In 1819, became Memphis, Tennessee by John Overton, James Washington, and Andrew Jackson.
They named it after the capital of Ancient Egypt. Years and years after Memphis had been incorporated, a man by the name of Mark Hartz developed the idea of the pyramid but it didn’t come into full effect until his son pushed his father’s idea. When The Pyramid was completed it established the name “The Great American Pyramid” due to it being one of the largest pyramids in the world. I believe that since The Pyramid was given that name, they placed a statue of Ramses The Great to symbolize and to add emphasis on how great the new project was. With the permission from the Egyptian government, Memphis was allowed to create a statue of the exceptional
king. The sculpture was made of fiberglass: mixture of enhanced plastic material and glass fibers impacted in a resin matrix. Although this process must contain accuracy and patience the unknown artist got it done with very few complications and budget problems. Ramses II’s statue stood 25 feet tall in front of The Pyramid. In addition to the tourist sightseeing, Ramses The Great display added a intense historical image to the city. Most people might not have actually understood the exact purpose for the sculpture, but those who knew their history such as I admired it. The Pyramid started to lose attraction and soon became empty due to the building of the FedEx Forum. In result, the “Great American Pyramid” was bought by Bass Pro Shop, and turned into one of their largest stores. In 2012, the statue was removed from its home, even though there were slight difficulties with the separation the mission was successful. Ramses II now has a new home at the University of Memphis. There has been plethora of positive feedback since the transfer of the statue. I honestly think that this was a tremendous decision because, University of Memphis has a display tributing to Ancient Egypt in relations to Ramses the Great. The statue remains there to this present day.