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Traditions are an interesting thing that we end up picking up from generations gone by. Sometimes they are traditions we have been passing down through our family for as long as anyone can remember. Then other times you have traditions that captivate a whole city or region. What might have seemed like a funny idea at the time led to a craze that has captured hearts for decades now. The Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee, not only has guests who are there to enjoy a fine night’s stay, but it’s a group of ducks that has everyone talking. 

The Peabody Hotel has been open since 1869 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Peabody Memphis/ Facebook
It has become known as the "South’s Grand Hotel" and has quite a reputation as one of the best hotels in the city. This fine hotel has some of the most luxurious accommodations in the city and your stay is sure to be one filled with excellent service that meets the highest of standards.
The rooms are outfitted with comfortable beds and updated decor, making each room unique and lovely.
The Peabody Memphis/ Facebook
If the hotel had just its fine accommodations to bring in guests, it would still bring in thousands. If you go then you might just want to curl up and rest a while on their super comfy beds. There is, however, one thing that people associate the hotel with more than anything else.
The Peabody Ducks are really the star of the show and have won over the city with the daily duck march.
The Peabody Memphis/ Facebook
As quirky as it sounds, it is a beloved event for anyone traveling through Memphis. It all started in the 1930s when the general manager and his friend thought it would be funny to put their live decoy ducks in the Peabody Fountain. The reaction was that of love and adoration, the ducks became an instant hit.

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In 1940 a man named Edward Pembroke was a bellman and decided to use his animal training he learned from being in the circus and taught the ducks to march.
The Peabody Memphis/ Facebook
The ducks would line up and waddle their way to the fountain every day led by Mr. Pembroke. He held this possession till he retired in 1991, since then the prestigious possession has been held by other duck masters.
Every day at 11 a.m. and again at 5 p.m. a red carpet is rolled out and the ducks are led from their opulent duck mansion on the roof, down the elevator, and the doors open to the ducks adoring fans. These lovable feathered friends march their way across the carpet and into the fountain.
The Peabody Memphis/ Facebook
The show always brings in dozens of people and many of them come an hour early just to see the famous Peabody Ducks. The entire culture of the hotel has embraced this tradition and you can find nodes to their historic ducks just about everywhere you look in the hotel.
The Peabody Memphis/ Facebook

The Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee, has been rolling up the carpet for the duck march for decades now. It has become so interwoven into the very culture of the hotel and its staff members that have embraced it wholeheartedly. For more information about this historic hotel or the duck march make sure to visit The Peabody Hotel website. 

Just next door is a famous rib stop in the basement like a well-hidden secret. Whenever you are in the area make sure you get some BBQ at rendezvous. 

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The Peabody Memphis, 149 Union Ave, Memphis, TN 38103, USA