Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, of which it is the county seat. As of 2006, the city of Memphis had an estimated population of 680,768, making it the largest city in the state of Tennessee and the 17th largest in the United States. The greater Memphis metropolitan area has a population of 1,230,303. This makes Memphis the second largest metropolitan area in Tennessee, surpassed only by metropolitan Nashville. Even though Memphis is the state’s largest city, it is the youngest of all of Tennessee’s four major cities (traditionally including Knoxville and Chattanooga as well as Nashville). Memphis is on the Lower Chickasaw Bluff above the Mississippi River, at the mouth of the Wolf River.
Memphis has a mid-latitude temperate climate, with four distinct seasons. The summer months are persistently hot and humid due to moisture encroaching from the Gulf of Mexico. Afternoon thunderstorms are frequent during summer months, but usually brief Autumn is pleasantly drier and mild, but it can remain hot until late October. Abrupt but short-lived cold snaps are common. Winters often begin abruptly and are characterized by periods of subfreezing weather, interspersed with milder temperatures. Snow is rare but does occur annually, with an annual average of 5.7 inches at the airport. Spring often begins in late February or early March. This season is also known as “severe weather season” due to the higher frequency of tornadoes, hail, and thunderstorms producing winds greater than 58 mph.
The city’s central location has led to much of its business development. Located on the Mississippi River and intersected by two Interstate highways and seven major U.S. highways, Memphis is ideally located for commerce among the transportation and shipping industry. The city is also home to the world’s busiest cargo airport, in terms of tonnage, which serves as the primary hub for FedEx shipping. Due to its location, more major metro areas can be reached overnight from Memphis than any other city in the central U.S. Memphis has also developed as a major manufacturing center of textiles, heating equipment, pianos, and automobile and truck parts. Memphis Light, Gas and Water (“MLG&W”) is also one of the largest municipal utilities in the United States.
Memphis is home to a growing number of nationally and internationally known corporations, including approximately 150 businesses from 22 countries. This includes the corporate headquarters of three major Fortune 500 companies, FedEx Corporation, AutoZone Incorporated and International Paper.
The city appeared in the top eight of the 50 best major metro areas in the U.S. for starting and growing a business in 2000, according to Inc. magazine. Southern Business and Development magazine ranked Memphis as one of the most successful models for economic development in the South also recognized the city as one of the top ten markets over the past decade. In October 2002, Ebony Magazine has cited Memphis as a city for its outstanding African-American leadership. Memphis also had the highest rate of high technology start-up operations over the last three years among the nation’s 60 largest metro areas, according to Brandow Company research.
One of the largest celebrations in Memphis is Memphis in May. The month-long series of events promotes Memphis’ heritage and outreach of its people far beyond the city’s borders. Each year, Memphis in May honors a different country, highlighting various aspects of the honored nation’s history and culture. Since its founding, the economic and educational impact of Memphis in May has given a significant boost to the city each spring. The celebration includes a diverse mix, beginning during the first weekend of the month at Tom Lee Park, the site of the Beale Street Music Festival. During International Week, the city focuses on its honored country, part of a larger program in coordination with area schools to broaden cultural awareness among students. Other signature events of Memphis in May include the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest, the FedEx St. Jude Classic (a PGA Tour golf tournament), and the closing event of the month – a performance of the Sunset Symphony.
Memphis is the home of founders and establishers of various American music genres, including Blues, Gospel, Rock n’ Roll, and “sharecropper” country music (in contrast to the “rhinestone” country sound of Nashville). Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, and B. B. King were all getting their starts in Memphis in the 1950s. They are respectively dubbed the “King” of Country, Rock n’ Roll, and Blues. Graceland, the home of Elvis Presley, is the second most-visited home in America (after the White House).
In the last decade, the art scene in Memphis has exploded. The independent art scene has centered primarily in South Main, located in downtown Memphis on the trolley line. More than a dozen art galleries have moved into the neighborhood, fueling a redevelopment boom that has expanded into new residential construction. Perhaps the most interesting conversion has been the Power House, a former power plant near Central Station that has been transformed into contemporary art space. The Cooper-Young neighborhood in Midtown is also home to several art galleries. The Edge is a nascent arts neighborhood, located at the edge of downtown near Madison Avenue, Marshall, and Union Avenue. The Edge is home to Memphis’ Black Repertory Theater, world-famous Sun Studios, and Delta Axis, among others.
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