The world’s first Holiday Inn opened on this site on August 1, 1952, founded by Memphis entrepreneur Kemmons Wilson after unsatisfactory lodging experiences during a vacation the previous summer with his wife Dorothy and their five children. He soon joined with builder Wallace B. Johnson to establish a nationwide chain of inns, each marked by a giant green and yellow neon sign topped by a star. By offering family-oriented, predictable convenience and “inexpensive luxury,” this single 120-room motel on the main route into Memphis from the east evolved into the world’s largest hotel-motel system and made Wilson’s life a true rags-to-riches story. The first Holiday Inn was retired by sale in 1973 and was finally demolished in 1994.
