", and was considered one of the finest hotels in
early Memphis. In 1919 the hotel was sold to the Hallidays who
operated the Gayoso Hotel. Later it was sold to the Southern
Hotel Co who demolished the hotel in 1923 and built the new
Peabody Hotel on the site. The Fransioli is so closely associated with The Peabody that one can't really
discuss the Peabody history without mentioning The Fransioli.
Ironically, the design of the Fransioli looks almost identical
to the design of the old Peabody on Main Street. |
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Fransioli Hotel |
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The New
Peabody |
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Construction began on the new Peabody within a month after the
old Peabody on Main closed. The new hotel was designed by
Chicago architect Walter W. Ahlschlager, with a plan for 625
rooms with baths. Ahlschlager had designed the Roxy and
Beacon Theatres in NYC, the Sheridan Plaza Hotel and Davis
Theatre in Chicago, and the Carew Tower in Cincinnati. His
design for the Peabody has been described as Italian Renaissance
Revival. The cost in 1925 was $5,000,000. |
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Walter
Aslschlager |
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For
the 1925 opening of the New Peabody, 1200 preview party invitations
were sent to the Who's Who of the South. Everyone who was
anyone wanted to be seen at 2nd and Union during the event.
450 newly hired staff were trained for the pre-opening
ceremonies. The Peabody was back! Once again the
hotel established a reputation as the center of social life for
the entire region. The grand new Peabody saw a steady
stream of the wealthy and prominent congregate to dine and to
dance. It was the largest and most elegant hotel in the
South for the next fifty years and represented true opulence and
grandeur. |
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Formal
Opening |
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Peabody Exterior |
Peabody
Exterior |
Lobby-1925 |
Lobby -1925 |
Lobby - 1927 |
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Radio WREC
1932 |
Lobby 1940s |
1925
Guestroom |
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The famous ducks
became part of the Peabody legend in 1932. Frank Schutt, the
general manager of the hotel and one of his friends had returned
empty-handed from an Arkansas hunting trip. That evening,
after a few drinks, the two played a prank by putting
their live duck decoys in the lobby's fountain. The
reaction from hotel guests was overwhelmingly enthusiastic.
Schutt recognized a good thing, and as a promotion, he replaced
the decoys with five Mallard ducks who were
trained to walk into the hotel and directly to the fountain... a tradition that continues today.
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Today's
ducks have their own "penthouse" on the hotel's roof.
Every day at 11 AM they are led by the "Duckmaster"down the
elevator to the lobby. A red carpet leads to the fountain
and they march through the crowd to the tune of "King Cotton
March". The ceremony is reversed at 5 PM. The
duckmaster coordinates all of this. Each day there is also
an honorary Duckmaster... usually a youngster, but many visiting
celebrities have asked to be the Duckmaster - including Oprah
Winfrey, Justin Timberlake, Paula Deen, Gene Simmons, George
Hamilton, Larry King ...etc. |
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Duck March |
Quack! |
Duckmaster
Doug |
On the Red
Carpet |
Duck Palace Interior |
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The
Continental Ballroom and The Venetian Ballroom:
Throughout
the 1940s-1960s, the
hotel was so associated with world-class glamour that most
Memphis Schools wanted to hold their proms and/or Banquets in
one of the Peabody's grand ballrooms. It was a
complete rite of passage and a sure sign that you were now
"grown up" and it was something you'd never forget. After
all, "It was The Peabody". |
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Continental
Ballroom .. |
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1951 Tech High Senior Banquet
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1951-52 Prom |
The Venetian Ballroom |
1950 Ballroom |
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The Skyway Night Club and the
Plantation Roof:
The Skyway
opened in 1938. Prior to that the roof was totally open
and guests danced under the stars at the "Marine Roof" and later
the "Moroccan Roof". During the Big Band era, the Skyway
and Plantation Roof
was the place to be at night. All the major bands
headlined at the Peabody Skyway. Walk around town in the
evening and you could hear the music coming from the Skyway and
the nearby Claridge Hotel. From the skyway or Plantation
Roof, there are stunning views of the city and the river.
Beginning in 1937, the big bands were broadcast nationwide on
CBS radio. |
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The Skyway |
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The Skyway |
Plantation
Roof |
Plantation
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Set Ups, anyone?
Prior
to the mid-60's, alcoholic beverages were sold in Tennessee only
as sealed bottles in licensed liquor stores. Yet it was possible to have drinks at The
Skyway. Patrons would bring a bottle, acquired elsewhere and the
waiter would bring "set ups" of your choice to the table and you
mixed your own. And the patrons
who didn't have their own bottle? There was a licensed Liquor Store
in the Peabody lobby. Waiters would take your money and go
down and buy a
bottle for patrons, and bring you a receipt and your change. |
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"Set Ups" |
1952 Receipt |
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Three who are remembered... |
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Frank Schutt
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Alonzo Locke
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Edward Pembroke >
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Frank Schutt
was
General Manager of the Peabody from the opening in 1925 to his
retirement in 1956. He obviously did something right? |
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Alonzo Locke,
the
Peabody's Maitre d' , was known for his amazing memory. He
guided people to their tables for over 40 years. When they
returned years later, he would address them by name. Locke
Elementary school was named for him. |
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Edward
Pembroke
was the
Duckmaster from 1940 -1991. He had been a wild animal tamer
with the Ringling Bros-Barnum & Bailey Circus. At the Peabody
he volunteered to be the first Duckmaster and taught the ducks to march
into the lobby to the music of Sousa's "King Cotton March". |
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All is well with
the Peabody! |
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... But
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During
the 1950s a nationwide move to the suburbs began.
Memphians were no longer shopping regularly on Main Street
and Downtown Memphis began to feel the pain. The Peabody
was no exception. The hotel had many vacancies and the
restaurants were almost empty. The building was beginning
to be in need of repairs, and by 1953 it was known that the
Peabody was for sale. There were two bidders - the Albert
Pick Corporation and the Alsonett Hotel Group. In 1953 the
hotel went to the Alsonett Hotel Group .
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Alsonett Hotel" |
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It soon became obvious that the "hotel would never be the same".
Alsonett set aside tradition in favor of economy. Cost
cutting practices were evident everywhere. Downgrading was
the name of the game. And any profits were used to upgrade
Alsonett properties elsewhere. The profitable convention
business completely disappeared. The hotel faced huge
debts and was unable to get financing. In 1965, the grand
old Peabody was forced into foreclosure.
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Foreclosure! |
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The
auction began in December of 1965.
Robert
B. Snowden, of
THE
SNOWDENS, placed the winning bid.
Within
48 hours he re-sold the Peabody to the Sheraton chain.
How
could a Snowden doom this great hotel?
But
Snowden knew that Sheraton was going to improve the
hotel. And Sheraton assured Memphis that all Peabody
traditions would remain the same and they set about restoring
the old building. BUT THEY NEGLECTED to MENTION THERE
WOULD BE A NAME CHANGE. For the next 9 years the hotel
would be called the Sheraton-Peabody. Memphians felt this
was better than nothing. |
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" The
Sheraton-Peabody" |
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Sheraton really tried. Unfortunately the steady decline of
downtown Memphis continued - at a much faster pace after the
1968 assassination of Martin L. King. In December of 1973,
the Sheraton-Peabody closed the doors and posted a "For Sale"
sign. Of course this was a huge blow to a struggling
downtown which had essentially become a boarded-up ghost town.
The Peabody had a short reprieve in 1974 when a group of Alabama
investors reopened the hotel. But it was doomed to failure
and by April 1,1975 this group was forced to declare bankruptcy
and the grand old Peabody was put up for public auction by the
county. |
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July
31, 1975. Auction Day. Philip Belz and his son Jack
of Belz Enterprises were there to bid. At this time, The Belz family
were generally unknown to most Memphians. There were only
two other bidders present on this day - a scrap dealer, and "Prince Mongo".
Very quickly the Belz's became the owners of a hotel for
$400,000 and their lives were changed forever.
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SOLD.! The Belz
Family
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It
took 4 years and 25 million dollars, more than twice the
original estimate to complete the renovation of the landmark
structure. The grand opening in 1981 is widely considered
in Memphis as a major stimulus and inspiration for the downtown
revitalization that followed. Today, The
Peabody continues to offer world class accommodations and is a
historic icon in Memphis. It is listed on the National
Register of Historic Places. |
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Renovation! |
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The
Peabody is back ! Better than ever! |
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"The Mississippi Delta begins in the lobby of the Peabody and
ends on Catfish Row in Vicksburg. The Peabody is the Paris Ritz,
the Cairo Shepheard's, the London Savoy of this section. If you
stand near its fountain in the middle of the lobby, where ducks
waddle and turtles drowse, ultimately you will see everybody who
is anybody in the Delta."
- David Cohn,, 1935 |
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Opening 1981 |
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Special
Thanks to Woody Savage for many photos in
this section. |
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The Peabody |
The Peabody |
Logo |
The Peabody |
The Peabody
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Architectural Details |
Entrance |
Corridor |
Elevators |
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Lobby |
Lobby |
Lobby Bar |
Lobby Bar |
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Lobby Fountain |
Lobby - Fountain |
Lobby - Fountain |
Lobby |
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Lobby-Mezzanine |
Skylight-Chandelier |
Continental Ballroom |
Afternoon Tea |
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Lobby -
Christmas 2009
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Lobby
Christmas-2009 |
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Telephones |
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Francis Scott
Key Piano |
Mezzanine Museum |
Mezzanine Museum |
Pastry Shop |
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| Lobby Shops |
Lobby Shops |
Lobby Shops |
Lobby Shops |
Carriages |
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| Capriccio
Grill |
Lobby Decor |
Corner Bar |
Lobby Decor |
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Chez Philippe
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Chez Philippe |
Louis Room |
Forrest Room |
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1990s Guestroom |
Deluxe King Room |
Deluxe Double Room |
Pool |
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Peabody
Memorabilia |
In
July of 1978, a group of over 1800 memorabilia seekers and
bargain hunters stool in line for the first Peabody garage sale.
A second sale was held a month later. "Everything" not
historically related to the hotel was sold. Numerous items
from the sale are now showing up regularly on Ebay - along with
other historical Peabody Hotel memorabilia.
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1978
"Garage Sale" |
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1869 Gaslight |
1874 Billhead |
1883 DUCK Menu |
1924
Peabody Construction |
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Vintage Key |
Key Fobs 1930s |
Vintage Key |
Key 1920s |
Vintage Key |
Key 1920s |
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Teapot |
Silver
Bowl |
Silver Bowls |
Plate Cover |
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| Gravy Boat
-Vintage |
Plate 1920s |
Demi Cup |
Ashtray |
Bowl |
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1941
Peabody Menu |
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1941 Peabody Menu |
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| 1942
Peabody Menu
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1943 Peabody Grill Menu |
1954
Peabody Menu |
1958 Breakfast |
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1927 Chas Lindberg
Dinner |
1927 Menu |
1955
Grill Menu |
Sewing
Kit |
1925 Ad
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Vintage
Tea Menu ... |
1900
Stationery |
1904
Barbers |
1913
Gravy Boat |
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Check tag |
Bookmark |
Do Not
Disturb |
1902
Postcard |
1888
Letter |
Kitchen
Towels |
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Some of the "Famous" who have
stayed at the Peabody... |
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<> Email <> |
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"I'm
the retired production manager of WREG-TV. When I first went to work
for Channel 3, we were located in the basement of the Peabody, The
radio station had been there since the hotel opened in 1925. The
manager of the Peabody had seen radio stations in all the big New
York hotels and asked Hoyt B Wooten who had his radio store in the
Peabody to move his radio station from Whitehaven to the Peabody. It
was in the Peabody for the next 52 years. All of WREC'S station Ids
were WREC 600 on your radio with studios in Hotel Peabody the
South's finest and one of Americas best hotels. Each night, WREC
would do a live broadcast from the Skyway that was sent all over the
country over the CBS radio network". -
Walter
Bolton |
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"Notice the sign on top of Hotel Peabody?
My Step-Dad built that sign and erected it a LONG time ago" -
Rex King |
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"My father was an employee of the Peabody for over fifty years, so I
grew up hearing about the Peabody and going there often. My
birthday cakes were made at their bakery and our special occasions
were celebrated there. Daddy was personnel manager for the
elevator/waiter staff. I remember going to several dances in
the ballroom where the kitchen staff would keep peeping in the door
to see "what Mr. Barrett's daughter looked like." I loved the
Peabody and still do. We had my father's 100th Birthday party
at the Peabody in 1991. He died in 1994 at 103 years old."
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Sarah Barrett Cave |
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"I can't remember
the year, but it was when the made for TV movie "North & South
was showing on WHBQ Channel 13. I had a great friend at WMPS
Radio station who was one of the DJ's and he called me and told
me that Patrick Swayze was going to be at the Peabody Hotel to
do a commercial to promote "North & South". So I went up there
with a couple of my friends with my husband's camera, that I
didn't know how to operate. When Patrick came into the lobby by
the fountain, I was trying to get the camera focused and
literally fell over a huge chair. Everyone was cracking up, and
Patrick came over, helped me up and asked me if I was alright.
I guess you can tell how I was feeling! HA! He told me to get my
camera ready and he would pose for a picture. I still have the
photo and the memory."
-Trilby Duncan Tipler |
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"The Dave Clark Five was a band from the British Invasion of the
60's. A friend and I heard they were holding a press
conference at the Peabody with Disc Jockey Lance Russell (Memphis
Wrestling Fame). We left school and told him we were from the
school newspaper and were there for the press conference. He
said there wasn't enough room. Dejected, we walked into the
lobby and heard that the band was staying on the 13th floor (Hmm...I
didn't think tall buildings had a 13th floor). Anyway, we took
the elevator up and as we got off, we heard that they had just gone
downstairs. We just about killed ourselves running down 13
flights of stairs, but we found them in an alcove in the lobby,
waiting to be ushered into the press room. They kindly chatted
with us and gave autographs. A few minutes later we walked
into the press conference with the band, and Lance Russell was
grinning from ear to ear."
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Margo Frazier |
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Credits |
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The
Historic-Memphis website does not intentionally post copyrighted
photos and material without permission or credit.
On
occasion a "non-credited" photo might possibly be posted because we
were unable to find a name to give credit. Because of the nature of
our non-commercial, non-profit, educational website, we strongly
believe that these photos would be considered "Fair Use. We have
certainly made no monetary gain, although those using this website
for historic or Genealogy research have certainly profited. If by
chance,
we have posted your copyrighted photo, please contact us, and we'll
remove it immediately, or we'll add your credit if that's your
choice. |
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The "Historic-Memphis" website would like to acknowledge and thank the
following for their contributions which helped make this page possible:
Woody
Savage for his many photos,
The Memphis
Peabody,
"The
Peabody: A history of the South's grand hotel",
Google
Earth, Memphis
Public Library, Memphis University Library,
Memphis Commercial Appeal, Memphis Press Scimitar, Shelby County
Register of Deeds, Vance Lauderdale Family Archives, Tennessee State Archives, Library of
Congress, Lee Askew,
George Whitworth, Joe Spake, and many individuals whose assistance is
acknowledged on the pages of their contributions.
We do not have high definition copies of the photos on these
pages. If anyone wishes to secure high definition photos,
please contact the photographer or the collector.
(To avoid any possibility of contributing to SPAM, we do not
maintain a file of the email addresses of photographers or
collectors). |
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