BY ALLEN ROARK DBJ Contributing Writer

Where does one begin? That is the question facing any who visits the beautiful and booming river city of Memphis, TN. In a widely diverse mix of traditional gentility and modern convenience, Memphis has reinvented itself to begin the millennium and is now viewed as a model metropolis for the “New South.”
Of course, Memphis is known for its music and entertainment. One need only think of Elvis, Stax Records, Al Green, the Peabody Hotel, Beale Street, Libertyland, and so much more. But the city is also, almost quietly and non-descriptly, becoming a major business hub in the Mid-South as well. Federal Express, Auto Zone, Kroger, Fred’s, Nike, among other businesses, are either based in, or have major centers, in Memphis.
The 18th largest city in America, Memphis is strategically located on the Mississippi River, and is the primary retail/trade/commercial center for 105 counties in six states. With a population of close to 635,000 people, Memphis also boasts of 25 shopping centers and seven malls, and is considered the South’s largest medical center. St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital is located downtown, as well as the world’s largest private hospital, Baptist Memorial, which has some 23 hospitals with 7,900 beds, 24 full-time clinics, 15 part-time clinics, 2,650 physicians, 730 dentists and 38 long-term care facilities.
And the surface has only been scratched.
For those coming in and out of the city, the Memphis International Airport is the world’s 24th busiest, serving nearly 10 million passengers annually. It stands as the world’s busiest cargo airport (because of FedEx and some 25 air freight companies, Memphis moves 1.7 million tons of cargo yearly). Meeting and convention facilities include America’s prime showcase for agriculture, the Agricenter International, the Cook Convention Center, and the extraordinary Pyramid, built on the banks of the Mississippi River. The 32-story stainless steel landmark houses a 22,5000-seat, multi-purpose arena for concerts, sporting events, and other entertainment shows.
Memphis also has seven major colleges and universities, with a total of nearly 45,000 students, including the University of Memphis, the University of Tennessee-Memphis, Rhodes College, and the Memphis School of Art. The city is served by two public school systems, the Memphis City Schools (the 15th largest school system in the U.S.) and the Shelby County School system,
With all of this activity, Memphis has somehow managed to stay the cleanest city in the nation, according to the National City Beautiful Commission. Memphis is the only five-time winner of the award, which is more times than any other U.S. city. And with over 100 barbecue restaurants in the city, Memphis has gained the reputation nationwide as the pork barbecue capitol of the world.
Memphis keeps growing, as well. Under the vision of popular mayor Dr. Willie W. Herenton, some $1.3 billion has been invested in downtown redevelopment. The Mayor has also overseen the addition of 400 police officers to the city’s force; an investment of $100 million to Memphis’ school budget for repairs and air conditioning; a 20-fold increase in the city’s reserve funds, from $3 million to more than $60 million, and the city’s first-ever master parks plan, which maps out a $300 million investment in city parks over the next 20 years.
The downtown Memphis renaissance is also still going strong. Set for final completion in June, the Peabody Place Retail and Entertainment Center is the largest dynamic, mixed-use development and historic preservation project currently underway in the country. It stretches from the Mississippi Riverfront to the Peabody Hotel and the Beale Street entertainment district. The entire complex will be connected by skyways, corridors, and a trolley station.
In addition to office space and apartment units, Peabody Place will also boast a 300,000 sq.-ft. entertainment and retail center. When finished, it will include a 22-screen movie megaplex and retail outlets such as Jillian’s, Tower Records, Anne Taylor and NASCAR Silicon Motor Speedway. Eateries will include Starbucks Coffee, Ghiradelli Gourmet Chocolates and A & W.
The WONDERS series, Memphis’ International Cultural Series, also housed downtown, will be hosting the Eternal Egypt exhibit this year from June 28 to October 21. Displaying “Masterworks of Ancient Art from the British Museum”, this new exhibit is yet another in a line of blockbuster events WONDERS has brought to Memphis since its inception in 1987. Millions of people from around the world come each year to see these exhibits.
As part of the DBJ’s/WABG’s special “Delta’s Edge” coverage, we have covered a few of these special Memphis attractions and businesses in-depthly. Just this cursory glance will demonstrate the vitality and productiveness that is modern Memphis.

BLUES AND ‘BIRDS
W.C. Handy, “Father of the Blues”, once wrote: “The Seven Wonders of the World I have seen, and many are the places I have been. Take my advice, folks, and see Beale Street first.”
That was half a century before Congress declared Memphis’ Beale Street a national historic landmark. Now recognized worldwide as the “Home of the Blues”, the nation’s first original music form, Beale has a cultural recognition rivaled by few places in the country. However, this is no dry historical monument or preserved-under-glass museum exhibit; Beale Street today is part of a major entertainment district in Memphis, a lively area stretching eastward from the Mississippi River bluffs.
It was here in 1909 that a young bandleader and trumpet player named William Christopher Handy wrote a campaign song for Memphis mayoral candidate E.H. Crump. “Boss” Crump won, and the song became an immediate success, not so much for its lyrics as for its new sound—-a tune composed of “blue notes” that caught the attention of the public. The song was soon re-titled “Memphis Blues”, and it became the first blues song to be published. Handy followed with the immortal “St. Louis Blues”, perhaps the most popular blues song of all time. These songs, and other classics, soon established Handy as the “Father of the Blues” and Beale Street as its home. Today his statue overlooks the street from the park named in his honor.
Handy’s former Memphis home, a small shotgun shack where he raised his six children before moving to New York, is located at 352 Beale Street and is open to the public.
Aspiring musicians flocked to the new “Home of the Blues” to learn this new style of music. In late 1940, a young Mississippian from Indianola joined in the amateur contests on Beale and soon developed a large following. He traded his first name, Riley, for the “The Beale Street Blues Boy”, and today B.B. King is regarded as one of the masters of the genre. His club, B.B.’s, located on Beale, is one of Memphis’ top nightlife scenes.
Beale Street began to fade during the Depression years, and one by one the gambling parlors, pawnshops, and nightclubs closed down. Like many cities, Memphis businesses moved to the suburbs, and there was talk that Beale’s old buildings with their cast-iron decorations, wide awnings, and antique signs would fall to the bulldozer.
In the 1970’s however, Memphis turned its attention back to its attractions along the river. Since 1980, more than $500 million has been spent on downtown redevelopment. Thanks to a cooperative effort between the city and private developers, Beale Street is back in a big way. Music is still the street’s main attraction, but the area today also offers a fascinating collection of shops, restaurants, boutiques, nightspots, theatres, and parks.
Another huge downtown attraction is the AutoZone Park, home to the Memphis Redbirds baseball team, an AAA affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals and the 2000 Pacific Coast League Champions. The Memphis Redbirds Baseball Foundation is the first ever not-for-profit entity to own and operate a professional sports team and facility. This classification allows the Foundation to give all baseball profit dollars back to the community.
Lead by founders Kristi and Dean Jernigan, and President and General Manager, Mississippi-native Allie Prescott, the Redbirds began play in 1998 at the old Fairgrounds Stadium, next to the Liberty Bowl. On April 1, 2000, the AutoZone Park was opened, and the Redbirds entered their new home. The $80 million dollar facility was called “one of America’s top ten baseball vacation destinations” by USA Today.
“We’ve been overwhelmingly pleased with the support we’ve received here, as well as with the play of the team and the ballpark itself,” says Prescott. “We drew 925,000 fans to the facility last year in our first year of operation, and this year we hope to bring in over a million.” Prescott adds that last year the Redbirds outdrew all 350 minor league teams in the country on their way to the PCL Championship.
“There’s something for everyone here,” Prescott says. “You’re going to have a great time at AutoZone Park even if you aren’t passionate about baseball.”

HEALTHY BUSINESS
Founded in 1912 by the Southern Baptist Conventions of Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi, Baptist Memorial Health Care in Memphis has gained a reputation of superior service and cutting edge medical technology. Under the leadership of Board Chairman Milton E. Magee and President and CEO Stephen Reynolds, Baptist counts 17 hospital locations, 15 home care and hospice locations, eight minor medical centers, 16 clinics and 13 behavioral health centers.
Baptist Memorial Healthcare has won innumerable awards and accolades for its outstanding work, including being named as one of the Top 50 hospitals in neurology and neurosurgery and in orthopedics nationwide by U.S. News & World Report. Baptist Memorial Health also maintains the Baptist College of Healthcare Sciences, a four-year baccalaureate institution which opened in 1995. The school offers many majors including nursing, radiological sciences and respiratory therapy.
Baptist Memorial Health Care also has five major facilities in North Mississippi located in Oxford, Southhaven, New Albany, Columbus and Booneville. The Vice-President for this Mississippi market, as well as the Administrator/CEO of the Collierville, TN facility is Jim Ainsworth. A Mississippi native, Ainsworth started with Baptist 32 years ago as a pharmacist, having graduated from Ole Miss, and worked his way up through the ranks.
“Our mission at Baptist Memorial Healthcare is to fulfill the threefold ministry of Christ: healing, preaching and teaching for the areas in which we serve,” Ainsworth says. “We’re not only concerned with the treatment of our patients. We are also ultimately concerned with the overall wellness of the communities we serve.” Ainsworth says that, with the growth of Baptist, that concern is tangibly translated into positive results.
“As an example, back in the 1980’s, the only place a patient in our region could have had open-heart surgery would have been in Memphis,” Ainsworth says. “Today, in North Mississippi, we provide cardiac services at Baptist Desoto in Southaven, in Oxford, and in Columbus. Our neurological and orthopedic services have also expanded into these communities. Moreover, our Women’s services have grown tremendously as well. We are nearing completion of a Women’s Hospital in Memphis, and we also have a Women’s Pavilion program that we are just bringing on-line at our DeSoto facility.”
Ainsworth adds that, in Memphis, Baptist has the only adult heart transplant service in the Mid-South and in September will be opening a heart hospital located on the Baptist memorial Hospital–Memphis Campus. “We have also just started a lung transplant service in Memphis that will parallel our heart service,” Ainsworth says.
Cameron Dean, a Leland, MS native, has been a board member with Baptist Memorial Health Care since 1957. “Our presence in North Mississippi has been tremendously positive for the state, and for the Delta,” Dean says. “I recently toured the Southaven facility, Baptist Desoto, and was amazed at the remarkable renovations and innovative changes that had been put in place. Of course, this is only natural what with the huge increase in Southaven’s population over the last several years. The need was there. It is part of our commitment to provide care where the people are, and Baptist DeSoto is only one example of that.”
“Baptist is a non-profit organization,” Dean continues. “Consequently, money goes back into the hospital to continue to grow and update each facility. This is a constant, ongoing effort,” he says. Dean adds that in 2000, the Baptist hospitals provided over $120 million in uncompensated health care to needy patients. “This is part of our mission, and part of our wanting to provide help and health care to the communities we represent,” Dean says.
Another outstanding Memphis business is the architectural firm Askew Nixon Ferguson. In business for more than 25 years, the company was founded on the same principle to which it is dedicated today: delivering architecture that advances their client’s operations and image.
Askew Nixon Ferguson provides architecture, planning, and interior design services. In addition to award-winning design, the firm’s services for local, regional and national clients include, master planning, cost estimating, programming, computer environment design, and virtual reality 3D computer modeling. ANFA, in conjunction with its sister companies Contruction Management Plus, Inc. and ONLINE, Inc., also provides computer–aided facility management, cost estimating, and construction management.
In 1997, Architectural Record magazine named Askew Nixon Ferguson Architects one of America’s Best Managed Firms, citing the innovative management practices of the firm and its exceptional ability to provide a broad range of service to the client.
“As our firm has grown—we now have 40 employees—we’ve niched into two studios,” says John Clark, Director of Business Development for ANFA. “We are also starting to market ourselves more aggressively into North Mississippi and the Delta. There is so much opportunity in these areas, especially with the emphasis we have on warehousing, casinos, and hospitality.”
ANFA specializes in data/call centers, commercial offices, banking, entertainment, restaurants, and warehouse/distribution centers, among many others. Scott Dicus, Principal with the firm says that, “the majority of our work is regional. However, we often travel wherever the client takes us. many of our memphis clients have several facilities across the country, so we will do the work where they need us.”
One big Delta connection ANFA has is with Viking Range Corporation. Not only has the firm worked on Viking’s new training facility in Greenwood, ANFA also is doing the majority of the renovation work on the Irving Hotel renovation in downtown Greenwood which Viking recently purchased.
“We are doing the architecture and interior designing for that project,” says Bill Beatty, Director of Interiors and Associate with ANFA. “We’re working very closely with Malouf Construction on this great Irving Hotel renovation. It’s been a collaborative project, one that is challenging and exciting.” ANFA stresses working with their clients in a team environment where knowledge, talent, and resources are shared openly.
Askew Nixon Ferguson also worked with Viking on the latter’s award–winning Memphis Viking Culinary Arts Center, which was recognized by the Memphis Chapter of the American Institute of Architects with a Citation of Merit Award for Interior Design. The 3,200 sq.-ft. facility located in downtown Memphis is the prototype for multiple locations being developed nationwide by Viking Range. The project incorporates an array of Viking products in a state-of-the-art cooking and presentation setting.
“Memphis is a wonderful community in which to do business,” Beatty says. “And here at Askew Nixon Ferguson, our founding principals believed that an architectural firm’s office should serve as a community hub. That’s why we have frequent art shows here, featuring regional artists, in a gallery we recently added. We also stress volunteering in the community, and often open up our office as a meeting place for groups and organizations.”
Another major business in the Memphis area is Dunavant Enterprises, the largest privately owned company in town, which has operated in the city since its inception in 1928. Chairman and CEO William Dunavant says that his firm specializes in merchandising cotton. “We are merchants,” Dunavant says. “We put our money up, and buy and sell cotton around the world. We handle about 4 million bales of cotton a year.”
Dunavant, who at one time owned the Memphis professional franchise in the United States Football League, says his firm’s business consists of 65% off-shore cotton and 35% domestic. “We’ve had to rely more on off-shore markets in order to maintain our market and our company. Overall, it has been a tough year in our market,” Dunavant admits. “However, I’m hoping that, with new farm legislation possibly coming through in two years that we may see some positive change.”
Dunavant Enterprises represents one of the last great vestiges of the cotton merchants on Front Street in Memphis years ago. “Cotton was king for many years here,” Dunavant says, “and Memphis was universally recognized as the Cotton Capitol of the world. The focus now has shifted with the emergence of AutoZone here, Federal Express, Holiday Inn, etc. Now the city has become more widely diversified in its business strengths.”
Born and raised in Memphis, Dunavant says he could think of no better place in which to live or run a business. “We can credit our success as a company in large part to the area we live in,” Dunavant says. “Memphis is a great city.”
Memphis is a world-class city, deeply rooted in its history and tradition, celebrating and reveling in that history. In less than a walking block one can not only find evidence of the past but also incredible examples of the future. It is this balance, and the respect for both, that has made Memphis, Tennessee such a progressive and interesting place. DBJ

(Be sure to watch WABG-TV 6 during the first full week of May, starting Monday night, to see and learn more about Memphis on the “Delta’s Edge.”)