musicElvis Presley
Record: drop the needle on fourteen real places, side A and side B.
18 places in MemphisBjoertvedt · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Display-cropped · City context photograph
Explore Memphis through the places behind its cultural stories. Start with Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Walk the Line, then follow the connections between the works, people and locations in this collection. Use the map to see how the documented locations fit together, and browse the place cards for the story behind each stop. A production location and the place it represents on screen can be different; each connection keeps those details separate. For something happening now, follow the official events programme and confirm dates and access with the organiser before travelling. Build your own route by choosing the stories that interest you most. Return to explore new stories as the collection grows.
Start with a story.
music
musicJohnny Cash
Key: his places come in as Morse, from a cotton colony to the last stage.
1 places in MemphisBjoertvedt · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Display-cropped · City context photograph
filmWalk the Line
Board: pull eight story strips off a production board to find Folsom in a Memphis fairground hall, the Pacific Bowl on Mud Island and Canada at the Orpheum; load Tennessee’s offer against Louisiana’s $3 million, fill 47 shooting days and lift Las Vegas off a Tunica barge.
4 places in Memphis.jpg){kind=link}
Places with a story.
36 places · 34 mapped locations
Lauderdale Courts
The Presleys lived in apartment 328 from 1949 to 1953.
Homes again, as Uptown Square: see the buildings from the street.
Humes High School
Elvis graduated from Humes on 3 June 1953.
Empty and waiting to reopen as an arts school: look from the street only.
Sun Studio, 706 Union Avenue
In the summer of 1953 Elvis paid about $4 to record a demo here, as a present for his mother.
Daily 10am–5.15pm; tours on the half hour from 10.30am to 4.30pm, first come first served. Adults $20.
The Overton Park Shell
Elvis played his first paid show here on 30 July 1954.
Free to see in the park; concerts all year, many of them free.
Graceland
Elvis bought Graceland in March 1957 for $102,500.
Daily 9am–4pm, last mansion tour at 4pm. The Elvis Experience, with the mansion: adults $85. Book online.
The Mid-South Coliseum
Both Elvis and the Beatles played this 10,000-seat arena.
Closed since 2006: see it from outside, at the fairgrounds.
406 Lucy Avenue
Aretha Franklin was born in this house on 25 March 1942, to Barbara Franklin and the Reverend C.L. Franklin.
Not open to visitors. Look from the pavement and leave the house and its neighbours in peace.
.jpg){kind=link}
The Orpheum Theatre
The Economic Development Journal prints a Memphis & Shelby County Film Commission photograph of the Orpheum, captioned as used in Walk the Line.
A working theatre at Main and Beale: touring Broadway shows, concerts and comedy. A ticket gets you into the 1928 hall.
The Arcade Restaurant
The Tennessee film commission lists Walk the Line among the films that have used the Arcade, one of Memphis’s oldest eateries, on South Main Street.
Open every day, 7am to 3pm. Central Station, now a hotel, is across the street.
Mud Island Amphitheater
The Economic Development Journal’s photograph caption says the amphitheatre was the outside of the Pacific Bowl in Walk the Line.
Mud Island is open daily, 7am to 7pm from March to October and 7am to 5pm from November to February; walk over on the pedestrian bridge. The amphitheatre itself is closed: see it from the park.
The Pipkin Building
Memphis Tourism lists the Pipkin Building at the Fairgrounds as the film’s Folsom Prison.
An events hall on the old fairgrounds beside the Liberty Bowl stadium. You can go in when a show, fair or expo is on.
Original Lansky Brothers store
Elvis bought his signature clothing here.
Confirm current access with the venue. Source documentation does not establish present visitor access.
Sources and geography
126 Beale Street, Memphis · Source-recorded address level position; not an exact filming viewpoint or visitor route. OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Existing visitor restrictions still apply.
Coletta’s Italian Restaurant
Elvis and his entourage used the private dining room.
Confirm current access with the venue. Source documentation does not establish present visitor access.
Sources and geography
South Parkway location, Memphis · Source-recorded area position; not a surveyed filming viewpoint or visitor route. Existing visitor restrictions apply. English Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; revision 5385142.
Circuit Playhouse — former Memphian Theatre
Elvis rented the cinema for midnight screenings.
Confirm current access with the venue. Source documentation does not establish present visitor access.
Sources and geography
Overton Square, Memphis · Source-recorded official address site reference position; not a surveyed filming viewpoint or visitor route. Existing visitor restrictions apply.
Elvis’s Audubon Drive home
Elvis bought this home in 1956; private residence.
Confirm current access with the venue. Source documentation does not establish present visitor access.
Sources and geography
Audubon Drive, East Memphis, Memphis · Historic residential-site reference in the 2021 NPS snapshot; source labels this an arbitrary point with ±12m stated accuracy and unchecked coordinate accuracy/extant status. No access to grounds or interiors is implied. Existing visitor restrictions apply.
Hernando’s Hide-A-Way
Elvis performed here in 1953.
Confirm current access with the venue. Source documentation does not establish present visitor access.
Sources and geography
near Graceland, Memphis · Source-recorded site level position; not a surveyed filming viewpoint or visitor route. Existing visitor restrictions apply. OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0.
Memphis Rock ’n’ Soul Museum
Museum displays Elvis costumes, lyrics and memorabilia.
Confirm current access with the venue. Source documentation does not establish present visitor access.
Sources and geography
Beale Street area, Memphis · Source-recorded area position; not a surveyed filming viewpoint or visitor route. Existing visitor restrictions apply. English Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; revision 5385142.
Memphis Music Hall of Fame
Museum interprets Elvis’s musical legacy.
Confirm current access with the venue. Source documentation does not establish present visitor access.
Sources and geography
Beale Street, Memphis · Source-recorded museum level position; not a surveyed filming viewpoint or visitor route. Existing visitor restrictions apply.
The Peabody Memphis
Hotel’s history room displays Elvis’s RCA contract.
Confirm current access with the venue. Source documentation does not establish present visitor access.
Sources and geography
149 Union Avenue, Memphis · Source-recorded address-level position, pending geography review. Not a surveyed filming viewpoint or confirmation of current access.
Former Poplar Tunes record shop
Elvis frequented the record shop.
Confirm current access with the venue. Source documentation does not establish present visitor access.
Sources and geography
Poplar Avenue, Memphis · Official historic address-site reference at 308 Poplar Avenue; no current business operation or surviving original shop asserted. Existing visitor restrictions apply.
Former American Sound Studios site
Elvis recorded his 1969 comeback sessions here.
Confirm current access with the venue. Source documentation does not establish present visitor access.
Sources and geography
Chelsea and Thomas, Memphis · Former American North site at 827 Thomas Street, distinct from the Deadrick Street East/Annex; no surviving studio interior or current operation asserted. Existing visitor restrictions apply. Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; community geographic record, article revision 1380309804.
Former Plastic Products record plant
Elvis’s first single was pressed here.
Confirm current access with the venue. Source documentation does not establish present visitor access.
Sources and geography
Memphis, Memphis · Official historic address-site reference at 1746 Chelsea Avenue; no surviving original plant or current operation asserted. Existing visitor restrictions apply.
Former Libertyland Zippin Pippin site
The historical marker commemorates Elvis’s favourite ride.
Confirm current access with the venue. Source documentation does not establish present visitor access.
Sources and geography
Memphis Fairgrounds, Memphis · Coordinates awaiting source review
Full Gospel Tabernacle Church
Al Green founded the church.
Confirm current access with the venue. Source documentation does not establish present visitor access.
Sources and geography
Memphis, Memphis · Source-recorded site level position; not an exact filming viewpoint or visitor route. OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Existing visitor restrictions still apply.
Royal Studios
Willie Mitchell recorded Al Green at Royal Studios.
Confirm current access with the venue. Source documentation does not establish present visitor access.
Sources and geography
Memphis, Memphis · Source-recorded studio level position; not a surveyed filming viewpoint or visitor route. Existing visitor restrictions apply.
Ardent Studios
Big Star drummer Jody Stephens is associated with the studio’s management.
Confirm current access with the venue. Source documentation does not establish present visitor access.
Sources and geography
Memphis, Memphis · Source-recorded area position, pending geography review. Not a surveyed filming viewpoint or confirmation of current access.
Stax Museum of American Soul Music
Museum preserves King & Queen recording-session material.
Confirm current access with the venue. Source documentation does not establish present visitor access.
Sources and geography
926 East McLemore Avenue, Memphis · Source-recorded area position, pending geography review. Not a surveyed filming viewpoint or confirmation of current access.
Bobby Bland statue
Statue commemorates Bobby Bland.
Confirm current access with the venue. Source documentation does not establish present visitor access.
Sources and geography
South Main and Martin Luther King Avenue, Memphis · Coordinates awaiting source review
Lorraine Motel
Redding frequented the motel and wrote songs here.
Confirm current access with the venue. Source documentation does not establish present visitor access.
Sources and geography
Mulberry Street, Memphis · Source-recorded area position; not a surveyed filming viewpoint or visitor route. Existing visitor restrictions apply. English Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; revision 5385142.
Earnestine & Hazel’s
21 Grams filming location.
Confirm current access with the venue. Source documentation does not establish present visitor access.
Sources and geography
South Main, Memphis · Source-recorded area position; not a surveyed filming viewpoint or visitor route. Existing visitor restrictions apply. English Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; revision 5385142.
Jerry’s Snow Cones
Great Balls of Fire! filming location.
Confirm current access with the venue. Source documentation does not establish present visitor access.
Sources and geography
Memphis, Memphis · Source-recorded area position; not a surveyed filming viewpoint or visitor route. Existing visitor restrictions apply. English Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; revision 5385142.
FedEx International Hub
Cast Away filming location.
Confirm current access with the venue. Source documentation does not establish present visitor access.
Sources and geography
Memphis International Airport, Memphis · Approximate reference for the wider FedEx hub, anchored within the current named FedEx Hub building footprint. OpenStreetMap community building record, not a surveyed boundary for the whole complex. Does not identify a Cast Away room, gate, camera position or surviving film-era building. This is an operational airport cargo facility; no visitor access is implied. OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0.
Commercial Appeal filming-era offices
Nothing but the Truth filming location.
Historic newspaper property under redevelopment for Regional One Health. Demolition began in June 2026; current visitor access requires confirmation. Do not assume the filming-era building or interiors survive.
Sources and geography
Memphis, Memphis · Official historic property/address reference at 495 Union Avenue, not a surviving building, entrance or interior. Demolition began on 16 June 2026 according to Regional One Health; completion and current access are not established.
The Butcher Shop Steakhouse
The Rainmaker filming location.
Historic restaurant property. The restaurant had closed by the September 2019 downtown redevelopment report; current access and film-era interiors require confirmation.
Sources and geography
101 South Front Street, Memphis · Historic Butcher Shop Steakhouse property at 101 South Front Street. The restaurant had closed by the September 2019 downtown redevelopment report; current use, access and survival of film-era interiors are unverified. Exact municipal address reference, excluding neighbouring 99 and 105.
Westy’s
The Rainmaker filming location.
Confirm current access with the venue. Source documentation does not establish present visitor access.
Sources and geography
Downtown, Memphis · Source-recorded site-centre position, pending geography review. Not a surveyed filming viewpoint or confirmation of current access.
Shrine Building
The Firm filming location.
Confirm current access with the venue. Source documentation does not establish present visitor access.
Sources and geography
Downtown, Memphis · Source-recorded area position, pending geography review. Not a surveyed filming viewpoint or confirmation of current access.
People behind the stories.
Explore every World.
Elvis Presley ↗
Record: drop the needle on fourteen real places, side A and side B.
The Mid-South Coliseum ↗Lauderdale Courts ↗Humes High School ↗The Overton Park Shell ↗Graceland ↗Sun Studio, 706 Union Avenue ↗Original Lansky Brothers store ↗Coletta’s Italian Restaurant ↗Circuit Playhouse — former Memphian Theatre ↗Elvis’s Audubon Drive home ↗Hernando’s Hide-A-Way ↗Memphis Rock ’n’ Soul Museum ↗Memphis Music Hall of Fame ↗The Peabody Memphis ↗Former Poplar Tunes record shop ↗Former American Sound Studios site ↗Former Plastic Products record plant ↗Former Libertyland Zippin Pippin site ↗
Enter the existing World ↗Johnny Cash ↗
Key: his places come in as Morse, from a cotton colony to the last stage.
Enter the existing World ↗Walk the Line ↗
Board: pull eight story strips off a production board to find Folsom in a Memphis fairground hall, the Pacific Bowl on Mud Island and Canada at the Orpheum; load Tennessee’s offer against Louisiana’s $3 million, fill 47 shooting days and lift Las Vegas off a Tunica barge.
Enter the existing World ↗Al Green ↗
Explore Al Green through the Memphis locations documented by the linked sources.
The Rainmaker ↗
Explore The Rainmaker through the Memphis locations documented by the linked sources.
21 Grams ↗
Explore 21 Grams through the Memphis locations documented by the linked sources.
Aretha Franklin ↗
Stops: slot the hymn board, flip seven tiles, fill the choir loft, then pull Detroit’s organ stops for full organ.
Enter the existing World ↗Big Star ↗
Explore Big Star through the Memphis locations documented by the linked sources.
Bobby “Blue” Bland ↗
Explore Bobby “Blue” Bland through the Memphis locations documented by the linked sources.
Carla Thomas ↗
Explore Carla Thomas through the Memphis locations documented by the linked sources.
Cast Away ↗
Explore Cast Away through the Memphis locations documented by the linked sources.
Great Balls of Fire! ↗
Explore Great Balls of Fire! through the Memphis locations documented by the linked sources.
Nothing but the Truth ↗
Explore Nothing but the Truth through the Memphis locations documented by the linked sources.
Otis Redding ↗
Explore Otis Redding through the Memphis locations documented by the linked sources.
The Firm (1993) ↗
Explore The Firm (1993) through the Memphis locations documented by the linked sources.
City photograph: Bjoertvedt · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Display-cropped for this layout.
Music location collection
Music, in place.
Music videos, cover images and recording history. Each connection links to its source. 4 named locations have supported map pins; locations awaiting coordinates remain below.
Explore the Music location map ↗
Explore Memphis on the map.
Open full map ↗4 locations · 5 connections · showing 4
American Sound Studio
Supported named-site pin. Confirm present access before visiting.
2 music connections and sources
Class of ’55: Memphis Rock & Roll Homecoming
Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison & Johnny Cash · Recording history · Sourced
From a Jack to a King (takes 1, 2, 3)
Elvis Presley · Recording history · Sourced
Cotton Row Recording Studio — Memphis
Supported named-site pin. Confirm present access before visiting.
1 music connection and sources
Stax Studios — Memphis
Supported named-site pin. Confirm present access before visiting.
1 music connection and sources
Sounds of Memphis Studio — Memphis
Supported named-site pin. Confirm present access before visiting.