In the small hours of August 8, 1977, Elvis Presley rented Libertyland, the amusement park on the Mid-South Fairgrounds, and rode the Zippin Pippin over and over with Lisa Marie and a small group of friends. It was eight days before his death. The park had opened on July 4, 1976, for the bicentennial, and he had the place to himself after closing, a habit from his years of renting theaters and rinks so that he could go out without being mobbed. The coaster was far older than the park. It began as the Giant Coaster Dips, built about 1913 at East End Park by John A. Miller and Harry C. Baker, moved in 1922 to Montgomery Park, the future fairgrounds, and opened as the Pippin in 1923. A tornado damaged it in April 1928, and it was rebuilt by July for $45,000. It took the name Zippin Pippin when Libertyland opened around it. Libertyland closed on October 29, 2005. At auction in June 2006 the coaster went for $2,500, and the structure later partly collapsed. Green Bay, Wisconsin, bought what was left and rebuilt the ride at Bay Beach for $3.8 million, opening it in May 2011. Libertyland's Grand Carousel was restored and now runs at the Children's Museum of Memphis. The Memphis Sports and Events Center stands on the former park, and Liberty Park keeps the name.
Getting there
35.1195, -89.9826
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