The Great Memphis Pyramid

The city of Memphis is situated on the eastern bank of the Mississippi. Located in the tri-state area, it acts as a true link between the poorer southern regions, the Dixie States, the industrialised cities of the north, and the rich plains of the Midwest. Like its Egyptian namesake, its location upstream from the head of the river’s delta has enabled it to develop into the region’s most important industrial port. In 1954, Mark C. Hartz drew a project that reflected the city’s hypothetical twinning with Egypt. The original project envisaged three pyramids, situated further south in the city, modelled on the three pyramids of Giza in Egypt.
In terms of scale, the tallest pyramid would have reached around 100 metres (approximately two-thirds the height of the Great Pyramid of Giza) and the other two around 70 metres. After three decades, the project was revived, and Mark Hartz himself produced a new drawing for the structure, a vitrified bronze pyramid. After a few changes, the Pyramid was finally built and inaugurated in 1991.
At 98 metres high, it is the sixth tallest pyramid in the world, behind four Egyptian pyramids and, curiously enough, another pyramid in the United States, the Luxor in Las Vegas.