Beale Street has been playing the blues for more than half a century. Named after an unknown military hero in 1841, it acted as General Ulysses S. Grant's headquarters during the Civil War. But, Beale Street's heyday was in the 1920's, when the area took on a carnival atmosphere and gambling, drinking, prostitution, murder and voodoo thrived alongside the booming nightclubs, theaters, restaurants, stores, pawnshops and hot music. One club, The Monarch, was known as The Castle of Missing Men due to the fact that its gunshot victims and dead gamblers could be easily disposed of at the undertaker's place that shared their back alley. With over 25 clubs and shops to choose from Beale Street has something to offer almost everyone. You could slip into Wet Willies and get some of the best daiquiris on the street or you could mosey on down to Blues City Cafe and sample some of the best ribs in the world. Art galleries, t-shirts, good music, getting your fortune told, strange cargo, you name and Beale St. probably has it.