Tag: East End Park

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Visiting Memphis in 1940? Then Use This Guide.

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Tourists visiting Memphis in 1940 probably picked up this brochure at local hotels, or maybe it was mailed to them by the Chamber of Commerce. It’s a handy guide to the main attractions in and around our city.

Some of today’s top draws aren’t listed of course, such as Graceland or The Dixon Gallery and Gardens or FedExForum.

But many of the “old classics” are there, including the Memphis Zoo, the Mississippi River, various parks, and other sights-to-see.

What’s interesting, at least to me though, are all the things listed in this 70-year-old brochure that have vanished. Among them: the Municipal Auditorium (“built at a cost of $2,000,000”) , the Cossitt Library, the Goodwyn Institute Library, Sienna College (when it was still on Vance), and the Fairgrounds Casino Ballroom (“dancing in season three nights a week”).

Then there’s the whole paragraph on downtown movie theaters: “There are 30 theaters in Memphis with a total seating capacity of 43,959. Modern community theaters with the very latest equipment may be found in the suburban communities of the city. A list of the downtown theaters”:
• Loew’s State (152 South Main)
• Orpheum Theater (197 South Main)
• Malco Palace Theater (81 Union Avenue)
• Strand Theater (138 South Main)
• Warner Theater (52 South Main).

Did you notice those names? The present-day Orpheum was called the Orpheum before it became the Malco. Boy, is that confusing! And, if this brochure is correct, Loew’s Palace (currently the site of Parking Can Be Fun) was originally called the Malco Palace.

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Skateland on Summer

6b06/1247863150-skateland.jpg Memphis had other roller-skating rinks before this one — Rainbow Lake and East End come to mind — but none of them had the visual impact of Skateland. And I’m talking about the original building, when it was located on the north side of Summer Avenue.

Drivers on Summer could hardly miss the clean lines of the massive building just east of Mendenhall, with a facade of rough stone that framed a wall of glass panels. “SKATELAND” was spelled out in red neon along the roof, and three winged shoes — complete with spinning neon wheels — provided a crowning touch. Anyone still not clear about what went on there could also read, in giant red neon letters, “Roller Skate for Health.”

Inside, sweeping trusses of laminated wood supported a high wooden dome that arched over one of the largest rinks in town. A neon signboard mounted on the back wall gave skaters their instructions: “All Skate,” “Trios,” “Reverse,” “Grand March,” and when the session came to an end, “Skates Off.”

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Fairyland Park

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In the May issue of Memphis magazine, my ne’er-do-well colleague Michael Finger tells the compelling story of East End Park, one of this area’s most elaborate entertainment complexes. Opened in the late 1880s, East End featured rides, games, fireworks shows, and some of the most bizarre vaudeville performances you could ever imagine. I mean, it’s not every day that you see somebody called “The Human Bomb” in action. But I don’t intend to tell you the whole story here. Please purchase a magazine — a bargain at just $3.99 — and read it for yourself.

But this isn’t about East End Park. Instead, I wanted to mention its neighbor, a little-known amusement park in Memphis called Fairyland Park, which stood (according to some accounts) just east of East End, with an entrance on Poplar or — depending on who you believe — Madison. And I bring all this up because somebody on eBay is currently selling an old postcard (above) showing the Fairyland Park Theatre — a rather elaborate building, judging from the image. Too bad it doesn’t show more of the park, though.

The eBay item number is 390045848837, and the current price is $24.99 — unfortunately, a bit more than I can afford at the moment, though I suppose the Lauderdale Library could apply for a grant or something.

I just wanted to share that with you. If anybody knows anything else about Fairyland Park, well, you know how to reach me.