The sign proudly announces that this was the future site of the Memphis Belle. Of course, the future site was a pedestal at this location, where she rotted until moved to Mud Island.
Boeing B-17F
Memphis Belle
The city of Memphis bought the B-17 for $350 (equivalent to $5,031 in 2020). It was flown to Memphis in July 1946 and stored until mid-1949, when the bomber was placed on display. It sat out-of-doors into the 1980s, slowly deteriorating from weather and vandalism. Eventually, no instruments were left in the cockpit, and virtually every removable piece of the B-17's interior had been scavenged.