A GRAND OPENING TO THE HOLIDAY SEASON
PEABODY PLACE
ENTERTAINMENT AND RETAIL CENTER
IN DOWNTOWN MEMPHIS THE FESTIVITIES AND FUN HAVE BEGUN!

MEMPHIS, Tenn., Nov. 28, 2001 – Peabody Place Entertainment and Retail Center willkick off this Holiday Season Saturday evening, Dec. 1st with the lighting of the Center's official Christmas tree. The festivities will include Santa Clause, holiday music, storytelling, in addition to actors from Ballet Memphis' The Nutcracker, and Circuit Playhouse's Peter Pan!

Recreating the warmth and holiday spirit found in turn-of-the-century gathering places just like Peabody Place, the Center’s merchants will be offering plenty of refreshments in keeping with the Holiday Season. As the tree is lit, the crowd filling the Center’s atrium will be engulfed in a snowy fog and the holiday music will fill the air.

Jack A. Belz, chairman and CEO of Belz Enterprises – the man who began building his company's vision for a comprehensive development Downtown more than 25-years ago, invites visitors to "Come downtown and play!" this Holiday Season. The Center is located on Peabody Place between Second and Third Streets, adjacent and connected to Peabody Hotel.

Other special events offered by Peabody Place Entertainment and Retail Center this Holiday Season include:

  • The Christmas tree lighting is scheduled to follow the 2nd Annual Region's Bank/Morgan Keegan Holiday Boat Parade at Tom Lee Park (at approximately 7:30 p.m.). Visitors may park at any of the three Peabody Place Garages and ride the MATA Jolly Trolley down to the Mississippi River and back to the Center.
  • Inside the Center visitors may be photographed with Santa Clause as he sings and tells stories amid the holiday crowd. Santa will be available on each Friday, Saturday and Sunday, between noon and 8 p.m. through Dec. 23rd.
  • Holiday music will feature school choruses and ensembles; church choirs and
    hand-bell choirs; Sunday brunch music from 1-4 p.m. through Dec. 23rd; tuba Christmas music; a Chinese classical ensemble; and the Memphis Vocal Arts Ensemble at the tree lighting, Dec. 1st.
  • "Free Gift Fridays" are set for Dec.7-14-21 from noon until 4 p.m. for shoppers spending $100 or more at the Center that day. Gifts include Beanie Ducks; CDs from Tower Records; and Peabody Place t-shirts.

Peabody Place Entertainment and Retail Center is part of Belz Enterprises' Peabody Place development. The Center covers more than 300,000 square feet showcased in a unique "streetscape" environment, and is accessible from any one of three connected, indoor parking garages.

The Center includes, Muvico Peabody Place 22 Theaters, Tower Records, Isaac Hayes, A&W All American Food/Long John Silver's, Ann Taylor Loft, Jillian's, Gap, Gap Kids and Baby Gap. In addition, Starbucks, Fat Tuesday, Dan McGuinness Irish Pub, Mrs. Field's Bakery Café, Dapy, Hot Topic, Claire's, Breaking the Mold Candle Company, Memphis Motor Speedway, Victoria's Secret, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and Morgan Studio are also located within the Center. Even more entertainment, excitement and shopping is opening with Putting Edge, Puccini and Pasta, and more!

Collectively, the Peabody Place development contains approximately two million square feet of space, which includes 762 hotel rooms, 201 apartments, 565,000 square feet of office space, 420,000 square feet of retail space, and 3,600 parking spaces.

Headquartered in Memphis, Tenn., Belz Enterprises is a leading innovator in real estate development with interests throughout the South and across the U.S. Belz develops, owns and/or manages more than 25 million square feet of industrial warehouses, distribution centers, shopping centers, office buildings, mixed-use centers and corporate campuses. The company also owns a group of premier hotels including the Peabody Hotels in Memphis, Orlando and Little Rock.

Here's the quick and easy way to "come downtown and play." Out-of-town visitors may take Union Avenue (west), Riverside Drive, or Third Street (U.S. Hwy. 61, north), exit off the Interstate to Downtown Memphis and the Mississippi River.

For direct parking garage access once you’re downtown navigate to Peabody Place, remembering that traffic on Union Avenue moves both east and west. Around the Entertainment and Retail Center, traffic on Second flows south, and on Third moves north. The Main Street Trolley also runs within a block of PPERC.