Abandoned - Memphis Pyramid
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- Опубликовано: 4 мар 2021
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Along the Mississippi River and just outside the city centre of Memphis sits perhaps the most out of place structure in any American city. The Great American Pyramid as it was touted in the late 80's was promised to be the next huge landmark in the midwest, a tourism marvel which would be reveared by millions. When it opened in 1991 however, the Memphis Pyramid arena wasn't the spectacular landmark it was supposed to be, Join me as I look into how this strange stadium got built, how it was abandoned and how a Bass Pro Shop ultimately moved in. This is a weird one.
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Other Fascinating Videos:
The full 1989 investors presentation - • The Great American Pyr...
Ground breaking ceremony - • Big Dig for Pyramid Me...
Interior demolition - • Reconstruction inside ...
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BrightSunFilms 2021
Media in this episode has been supplied by Getty Images. 
Развлечения
I just love the fact that the 10th tallest pyramid in the world is a Bass Pro Shops
In tennessee babee
God bless America
@Faceless King but... but...
*Merica*
@Faceless King coordinates?
@Faceless King source?
1000 years from now, archaeologists will unearth the giant steel pyramid, dedicated to the fishing gods of the old world.
Omg I've never looked at it like it The next time I go in there that's all I'm going to think about
@@chancepayne3013 next time you go, make sure you find some secluded concrete support collums and carve "Chance Payne. The One True Fishing God"
That mitered hat the pope wears ...with the "fish mouth " at the top......i think his name is dagon(could be wrong).....mentioned in the o.t...
EITHER WAY:Some of our "secret societies" are awaiting his return soon.....
Yep...thats a pyratemple to the fish god..a symbol of welcome and egar anticipation....(but only for those chosen)
Modern structures don’t last that long. Steel rusts, glass breaks, concrete crumbles.
DAGON
I'm literally from Memphis and not only is the Pyramid freaking hilarious, it going from a stadium to a hunting store is quite literally the most Memphis thing ever.
It looks pretty good as a Bass Pro Shop tho. We live a few hours away and it's not a bad one to visit. The one in Springfield is nice too, but the pyramid style does it well. The atmosphere it great. People joke about it, but bass pro shop really did a nice job in my opinion
Yes, this should have been a 41 second video. "I just couldn't understand how this thing got built"... "Because, Memphis!"
Fr
It was cool as a stadium but I agree 😂 very Memphis thing to happen!
Y'all have the pyramid, and Nashville has the Parthenon. Cool
The Bass Pro Shop in the pyramid is the most uniquely unapologetically American thing I can think of. The fact that it exists is actually insane. The fact that it’s still successful is straight up unbelievable.
It's crazy inside and there's a really nice restaurant up top.
I have taken many groups of international visitors there. They always love it.
Your life sounds super boring if that's insane to you lol
Edit: Also why is "unbelievable" that a Bass Pro shop is successful? You must lose your mind at the simplest things
Pyramids are cool. Nuff said.
That's what i thought, that was the most American thing i ever saw and yet i want to visit it
The inside of the pyramid is the most surreal experience ever. It’s like walking into a PS2-era video game, un-rendered sky and all.
Lara Croft Tomb Raider is that you???
They ended up patching the thing. Now there's a sky but it isn't animated in any way and the place is filled with NPCs that ask you to go on missions to recover their "goods." Very odd place.
Great .
Being from a relatively small town in Texas, when I went to college in Arkansas I decided to go to the Bass Pro Shop Pyramid, since it was only a few hours away, and seeing full-blown houses inside of the pyramid was very surreal.
I’ve stayed in the hotel inside the pyramid, it is so strange looking off the balcony and looking up, and also going up the elevator is crazy, I stayed there when it was snowing and you could hear the snow sliding down
Honestly, props to Bass Pro Shops for successfully retrofitting a building.
I totally agree. Unfortunately, most pro stadiums are built with taxpayer money. At least Bass Pro Shops made an attraction which will generate the city of Memphis revenue.
Was just going to say the same thing.
Amadeus L - I'm guessing you didn't intend this, but when I saw "props" i thought you were making a pun involving bass boats. I thought it was funny.
Down with Capitalism! ~the brainwashed left
Next to the Nation's most Polluted River, no less. World's most Polluted, after a few more flushes of Bass Pro's heavy "Ass Flow" Toilets.
okay, but i'm so glad this abandoned story actually had a happy ending
Building a pyramid in Memphis isn't a weird or strange idea when you consider that the reason the city is called Memphis is because of the ancient capital of Lower Egypt (now just Egypt), also called Memphis. And like the Memphis in Egypt, the Memphis in Tennessee is also by a river.
We have our own pyramid too called the Ryugyong Hotel, Ryugyong means "capital of willows", one of the historical names for Pyongyang. It's been under construction since 1987, and while progress has been slow due to sanctions and economic crisis, we do hope to open it soon. At the height of 330m, the hotel is much taller than the original Great Pyramid of Giza (136.4m).
I keep seeing you everywhere and it's hilarious! 🤣
thank you for the insight kim jong-un very interesting
Lol
It will make a great target.🇺🇸
@@bobbyhall7472 I don’t think it behooves us to shoot that lol
Someone at Bass Pro Shops is a certified genius for coming up with this idea.
Right! Wow
...and fufilling the Pyramid's original purpose
Owner is a billionaire.
There are no geniuses at Bass Pro Shops.
@@hallking7441 Whats wrong with Bass Pro shops?
The real story is that taxpayer money should not be used anywhere to fund these pointless "arenas." Let the NBA pay for them if it's so successful.
And then you multiply that by all the other taxpayer funded sports arenas nationwide and you got a pretty huge welfare program for professional sports. Then ask yourself where are all the profits from these ventures go and who eventually has to pay for their demolition.
Bingo
@@phiksit
And still people go nuts over these pro teams. Their tax money pays for the stadium. People pay an outrageous price for tickets. Then they go inside and get a $15 hotdog with the eight dollar beer. I’m smarter than that. That’s why I do not support any professional sport, willingly.
Rome's bread n circus's
Look, they're really struggling, okay? They already had to downsize from an average of 5 mansions per teammate, down to 3. They even had to -abuse- use the Payment Protection Program, designed for companies with less than 500 employees, e.g., billion dollar sports teams.
I feel that the Bass Pro Shops interior is a lot more fitting and much more closely resembles the Disney-like theme they were originally going for. The sort of thing that because it is in such a large, enclosed space, it feels like you are in another world. A heck of a lot more interesting and unique use for a giant pyramid than a regular sports stadium, granted that wasn't the only thing intended to be built. I think Bass Pro Shops nailed getting what a structure like that should be used for.
I live in southern Illinois. The area is known as Little Egypt. There’s a town named Thebes, one named Karnak, one named Cairo. Southern Illinois University’s mascot is the Saluki, the yearbook is The Obelisk, and various buildings named Ptolemy Towers, etc. And of course Memphis (TN) is named after Memphis in Egypt. It’s just a thing around here due to geography, weather, and stories & legends. All VERY interesting.
That’s actually pretty cool
No wonder why the evil ancient pharaonic gods are plaguing me**phis
The most obvious fact not mentioned in this video:
Memphis is named for Memphis, Egypt, the ancient capital city located only a dozen miles south of the Great Pyramids of Giza.
Came to comments to post this
Well, both places have people with no hygiene, missing teeth, and have weight issues. Just saying.
@@marka.graffakasnakebitenat3736 Well that is a big fat lie, Memphis has some of the hottest women in the entire region.
@@marka.graffakasnakebitenat3736 what makes u say that
Memphis Egypt was also on a very important river, the Nile
The last episode of this series should be ''Abandoned: Abandoned''.
The last episode of the series should be “Abandoned: The Finale of Abandoned”.
That way, it can never end.
It would be "Cancelled" not "Abandoned"
@@06racing cancelled is for aborted projects
Bankrupt: Abandoned
@Sir Fapsalot username checks out
Halfway through this I started thinking “this would have been better conceived as a giant mall,” and that’s essentially what Bass Pro Shop ended up doing to it, just for, you know, itself.
That Bass Pro shop is more of a Disney level attraction than anything done with the pyramid prior.
In case anybody doesn't know the reason for this originally... Memphis was named after Memphis, Egypt (the ancient city). That's the reason for the pyramid connection.
Though it's Cairo that has the actual pyramids. My mom was from Memphis, TN, but moved to Saint Louis, MO as a kid for it was a happening city with great jobs like McDonnell Douglas Aircraft my grandpa worked for all his life and others like Corvette before it moved to Bowling Green, KY. Freemasonry was very common among the men after WW2 like my grandpa for it was the fraternity not associated with university, but industry instead.
@@TUBESPECIFIC1 the Great Pyramids of Giza are in Cairo, that is true, but the first pyramid ever built, the step pyramid of Djoser was built in Saqqara, the funeral complex in Memphis. It was a tremendously important city throughout Egypt's ancient history and is only 12 miles from modern Cairo. The history of Memphis dates to the first pharaoh of unified Egypt (Narmer, aka Menes) who ruled nearly 1500 years before Djoser. Five kings followed between Djoser and Khufu, all of whom also commissioned pyramids for their burials, some were never completed or were built so poorly they deteriorated into piles of sand. So yes, there were pyramids in Memphis and if I ever get to Egypt I would rather see the step pyramid as I have been told (by my ancient history professor) that the great pyramids are basically in the middle of a massive city and somewhat disappointing.
@@MMorbid Awesome. I saw Djoser's pyramid and Saqqara by hiring a car for one day when I went to Egypt in 2009. I want to go again for they just opened the new Grand Egyptian Museum. One thing about Egypt is you'll get harassed to no end by cynical haters such as in the souk markets, but not all the locals are like that to infidels for the Coptic Christians seemed to have a solid set of values and very strong constitution. I went a bit over a year before the revolution and I could see the mass anger there going on the first day, 'is there about to be a war?' It then became known to be the Arab Spring revolution with Syria civil war starting up. I wish I had gone to Israel, Jordon, and Syria back then. The pyramids of Giza are just on the West side of Cairo and really interesting so you must go. That massive dirty city is the disappointing thing though.
@@TUBESPECIFIC1 what do you mean by cynical haters? There are a tonne of “merchants” that harass you constantly in Egypt, but what is cynical or hateful about them. Also, what do you mean that Copts have a strong constitution? Copts are Egyptians, with the exact same values and constitutions as all other Egyptians.
Your use of the word infidel is also very bizarre. I’ve never in my life ever heard an Egyptian use that term (probably because atheism is very rare in Egypt)
@@SarastistheSerpent Cynical haters were angry and complaining nonstop about suffering economically over America's financial crisis of 2008 claiming it doubled their cost of living and decreased their opportunity and earnings. That's all I heard again and again during my trip in 2009. Yes, I was told by Egyptian people many times that Germans are most hated and they thought I was a lying German telling them I'm American and don't speak Deutsch which I don't fluently know. They all tried me first in German speaking and thought I was a liar every time I'd explain I wasn't from Germany. I was approached and stopped many times in Cairo and Luxor nonstop each day all the time with harassments and called infidel which is simply unwelcome hated non-Muslim person. As for Copts, they're a great people. I thought of them as having a true spirit of can do free will for they came down through the centuries in such a harsh unforgiving hateful atmosphere. The thing is diversity doesn't really work anywhere in the world so hate, war, and genocide are the repeating histories every time different cultures and religions begin to mix in the lands of the world. The entire world is riddled with such history. As for being bizarre, it's a most strange and awkward thing, but most certainly nothing new. Khan El Khallili market. "What Infidel, you don't want to visit my perfume shop?" Uh no, I don't want perfume. lol
Blockbuster Video's 200th store in the UK was built as a pyramid, no where near as big as this one, but it was abandoned for a few years. It's a discount carpet store now.
You should make a short video about that lol.
Maybe you and Jake could do a crossover video about it?
Imagine getting your new carpet in a pyramid. That sounds weirdly cool.
@@AlbertCalis I agree that would be cool.
Hello, you
As a local, this place is still freaking amazing. Granted I don’t go inside often, but my first time going was a magical time for me. Plus, as a self proclaimed duck expert, seeing all the duck stuff made me happy (even if it was related to hunting.) plus the hotel gives you 4 rubber ducks (modeled after the 4 most common North American breeds of the mallard, wood duck, northern pintail, and redhead) for free and I love that
What Bass Pro Shops did with the Pyramid is pretty awesome. It's a beautiful building really. And coming over the Mississippi seeing it is pretty awesome too. I'm glad it was saved.
For a second, you gave me a heart attack with this title. I was afraid the bass pro shop had closed, because it's honestly a fantastically silly idea.
Ya know u GOTTA support them cuntry folk! 😉 😉
I thought it was closed as well. I have been to the pyramid for lunch.
Me too I go there like every month
I THOUGHT THE SAME THING-
Same... false advertising!
Kudos to Bass Pro Shop for doing a phenomenal job on taking such an odd structure and making it something uniquely amazing!!!
@Karl with a K who said they took anything on? Why the quotations?
@Karl with a K your comments have nothing to do with comments made tho. I won’t punch down as obviously your comprehension is compromised. Have a good day. On taking and taking on aren’t the same thing, you really shouldn’t act smarter than everyone when you are obviously struggling to read simple sentences.
@Karl with a K honestly the north is even dumber, my state spent 20 million building a bathroom in the park, it's not even a large bathroom it's like Walmart bathroom size, at least the pyramid brings tourist and income
@@dustinbailey9644 Pay no attention to Karl. He thinks Egyptians founded Memphis. John Overton, James Winchester, and Andrew Jackson are Egyptian, according to him. I did not know foreigners were allowed to be President of the United States, did you?
Whoever brought that idea to the desk at bass pro is a LEGEND of a company
It was the founder of bass pro shops. He put up buying the pyramid as his wager for whether or not he and his friends could catch a catfish over 30 pounds. The did, and negotiations with the city of Memphis started soon after.
@@andrewlechner6343 If that is not the most "Murica" thing I ever heard... You know what, it fits considering the sheer insanity of the rest of the story. From an underutilized entertainment venue to one of the largest outdoor superstores in America.
@@andrewlechner6343 That just means the founder of Bass Pro is a legend. I mean developing an abandoned sporting arena into a sporting goods store/theme resort as the outcome of a bet involving catching a fish is insane and absolutely legendary.
The Memphis City Council killed this building with the contract they signed with the Grizzlies and the Fed-X Forum. They gave that venue the 1st right of refusal for any event that came to town. They killed the Historic Mid-South Coliseum at the same time. The Landers Center just south of Memphis was built just because of this terrible contract.
Bunch of small brains on the Memphis City Council.
This should be top comment. Making deals with sports teams seems to be a losing bet for most cities as the owners walk away with the cash. Kudo's to Bass Pro for turning it into something worth visiting. nice touch on the restaurant at the top.
Also called the I-40 reflector and the "HOLY SH- MY EYES!!!!"
Same from the air, when flying in to Memphis
If its not the pyramid, then its the damn river on a sunny day lol
I can see that thing all the way from wynne arkansas in the summer when flying gliders
Lmao so I’m not alone
@@benjaminowen6181 that’s cool and I lived there
This was a different video because normally abandoned places stay abandoned and don't have a positive outcome but Bass Pro Shop did a good job and this place looks awesome!!
I've visited the pyramid in person and omg it's so amazing, the top floor is scary it's so high up 😨
Here in Germany we had the abandoned "Cargolifter-Luftschiffhalle". This place was a supposed construction site for huge cargo houling airships. The entire Memphis Pyramid fits easily within its dome structure, handily accissible via >100m high portals. Today this thing is a waterpark and artifical tropical beach resort.
I went to Germany just to go there it was awesome, even though I hate Germans because of their sickening behaviour 70 years ago.
I was just there this past January on Martin Luther King Day, and that place is INSANE! From all the museum stuff, the live/taxidermy animals, and being able to see so much of both Tennessee, Arkansas and the Mississippi at the same time from the observation deck, it’s definitely something to see
$10 admission to stand on the balcony, $20 most nights for admission at Riverside Speedway in West Memphis, and maybe $5 for a cheap telescope. You choose.
A total missed opportunity for Amway... you know, for their pyramid scheme.
That's the funniest, and most appropriate, thing I have read today. Thanks, I needed that.
I was thinking they could've put a GAP in it. Same initials.
haha great post!
That would be the greatest trolling ever
@@keninho1735 Truth in advertising perhaps?
Kinda makes sense they build it, considering it was in a city named after a city in Egypt.
If they only could’ve consulted Tehuti to build them the same way he did in Egypt 😸
Some one got it.
He should have mentioned that, otherwise building a pyramid in Tennessee would seem kind of random to someone not familiar with the history
I thought that was the whole point of the pyramid construction, as a nod to the city in Egypt but if that had anything to do with it then it wasn't mentioned here in this video and that could be an interesting thing to inquire further about
@@heskethowner Memphis is the Greek name for an Egyptian city. Even wikipedia knows this.
Great content!!! Thanks for doing the work, this was fascinating.
My husband and I actually own the original concept art for the pyramid. We saw it at a charity auction a little over a year ago and couldn’t resist. It’s such a cool piece of Memphis history. No buyers regret at all!
So I guess technically speaking, the Pyramid was never "abandoned". It was instead given a second chance - "reborn", if you will - at which point it was finally able to fulfill its intended purpose. Who said there's no such thing as happy endings?
the power of reincarnation brotha.....halla friggin yuyah!!!!
😈
@Prayingmantis 211 I've been there to Memphis....once i was little, we saw Graceland..or more correct i saw the wall outside
but i'd so go again just to see the pyramid....and get photos outside of it....also hopefully get a pic from the balcony
people who have never been to a massage parlour ?
Yes as citizens of Memphis we're not going to let that beautiful building go to Waste
Hmmmmm sounds pretty *satanic* to me
Choosing Memphis, Tennessee as the sight of a new pyramid wasn’t arbitrary. The city of Memphis in Egypt used to be the capital of the Egyptian Empire. So it makes thematic sense to bring the pyramids to the “new” Memphis.
Maybe they had better chosen the Valley of the Kinkies...
No, it wasn’t arbitrary. Memphis, TN is sister cities with Memphis, Egypt, and from that associations the University of Memphis has developed an incredible Egyptology department. That’s why we built the Pyramid for the UofM Tigers basketball arena.
It also hosted many, many Egyptian traveling museum exhibits in its heyday. It could have been turned into an Egyptology museum, but the city council decided that rather than have a museum which would attract people with high level degrees as well as provide other skilled and high paying jobs along with more menial labor type jobs, it was better to sell it to Bass Pro who would only provide hundreds of minimum wage jobs.
@@Glmorrs1 from the looks of the Bass pro shop in the video I'm pretty sure it has a pretty deep financial footprint.much more than a boring museum for brain dead academics to keep to themselves. Pretty sure those academemia louts get paid somehow
They should do another, Pyramid in TN Memphis
@@Glmorrs1 don't get me wrong, I would love an Egyptology museum in the pyramid, but that would be incredibly expensive and the claim that it would attract high paying jobs is...dubious at best.
Most historians and archeologists may be high skill but they are rarely high income and they do not bring much academic investment. Most historical studies and archeological ventures are lucky to break even on their projects with book sales. Compare that to a large shopping complex which more than pays for itself and has the bonus of attracting other shopping and service venues to the area. Academic institutions require a large economy to support themselves, they don't produce one.
The Bass Pro shop and the retail clientele it brings with it are a much safer financial investment than an expensive museum that costs orders of magnitudes more than it makes. Maybe one day Memphis will see investment for an awesome new museum pyramid but this one was just never that feasible.
I live in memphis and was part of the construction of the bass pro and there were satanic ritualistic items found at the top during construction....along with a bunch of homeless people that had gotten in and been living there while it was abandoned...im an electrician and i have to admit, it was a bit freaky...thanks for the video man!
Gawd bless our sparkies!! Cool account. Satanic items?? Daamn
That's pretty crazy, makes you wonder about that whole alex jones thing.
What's even scarier is that construction workers fell off, probably linking to the satanic stuff.
Finally, it offers locals some value. It his, however, bizarre seeing a giant steel pyramid with a Bass Pro Shop logo on the side. I kind of love it.
Growing up in Memphis, I love the pyramid and still do. I always hoped that it would be utilized again. I think Bass Pro Shops did a great job on remodeling and using the space. I remember when it first opened, people would stand in line for hours to go up the elevator to the observation deck.
😂 if you like seeing you and your parents’ money literally being burned right in front of you, then yea, the pyramid is cool. The fact that you went as far as to say you “love it” makes me question your mental aptitude. It’s like you bypassed the video and went straight to the comment section. The pyramid in Memphis is/was a GIANT FAILURE. A fact represented by its current inhabitants.
@@EternityMTC, my tax payer money would have to go to the city of Memphis for it to be burned, but nice try 😉 technically I grew up in a burb. Luckily for you, we can have a difference in opinion. It might have been a failure, but nostalgia is not.
Ive moved to somewhere near germantown about 9 weeks ago...havent been there yet
I grew up in Fraser /north Memphis.. I remember when they broke ground on the pyramid.. They did it with lasers to show how big it would be was really awesome to see that..
Me too, Lane. I'll never forget the "Big Dig" ground breaking ceremony with a badass fireworks show and they used cranes to display lights to make the shape of the Pyramid. All this took place at night and it was like one huge party. It was a great idea in the end with Bass Pro shops which I went to the grand opening and got to meet Tony Stewart/NASCAR driver #20 n a few other drivers, Bill Dance and the Turtle man LOL...he was a trip but he was genuinely the real deal.
"Grizzlies kept all ticket sales" "Non compete clause" this thing was screwed over by the city itself.
City of Memphis govt is one of the most inefficient and corrupt bodies of Govt in the US. The city is run by idiots. The pyrimid is only one example of their incompetence.
@@10speedr Memphis is as blue of a city as Detroit or Chitcongo.
@@rudert56 it amazes me that those places and others will not try Somthing new..
When your government that you never change never makes anything better only worse then why stick with them..
I can understand not wanting to be a supercity and the rubbish that brings with the money but having a safe city with lots of available normal jobs is a great thing...
That happens a lot in the South.
@@10speedr HA! As if Memphis can compete with New Orleans, or anywhere else in Louisiana for that matter!
This is what is still screwing over the city. The Grizzlies can say yes or no to who performs at the Forum. Most of the concerts are going to Southaven and Landers Center. Fine with me. That’s a nice venue.
Growing up in the area I remember rodeos, monster truck shows, wrestling matches, basketball games, everything taking place at the pyramid. So it’s wild to me now that it is a giant bass pro, but I’m glad to see it in use again.
Awesome video! I really want to see that Bass Pro Shop now! 😃👍
All this shows is the CEO of bass pro shops is a genius.
Now if that CEO could get ammunition today for guns, then that would be genius.
@@paulhunt4690 didn't he go anti gun to keep the gun ban people happy....
He was going to band lots of guns and refuse to sell guns to legal citizens if they were under and age he decided on..
@@zakofrx Didnt hear that about basspro but dicks went that way. Now you can hear an ant fart in one of those as there is no one else around.
Too bad it wasn't Fry's Electronics. Now that would be epic.
@@siliconinsect they’ll be on a future episode of bankrupt now. Rip to the GOAT electronics store.
So basically it was a stadium,sat abandoned for almost 5 years,and than bass pro fishing shopping came and turned it into a super store? And when I was passing through Memphis and saw this 7 years ago I thought it was weird, But now after watching this video it makes it even weirder.
it was an absolutely horrible venue. seating sucked
I saw it from a distance on a vacation in 2008 and when I heard about the Bass Pro Shop inside in the video, I was like “DAMMIT, WE SHOULD’VE STOPPED THERE”. Then Jake mentioned it not opening until 2015 and then I thought “Oh ok. It wasn’t there yet, so we missed nothing”
When he first said stadium, I thought, "what a terrible concept for a stadium." Yet, the city thought it was a good idea to spend massively on it. Democracy at work.
FWIW: I briefly visited Memphis back in 1998, and saw this building from a distance.
I had NO IDEA that it had been taking over by *BASS PRO SHOPS.* Good for them for making it a success!
"Disney and MGM just built a park themed to movies and television"
Me: *There I am, Gary, there I am!*
But I'd like to clarify to Sidney, we didn't build the park together, the agreement with MGM was only for the park's name, as well as other contracts that allowed MGM content within Great Movie Ride
"Its like the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower..." Those are big words coming from a dude with a name like Sidney Shlenker lol
As a native Memphesian he has a reputation around the city that he was a fraud and con artist that wasted a ton of taxpayer dollars
Certainly a fun name for a greasy salesman.
Like the name of a cartoon conman. We shoulda known. 😂
@@regiirecords8829 Like "donald trump"...
As nephew to Jon Brent Hartz, I know he's the one that pushed my uncle out of the deal. Missed his "big break".
As someone who has lived their whole life in Memphis I remember as a kid going to see University of Memphis basketball games in the pyramid, and a few monster truck events. To this day it still feels like a fever dream seeing those massive Bass Pro Shops and Ducks Unlimited logos on the outside of it. That being said it is wild what they have done to the inside of this thing. I can remember in the mid to late 2000s there were local movements of people calling for it to be demolished. I'm glad they didn't because taking the Bass Pro Shops out of the equation it's a really neat structure given the namesake of the city.
Yeah I hear ya. My high school graduation was in the pyramid. I also went to a lot of museum type exhibits there as a kid.
I remember going on a school trip to the pyramid when it had some exhibit there. Blanking on the exhibit, I just remember how cool it looked the first time I went
Nah dude, the BPS makes it better
@@viktordickinson7844 What are you disagreeing with?
I remember there was talk about a possible huge aquarium. Bass pro has some cool water stuff in there but a. Aquarium would be so great 😭
Grew up in the city and graduated from high school in the pyramid. It’s so weird to see it as a giant retail store now. I always loved the wonders series exhibits that were hosted there. The Titanic tour was particularly good.
I was just going to comment about seeing the Titanic exhibit at the Pyramid when I was a kid. I also remember the American Orient Express train being parked there
Great video and outstanding research. I grew up in Memphis in the 80's and attended college there in the 90's. I learned some new facts from this video. Accurate depiction of Pyramid related events as I remember them. I remember the "Big Dig" ground breaking event vividly.
I had two graduations in that building and attended many basketball games there. Saw MJ play an exhibition game and a Billy Joel concert. Good memories. I've never been a fan of downtown Memphis, but the last two times I visited Memphis I've taken my family downtown to Bass Pro at the Pyramid and the Big River Crossing walkway on the old bridge. Fun, family friendly place to visit.
For once on "Abandoned", something actually had a happy ending!
Meanwhile the two tallest downtown buildings are standing empty. 100 North Main (38 floors) and the Sterick Building (29 floors at Third and Madison. The 100 N. Main Building has some structural problems and the Sterick Building, completed in 1930, was at the time the tallest building in the southern United States.
...at the cost of well over a 100 million dollars to the tax payers of Memphis while their schools are shit.
I've driven past it countless times and it awes me every time. The thing is just massive! Unfortunately I usually didn't have the time to stop and go in, and if I did it was always the middle of the night lol.
If you ever get the chance, definitely go in. It's even more impressive inside. Just gorgeous, especially if you can stay in the resort. Just stayed there over Christmas & truly nothing like it. Will definitely be making a special trip to Memphis primarily go stay there again lol.
what blows my mind is the fact that that city builds another stadium right next to it almost killing the project.
That is so strange, isn't it? They are so close together.
The saddest part is hearing it was funded with taxpayer dollars. The people who benefit the least from gov't projects always end up paying for them.
@Hippity Hoppity fuck yeah America
Yea we paid extra 1 cent tax for 2 years for the arena in north little rock ar. And they never said thank you.
@Hippity Hoppity You have a better system in mind?
@Hippity Hoppity Wow, I ask you to put forth an opinion or idea, and you go into a defensive ball like a little hedgehog.
@Hippity Hoppity You're floundering, desperately pretending to feel earth beneath your feet, but we know better eh' chum? Name one country not run by rich people.
Only a Canadian would think Tennessee was in the Midwest
We are most definitely not Midwestern.
Shameful just absolutely shameful, but I guess that's what happens when your country's currency is monopoly money, and your national drink is maple syrup. Lol I'm kidding but it is quite funny.
Don't forget about The Jewds (3:57), a country music duo who were popular in the late 1980s and entertained us Midwesterners..
@@88_TROUBLE_88 lol I honestly thought no one else would catch that. The Judds were HUGE at their peak. How did he not know the correct pronunciation?
Ngl though, "Midwest" isn't middle nor west, it's literally north and east but what we call the northeast is also New England
So I really can't blame a foreigner for not knowing that
A feel-good story for this channel. Nicely done Bass Pro!
Interesting to hear about the background on this building where I grew up.
A few critques: 1) If you talk about the Univeristy of Memphis Tigers basketball team during this time, one would be remissed if Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway is not mentioned. 2) With the FedEx Forum and the Grizzlies, the city had to agree to a non-compete cause, which the Pyramid could not be used as an entertainment venue. 3)
The pyramid also served as the venue for the majority of the Wonder Series, which was an annual/biannual international exhibition. The Series was a guided tour recounting the history of a famous person/kingdom and brought in pieces from multiple museums & collectors that you wouldn't normally see in 1 place.
In elementary through high school, it was normal to have a field trip to see these exhibits, which Ramesses started the series from the Ottoman Empire, the Estruscans, Napoleon Bonaparte, Catherine the Great, the Imperial Tombs of China, the Titanic, the Incans, WWII from the Russian perspective, and the Masters of Florenece. The last exhibit was about motorcycles, which was around 2003-2004. For living in the South, it was a great cultural experience that surpassed just reading about it in a book.
I have a book about The Imperial Tombs Of China Exhibit!
This place is truly awesome in every sense of the word. My wife and I vacationed in Memphis in 2017 and spent five nights in Big Cypress Lodge. It was well worth the cost, we had an amazing time. Went to the Stax Museum, Sun Records, had dinner on Beale Street, had a great walk along the Mississippi river. Memphis is a kick-ass little river town. Look forward to visiting again.
Glad you enjoyed it. If you love roots/blues/soul music it's a destination for sure. Their famous BBQ is epic too! I may need to get back there someday.
Agree completely. We took the kids along and had a fantastic time. We did Sun Records, Beale Street, a singing bus tour, Graceland, the Civil Rights Museum, and a few other things.
Memphis is a complete shithole outside of the tourist attractions, I lived there.
@@drumsNstuff79 it sure is *A* destination
I very much ended my dos and night there. We went on a Civil War installation hike.
The Bass Pro Shops is everything you'd expect and more, when I flew to Memphis for something completely unrelated with a few buddies and one of them said we have to go here, I wasn't as thrilled to go as they were, that was until I entered the building, and damn. The videos just don't do it justice, that place is awesome, its huge, its themed amazingly and it is definitely worth visiting.
Well, for a damn fish shop lol.
@@jackdaniels2905 It is kind of awe inspiring though. I know it's goofy but it is somewhat of a monument to both human stupidity, short sightedness, but also ingenuity and creativity.
@@jackdaniels2905 the only thing I can say is if your into the outdoors man life style or that sort of area, or even if you just like nature, the theme and activities are right up your alley. I thought it was extremely tacky till I visited there and spent the entire day just wandering around the place. Honestly a really cool epxeirence
Its a fantastic building and Bass Pro location. The center elevator is awesome. We visited there for a small weekend getaway several years back. Really worth checking out
Honestly it'll be on my short list if I visit Memphis. Looks like a blast, which i never thought I'd say about a Bass Pro Shop lol
Me at the beginning: "ugh too bad"
Me at the end: *planning a trip to Memphis*
It's really cool, btw, unless you have someplace specific you plan to go, I suggest staying out of the south end of Memphis, the place is an absolute wreck of desolate buildings and barred-up windows. There is a really cool restaurant or two you can find down there that Guy Fieri recommends to eat at (which I did and I liked the people there quite a bit) but just thought I'd give you the heads up. The actual scene you're looking for in Memphis besides the Bass Pro Shop is on the North Side of town.
If you go to Nashville while you're in the general area, you need to go to the Pancake Pantry. So many delicious and different kinds of pancakes. I recommend Buckwheat and Banana Bread.
Yeah go to nashville not memphis
I would have to agree Carl! Go Bass Pro Shop! My family is well-off and enjoy unique places. This sounds like an interesting destination. And good job to Sun Bright on a vid well made!
MEMTN is a city with SEVERE Borderline Personality Disorder. I live south of MEM, in MS, and trust me, there's nothing really to see here. The CRIME RATE is alarming, Graceland is a JOKE, and so is this pyramid ( wanna be Egyptian thing). It's a city that is a strong mix of post civil war, meets 70's King of Rock and Roll, meets Pharoah? Weird. MEM doesn't know what it "wants to be when it grows up". Beale Street is nothing but a hip hop mega hangover. the rest of the city is nothing but claim lawyers and warehouses that work their employees to death for little over minimum wage. The "International" airport is really a FEDEX hub and the only part that is International about it is all the FEDEX planes taking off to China. There's nothing to do here, except get shitface drunk, or hooked on dope, or killed ( shot at) just for changing lanes at the wrong time in front of the wrong car on the misnamed "240" Interstate. The pyramid site, is literally only a quarter mile from gangs, severe dirt poor unemployment, and people looking for an excuse to drag some company into Court to sue them for instant gratification. So if you are looking for horseshit, look no further.
@@samanthaanne246 goddamn
I was born and raised in this city. I am a little sad that you didn't touch upon all the Disney-on-ice shows they used to put on there, but that might be a bit of forgotten history altogether. Either way, I went to many a Disney-on-ice production at the Memphis Pyramid growing up and those are my fondest memories of the Memphis Pyramid.
Also, as someone who loves fishing, it makes me supremely happy that it's a Bass Pro Shop that made ultimate use of it. Also Missisippi River fishing is some of the best fishing, so the location is really a no brainer.
I’ve always lived here but had never been in it until Bass Pro opened & we took our family visiting from Chicago. It’s a cool place to visit. I do remember hearing way back that as a stadium walking up & down to higher seating was steep because of shape.
Just very weird that you don't draw the parallel between Ancient Memphis in Egypt, after which the city is named. There is a reason they went with a pyramid design, and even the idea of it beings a sports and music arena is a reasonable idea. Being from Tennessee, I am glad that it is still around, though I have never been inside. It's construction was completed after I graduated from college.
Few things:
The pyramid didn't "sit vacant" until the Grizzlies came. It was the home of Memphis Tigers basketball the entire time it was open until the opening of Fedex Forum. Like any other arena, it hosted a variety of events, from concerts to monster truck and motocross shows, arena football games, college basketball conference tournaments, professional wrestling events, and more. Twice it hosted professional boxing bouts featuring Mike Tyson, including his World Title fight against Lennox Lewis.
Memphis is not in the "midwest." It's in the "midsouth."
The pyramid didn't have the best reputation. The original seating was horrendous, but became better after they removed several seats. Originally the acoustics were terrible. The first few concerts were very disappointing as the sound only reached part of the audience, but they soon fixed that.
The Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid is an amazing place if you're into outdoor life. While they do have a gigantic fishing and boat section, they also have just about anything you could need for outdoor activities in the local area and beyond. The retail space is massive and features an indoor swamp and the world's tallest free standing elevator that goes up to their restaurant and observation deck. Oh, and they have a 4-star hotel as well, the Big Cypress Lodge.
Some of the other notable ideas for repurposing the Pyramid and their possible issues included: an indoor amusement park. Memphis already had an amusement park. Liberty Land had opened in 1976, but it was facing heavy financial burden and eventually closed its doors in 2005; a casino. Apart from the legal battles involved in opening a casino in a state which has none, there is already a number of casinos in the surrounding area; a new campus for Southwest Tennessee Community College. The college didn't want to spend the money to purchase the Pyramid, which is located in an area with a minimal number of residential properties; an outlet mall. Memphis already had a few malls and none of them were very spectacular. With retail stores struggling in Memphis, the idea of a new mall near downtown Memphis gained little traction; an aquarium. One of the more popular ideas, no one could come to a conclusion as to who would pay for or operate the facility.
Been to a WWE event there. And A monster truck rally. The monster trucks were kinda disappointing though, not nearly enough room in there for them.
Yup!
That actually sounds pretty cool. I guess the video makes a lot more sense if you're 🇨🇦
I saw Metallica there in 1991. Yes, seats were awful and acoustics just as bad. The building just sucked up the sound.
You have way to much time on your hands
The Memphis Pyramid is now a state-of-the-art restaurant, hotel, and Bass Pro Shop.
Give this man a cookie! He watched the video!
State of what art?
@@robione8365 "State of the art" is an English phrase that means that something comes equiped with the newest technologies and developments.
@@robione8365 first time i heard about this , pyramid very unsettling
You okay Bro?
I actually worked for ServiceMaster during this renovation my team worked on making sure the natural wood flooring was protected during the construction. We got a private tour of the store, bowling ally and the restaurant at the top.
I seem to recall hearing that the building was actually sinking at one point. I also think it's cool what Bass Pro Shops did for the building.
Thats true. Its built on a sand bar. I remember being told that as a kid and then taken to a concert there and i was terrified to go in bc i thought the whole thing would sink while i was inside lol. Really cool to see it back to life and bass pro really did a phenomenal job
"IT'S A BASS PRO SHOP!"
Honestly... Ryan's Shorts has an amazing jingle for it
As a Memphian I love that video I reshare it on Facebook all the time lol
*Inhales*
“WHEN THE ALIENS COME DOWN ALL THEY REALLY WANNA SEE...”
As a Memphian, this is cool to see. My parents always told me about what happened, but then hearing the story more in-depth is really neat.
*Insert Freemason conspiracy theory.*
He must have sold golden shiners$$$$
same here
I can attest to the terrible acoustics. We went to see Van Halen there in 91 and we were in the nose bleed seats and it sounded like Charlie Browns teacher with a white noise static backing track.
@@fuziontonygaming I’m a mason from Memphis …🤷🏽♂️that’s no theory tho
Thank you for this short film... We were there last weekend and couldn't figure out the complete story behind it and this helps ❤️
Fantastic documentary, thanks!
The idea of the pyramid had to do with the original Memphis (Greek translation of the Egyptian name Mennefer) was on the Nile River in Egypt, at the mouth of the Delta. So, the concept of a pyramid in Memphis on the Mississippi River at the mouth of the Delta (straddling Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana) make a lot of sense to those who knew the original history, myself being one of those who was born and raised in The Delta. Cotton was King.
I was hoping this wasn't lost on the presenter but it appears it was.
Yeah, I was wondering why he didn’t pick up on that.
I cannot believe that this is an abandoned episode with a happy and super quirky ending...
It wasn’t abandoned
It was
@@HendersonHinchfinch It was for a while; sinking, as I remember it. Sidney Shlenker's fault.
It's not abandoned
I am so glad to have been recommended this, as a native Memphian, and someone who went to many a University of Memphis game in that stadium.
Is it just me or does that bass pro shops look absolutely awesome? I want to stay in that hotel.
It was nicknamed the “Tomb of Doom” for our University of Memphis Tiger basketball program in reference to Egypt..way before the NBA ever came to Memphis.. it was a moniker for the building for opposing teams as a tough place to play due to our fan base of filling out a 20,000 seat college arena.. I believe the largest college arena in the country at the time or close to it..
Maybe Freedom Hall in Louisville, or Rupp Arena in Lexington was larger in seating. I am not sure.
Did you go to Harding?
@@d1138vader
Elementary school at Germantown, High School at Whitehaven High School, Class of '64
We could have turned it into a museum or an aquarium, but I guess the kickbacks from those developers wasn’t as big as the kickbacks from Bass Pro. And they really fucked the city over in the negotiations, what with insisting that the utilities to the building not be cut off at all while the building was empty (which doesn’t make any sense because the utilities could be turned back in as easily as they could have been turned off) and then threatening to pull out of the deal if the city tried to make them pay for those utilities.
@@Glmorrs1
Well. It doesn't happen too often, but temperatures in Memphis can fall into the single digits and below zero in winter, And even if you cut the water off, water still in pipes can freeze and burst the pipes. Also without climate control, mildew and damage to electronic controls of the building's system can occur, due to the changes in humidity as well as large temperature swings.
I bet the conversation went "this kind of looks like a huge tent, let's buy it"
😅
An idea that wild would make any outdoor enthusiast man pitch a tent.
It's even better than that. Fisherman Bill Dance and his buddy were fishing for catfish in the Mississippi and had a rough day. They bet if the next cat the caught was over a certain size, they would go to the city about doing this. The rest is history... it may or may not be a tall tale from a legendary fisherman...
That it does, good observation!
I’ve been to the Bass Pro Shops Pyramid. I thought it was pretty cool with how everything looks inside and upstairs turning it into a “cabin”
I live in Memphis and it was abandoned for a long time, but i think it was worth it, the bass pro pyramid is so cool.
This was a major project for Bass ProShops. The Pyramid had some serious issues that needed to be addressed. Memphis is located in an area just south of the New Madrid fault therefore making the area prone to seismic activity. Also, the Mississippi River has flooded the area numerous times. Also, it was supposedly built on less than stable ground which led to foundation issues. The place was close to just being torn down. Luckily, Bass ProShops had a vision and the city was sane enough to strike a deal. What has been done with the Pyramid is pretty incredible. Memphis had been on the skids for a while and still has some significant issues but it is experiencing some great revival. Real estate is cheap, there is land available and it is located in a good location with the Mississippi River shipping, railroads, interstates and Fed Ex’s headquarters and main hub. Memphis is a great place to visit but you have to be aware of your surroundings, there are crime issues. The majority of the people are very welcoming and are happy to have you visit.
I lived there for a little over a month and man what a shit hole that place is
@@dangerousdylan6262 that's so sad to hear. Tennessee was such a place I had hoped to actually visit at length between road trips between NC and the upper Midwest.
My wife and I have visited Memphis several times mostly to visit Graceland as we are Elvis fans. We always stayed at the old Heartbreak Hotel across the street from the mansion. We haven't been back since the new hotel opened but hope to get to visit again. You are right about the crime issue, always be aware of what is going on around you, the White Haven area is not a place to be out and about after dark, however Elvis Enterprises is making an attempt to revitalize the area. We always enjoyed our visits, met some really nice people some we keep in touch with. We always took the shuttle down to Beale Street, that is a safe place, the cops down there don't put up with any bad behavior at all but we never went to the Pyramid.
@@davidr1676 Nashville is good, but Memphis has been a shit hole for 200 years.
@@davidr1676 you’ve just got to to know where and where not to go. Memphis is a strange city. You’ll be on one street with multimillion dollar houses, then round the corner and get mugged.
“Hey Joe where did you buy your gun?”
“At the gun store, what about you Bill?”
“Oh I bought mine at the P Y R A M I D”
Yeah but did they have any amo?
@@stratcat4450 Nah, but they did have some ammo.
sorry ;)
I should get my Glock 17 there as soon as I get my FOID card
Nice story. I'm glad Bass Pro was able to turn it around in the end. Defiantly an eye catcher.
The inside looks like from another world. I love it!
Proud Memphian here. For those not familiar the ancient capital of Egypt was Memphis therefore the Pyramid. There is a lot of ancient Egyptian iconography all around the city. My older brother and sisters graduated from Raleigh-Egypt High School. Their mascot is the Pharoah.
"next great building since the Houston Astrodome"
Look how that turned out
Well at least this ones still in use.
The astrodome looked so pathetic next to reliant stadium
Then astrodome just lived out its useful life.
Actually served every purpose it was supposed to, was then demolished like most outdated stadiums.
@@TheEnd-eg6wq the astrodome hasn’t been demolished
i lived in memphis in the early 2000s. i left in 2007 and had no idea this had happened!!!! wow, thanks for the video, so cool!!
I’ve been to the bass pro shop at the pyramid, went up the observation deck and eat at the restaurant.
If you’re going to or through Memphis, it’s well worth a stop
That's actually REALLY cool inside! I'm so glad that Bass Pro Shop was able to take what was an utter failure, and turn it into something truly special.
As a Memphian, I’ve always loved the pyramid. I remember going to grizzlies and tigers games at the “pinanid” as I called it as a small child. I took my senior photos with the pyramid in the background. I’m happy Bass Pro has brought tourism to my city, I’m just upset that when I drive into Memphis from Arkansas I have to see a Bass Pro sign on the beautiful pyramid. They could’ve done without that branding in my opinion.
so why not put your homeless in it then...?
@@csnide6702 oh yea every city should have a pyramid full of homeless people. what a great idea
@@ab.3800 you don't have the homeless pyramid? I thought that was standard in most cities
then YOU can buy the Pyramid and put whatever you want on the outside, Karen...
Well it’s a bass pro shop, so would u except no sign?
It’s better then it being abandoned like it was.
I've been there before. It's super cool.. Quite the experience and the views from the bar at the top are awesome
Was in there for Gene Bartow's first ever win over Memphis in his career back when Penny Hardaway was guard for them. Was a beautiful moment for both of us.
Gene Bartow Left Memphis after his 1973 appearance in the NCAA final game against UCLA. UCLA hired him as coach after John Wooden left. Gene Bartow went to UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham and started a brand new basketball program there and the team played in the NCAA tournament in his second season and won four Sunbelt conference championships in his first five years. He made the NCAA tournament in six of his first seven years. Penny Hardaway played basketball in Memphis from 1992-1994, so he never played under Gene Bartow.
When the aliens come down, all they really want to see...
duh, what'd you think it was? doesn't every city have a big ass pyr-mid by the mud?
Well, now that's going to be in my head forever.
yeah some people wipe their eyes cuz they think that they're on druuuugs, but they're really at the best place to shop IT'S A BASS PRO SHOP!
It's a Bluff City non-stop PARTY AT THE PRO SHOP!
Hey Aliens want see how I shoot 10 ducks in the sky all at once , well go to the Bass Pro Shop pyramid ,because they have the best guns
There was an Egyptian museum on the ground floor under the stadium, complete with mummies in the early 2000s.
It was a traveling exhibit, I saw it at the Pyramid in 1997 and again in Little Rock in like 2009? They also had a Titanic exhibit there as well. Lots of good times there.
One of the proposals for the pyramid was to turn it into an Egyptology museum with room for more traveling exhibits. But I guess museum planners can’t afford to pay out kickbacks like Bass Pro can, and instead we got that fucking embarrassment.
@@Glmorrs1 damn you mad bro?
That was a traveling exhibit but I went to that! I got a necklace with my name in hieroglyphs :)
Thank you for this video!!!!
You are so welcome!
My graduation ceremony was in that place in 1996 (Univ of Memphis) before it became a Bass Pro Shop.
Wow I did not know the University of Memphis was now a bass pro shop too😂😂😂
I’m so happy that the pyramid was reused like this instead of becoming another great building lost to the ages.
That's my home town! I was there when they broke ground and attended many sporting events there. Not mentioned here, but it used to be home to the "Memphis Pharaohs" Arena Football team. Great video, Jake!
"The Memphis pyramid was built by aliens" The History Channel
Teacher: Okay class, the city has asked us what we'd like to see this pyramid be used for
Student: An Egyptology campus and museum!
Student 2: A temple for Elvis Presley!
The quiet kid: Bass Pro Shop
The class: ....what?
The quiet kid: *DID I STUTTER?*
While the arena concept didn't work out, I'm glad Bass Pro Shops stepped up to the plate and found a way to make the pyramid an actual entertainment attraction.
As someone who visited the city and was randomly surprised by the the bass pro pyramid, the history is very helpful with the all the questions I've had since then.