The rusted neon sign outside still bears the “Hotel” as clear as day. But the “Pontotoc” beneath it has long faded away.
Downtown’s Hotel Pontotoc at 69 E. Pontotoc Ave., which dates to 1906, was once a Turkish bathhouse and, according to local lore, has a somewhat off-color connection to Elvis Presley.
For the past 40 years, the Hotel Pontotoc was owned by the Davis family. While the recent lore might not be as storied as what came before, the Davises created their own magic inside the historic building. They turned the first floor into a recording studio and the second into a so-called “garden room.”
Now, the building has new owners, with plans to renovate the existing hotel into a restaurant and 10 apartments.
This column originally appeared in The Daily Memphian. Keep reading.