Libertyland is the amusement park that the immortal Elvis used to rent a couple of day's a week, from closing time to opening the next day, when he was done touring, so that he and his mates(and quite a few Shella's I've heard) could enjoy themselves privately in the wee morning hours, with out being bothered by fans, if they had gone during regular business hours. You have to wonder how much of the Memphis Zoo's incredible success/expansion comes from being a "satellite" amusement to the incredible Presley/Graceland juggernaut?
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Elvis Presley's "rest and relaxation center."
Posted by
Wade G. Burck
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5 comments:
Sheilas
Why do you try to sound Australian?
Anonymous nit wit,
Sorry, I transposed the i with an l. Thank you for being sharp enough to catch that. I guess you are not a drongo, as much as your question would seem to indicate.
Wade
Liberty Land is closed and torn down. The Zoo draws far, far more people than any of the Presley/Graceland tourist venues, which are typically a horrible disappointment to anybody but the most hardened Presley fan. The Zoo's expansion and upgrade is owed totally to the hard work and inventiveness of the Memphis Zoological Society. I speak from experience, as an employee (zookeeper and, for a time, Curator of Education) for the better part of 30 years.
Giraffe,
Welcome. Don't get the impression I don't love Memphis, I do. I think it is one of the most underrated cities in the United States, and I also appreciate the great, although educationally suspect, efforts the Memphis Zoo has made in their facility. The last time I toured your zoo, was in 1993 when Ringling Bros. Circus played Memphis, and admittedly there was a lot of rebuilding/reconstruction going on in the the city as a whole. But come on, your kidding, right when you suggest part of the zoo's success is not due to the connection of Elvis and Memphis? To this day, if you mention Sarasota, Fla. folks ask if Ringling is still there, and they haven't been since the early 1960's, that immortal recognition due to a movie, produced in the 1950's. Over a half a million people go to Graceland each year, which is the second most visited residence in the United States, after the White House, and you are suggesting that a large percentage of those unhappy, horribly disappoint folks don't go to the Memphis Zoo later in a effort to salvage their vacation?
As I mentioned to Wombat I appreciate and will look forward to your experienced captive animal comments. We have a lot of zoo folks here from all over the world, and I learn something every day. I will particularly look forward to your experienced "educational dept." insight, as that branch of the zoo field has always been a bit of a mystery to me, and I have asked folks in the field about it in an effort to comprehend, ie: A number of years ago, when touring one of Germany's most famous zoo's with their Director, I questioned some "cheesy" educational text on one of the exhibit graphics. He replied, "that is our Education Department." I replied, "is an education dept. of any real value to your institution, as I get mixed responses from other professionals I have asked over the years." He replied, and this is also a direct quote, "The are kinda like a ginzu knife. You don't know why you have it, or what you are going to do with it, you just know that everybody else has one, so you need to have one too."
So, we are glad to have you here, and I will be posting some photos in which I would appreciate you insight on their educational value.
Regards,
Wade
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