Memphis Archives - Black Cat Lies

Mississippi Roadtrip: Memphis pt. 3 The Lorraine

Although we literally only spent one day in Memphis we knew we had to make a trip to the civil rights museum as well. The Civil Right museum is built in and around the Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. Unfortunately most of the museum was under construction (another reason to come back to Memphis in the future!), but the Martin Luther King Jr. part was open. The museum starts across the street in a building that was a boarding house and was the place where James Earl Ray stayed and later shot Dr. King from. The tour is long and has a step by step account of the two men up and around the time before and after the assassination, It’s fascinating stuff. You can even see what the room James Earl Ray stayed in looked like and the window he shot Dr. King from. You can also see into the room that Dr. King was staying in. There is a lot more to the museum that, unfortunately, we didn’t get to see (as it was under construction) but I definitely want to go back and see the whole museum, the construction should be done in the beginning of 2014. If you’re in or around Memphis this is definitely an important stop you should add to your itinerary.

Parts preserved of the boarding house James Earl Ray stayed in and assassinated Dr. King from:

The room (i think) where Jamel Earl Ray stayed

The Bathroom window where he took aim and killed Dr. King

View of the Lorraine Motel from the boardinghouse bathroom window

Another view of the Lorraine from inside the museum

a snip of the inside of the museum

The Lorraine Motel:

view of the boarding house from the balcony of Dr. Kings hotel room

The Room Dr. King was staying in before his death

As you can see they were also doing construction on the facade of the motel. You could see inside room 306 but I was not able to get a good picture of it. The museum was moving and I definitely learned a lot about Dr. King’s assassination. Hopefully I’ll be able to make it back to Memphis soon and see the whole museum.

Mississippi Road trip: Memphis pt. 1 Graceland, the main house

I have a weird fascination with Tennessee, I’d never been until we went on this trip, but it just seems like a cool place to visit. Someday I’ll visit more of it go back to Memphis, Nashville, go to their big flea market and maybe even bonaroo (not all at once though). Anyway once I checked out where Springfield was and that it was relatively (but not really) close to Memphis I immediately wanted to add it to the itinerary. The number one reason I wanted to go to Memphis was, of course, to see Graceland! I love vintage kitsch and Graceland is like the holy grail of vintage kitsch. It’s a time capsule house of Elvis. And oh boy did Graceland deliver! Oh my god I would go back again, it was soo cool!!!! so worth the long drive. I highly recommend it if you’re in Memphis. The house isn’t very big compared to today’s McMansions but it was in Elvis’ time. It was also named Graceland before Elvis ever lived there, he bought it from a doctor who named it after his wife. Anyway there is SOOO much to see at Graceland so I’m going to break it up into a few posts. So here are the pictures of the main house.

Front of the House

The Living Room :

Check out those groovy peacock stained glass room dividers

And so begins one of the motifs of Graceland, Mirrors EVERYWHERE.

Sputnik chandelier in the Hallway? yes please!

Elvis’ Parent’s Room:

Amazing purple bathroom with…

Poodle wallpaper! mama like.

closet

Hallway/ Stairs to the 2nd Floor

Visitors aren’t allowed on the 2nd floor so this is all you see of it. Notice the mirrored wall.

Dining Room:

The Kitchen:

Carpet in the Kitchen?

I saw one of those canisters in the thrift store and immediately picked it up because I remembered wanting it but put it back because I didn’t remember why I wanted it. I wanted it because I saw it in Graceland!!! doh! Next time.

Preview of the Jungle Room:

The TV Room/ Bar :

Mirrored Bar

If you didn’t notice the color pallet for the TV room/ bar is bright yellow and navy blue. Interesting choice.

After visiting Graceland I’ve developed a need for white ceramic monkeys, don’t judge.

The headset said Elvis saw someone that had multiple TVs (possibly the President) and decided he needed three as well, which is great in the days before the DVR.

MORE MIRRORED WALLS!

Game room/ Den:

check out that crazy patchwork wall tapestry

I’m kind of obsessed with the circus tent treatment to the fabric walls, I kind of really love it.

yes there is a matching couch

The Jungle Room:

The Jungle Room is hilarious. It is an semi- Tiki /Hawaiian style, has green shag carpet on the floor and celing, large wood carved furniture and faux (yes faux) fur upholstery.

MORE CERAMIC MONKEYS!!!!!

The back of the house

There is way more Graceland to come. The Grounds have multiple buildings full of Elvis goodies which I’ll try to fit into one post and of course his planes (which are also amazing), stay tuned for more.