The Peabody Memphis

The original Peabody Hotel opened in 1869 as a symbol of the rebirth of the South. Named for philanthropist George Peabody, it quickly became the business and social hub of Memphis, and in 1925, it was rebuilt on its present Union Avenue location. In 1933, General Manager Frank Schutt returned from a weekend hunting trip and mischievously placed live duck decoys in the hotel’s lobby fountain; it was a stunt that became the genesis of the hotel’s unique signature tradition, the March of the Peabody Ducks. As Memphis experienced economic decline in the mid-1970s, The Peabody closed its doors; however, the South’s Grand Hotel would not stay shuttered for long. It reopened in 1981 after an extensive restoration and breathed new life into downtown Memphis.