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The Peabody Memphis is a historic luxury hotel in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee, opened in 1925. The hotel is known for the "Peabody Ducks" that live on the hotel rooftop and make daily treks to the lobby. The Peabody is a member of Historic Hotels of America, a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Among its guests were Presidents Andrew Johnson and William McKinley and Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee and Nathan Bedford Forrest. Jefferson Davis, the former President of the Confederacy, lived there in 1870 when he worked as president of an insurance company.United States Census, 1870, Tennessee, Shelby Co., 4-WD Memphis, Peabody Hotel, Series: M593 Roll: 1562 Page: 147. The hotel closed in 1923 in preparation for a move one block away. The building was demolished and Lowenstein's department store was constructed there.
Before the mid-1960s, alcoholic beverages were sold in Tennessee only as sealed bottles in licensed liquor stores. A patron could bring a bottle acquired elsewhere into the hotel bar, The Creel, where the bartender would tag it and mix drinks from it at the patron's request.
The hotel was sold to the Alsonett Hotel Group in 1953. Deeply in debt by the early 1960s, it went bankrupt in 1965 and was sold in a foreclosure auction to Sheraton Hotels, becoming the Sheraton-Peabody Hotel.
As downtown Memphis decayed in the early 1970s, the hotel suffered financially, and the Sheraton-Peabody closed in December 1973. An Alabama investment group purchased the hotel in 1974 and reopened it briefly under its original name, but they declared bankruptcy on April 1, 1975, and it closed again. Isadore Edwin Hanover purchased the hotel from the county on July 31, 1975, for $400,000 and sold it to his son-in-law, Jack A. Belz, for the same amount. Belz spent the next several years and $25 million renovating the landmark structure. The grand reopening in 1981 is widely considered a major catalyst for the Memphis downtown area's ongoing revitalization.
The Peabody Hotel is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Peabody Orlando, near Orlando, Florida, opened in 1986 as the second Peabody Hotel. It was sold on August 28, 2013 and was renamed Hyatt Regency Orlando on October 1, 2013.
PHG operated a third hotel in Little Rock, Arkansas beginning in 2002, when they assumed management of the former Excelsior Hotel. The hotel was renamed The Peabody Little Rock, and operated under that name until 2013, when it became a Marriott.[1]
PHG also operated properties for a number of years under the Hilton name in Greenville, South Carolina and Little Rock, Arkansas.
In 1940, a Bellhop 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. Every day at 11:00 a.m., the Peabody Ducks are escorted from their penthouse home, on the Rooftop, to the lobby via elevator. The ducks, accompanied by the King Cotton March by John Philip Sousa, then proceed across a red carpet to the hotel fountain, made of a solid block of Italian travertine. The ducks are then ceremoniously led back to their penthouse at 5:00 p.m.
Over the years, The Peabody Ducks have gained celebrity status with television appearances (along with their Duckmaster) on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Sesame Street, sitcom Coach and The Oprah Winfrey Show. They have also appeared in People magazine.
The position of "Duckmaster" at the Peabody Memphis is the only such position in the world. Celebrities have also assumed the role of Honorary Duckmaster from time to time, including Zane Lamprey, Paula Deen, Joan Collins, Molly Ringwald, Kevin Bacon, Gerry Tidd Peter Frampton, Emeril Lagasse, Patrick Swayze, Queen Noor of Jordan, Oprah Winfrey, Stephen Fry, Rudolph van Veen, Gayle King, Roy Williams, Bill Pierce, Shannon The Dude, Matt Jones, Drew Franklin and Ryan Lemond, and by Rhett and Link of Good Mythical Morning.
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.baby doll
However, the Peabody itself claims the duck tradition to have started in 1933, as on December 3, 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.
The top floor, the Skyway and Rooftop, offers views of the surrounding Memphis skyscrapers. The rooftop is often used as a space for bands and other musical acts, especially during the Thursday night "Rooftop Parties" in the summer months.
In the elevators, one must press "S" to access the top floor. If this floor were numbered, one would press "13" to reach it, but due to superstitions regarding the number thirteen, management decided to call the top floor "the Skyway."
The studios of radio station WREC and later its television spinoff WREG were for many years located in the hotel basement. During the Big Band era, the Skyway was a popular night-spot, and the ballroom was one of only a handful of sites in America from which the CBS radio network would broadcast live weekly programs. Regular headliners included Tommy Dorsey and the Andrews Sisters.
The Peabody was featured in the 1993 film The Firm, starring Tom Cruise and the 1957 film " A Face in the Crowd, directed by Elia Kazan.
12 – The Peabody Club, The Presidential Suite, Club Level Guest Rooms
11 – Standard Guest Rooms, Junior Suites, Romeo and Juliet Suites
10 – Standard Guest Rooms, Junior Suites, Edward Pembroke Suite
09 through 08 – Standard Guest Rooms
07 – Standard Guest Rooms, W.C. Handy Suite
06 through 04 – Standard Guest Rooms
03 – The Peabody Executive Conference Center
02 (M) – Mezzanine Level, The Peabody Grand Ballroom, Venetian Room, Continental Ballroom, Louis XVI Room, Forest Room, Hernando DeSoto Room, The Tennessee Exhibit Hall, The Peabody Memorabilia Room, Francis Scott Key Piano, Hotel Kitchens, Banquet Offices
01 (L) – The Grand Lobby, Chez Philippe, Capriccio Grill, The Lobby Bar, Lansky Brothers, The Corner Bar, Peabody Deli and Desserts, The Grand Galleria of Shops, Guest Registration, Valet, Concierge, Bell Stand
LL – Lower Level (Basement), Administrative Offices, Feather's Day Spa and Salon, Peabody Athletic Club, Shoeshine Parlor, Hotel Pool
At one time Northwest Airlines had a ticket office in the Peabody Hotel Arcade." Ticket Offices and Phone Numbers." ( Archive) Northwest Airlines. June 13, 1998. Retrieved on November 20, 2012. "Northwest Airlines Peabody Hotel Arcade 149 Union Ave. Memphis, TN 38103"
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