The Zippin Pippin, the most prominent and historic ride at Libertyland, sold for $2,500 today at public auction. The historic roller coaster, reportedly Elvis Presley's favorite ride, had been in operation since 1923. It was among an estimated 100 items Mid-South Fair officials put up for auction Wednesday as they prepare to close the park and sell off the assets to recoup losses.

 

Topping the money list was the Kamikazi, which sold for $190,000, followed by the Rebellion at $155,000. The park's other roller coaster, the Revolution, sold for $55,000.

 

About 75 people paid the $10 fee to take part in the auction that started around 10:30 a.m. and wrapped up shortly after 3 p.m. The auction was conducted by Norton Auctioneers of Coldwater, Mich., which specializes in the auction and appraisal of amusement parks, carnivals, Halloween attractions, zoos, water parks and other tourist attractions. Fair and auction officials had estimated that the sale could bring in as much as $1 million. Billy Orr, president and CEO of the Mid-South Fair, said after the auction they expected the sales total to be close to that figure. A final tally was not expected until Thursday. Those buying the items have 30 days to remove them from the park, Orr said.Source: Elvis Unlimited / Updated: Jun 22, 2006

 

Cheap :D

Wow, very cheap :lol:

I was lucky enough to see this when I was in Memphis, last year :dance: Wish I'd known that they were going to sell it off, cos I'd have put my bid in there and then

 

Here's a pic I took of Libertyland :D Will have to search out the ones I took of the Zippin Pippin ;)

 

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y48/elvis1959/_7A_00145.jpg

 

Seriously, yet more sites, important to Elvis, are disappearing :( We all know, how much fun Elvis had at Libertyland with his friends and especially the Zippin Pippin :D

Very sad inded :cry:

Looks like it's going to be on eBay soon ;)

 

Nashville partners in the Honky Tonk Hall of Fame said Monday they plan to list the Zippin Pippin on eBay along with houses once owned by Elvis Presley's father and Johnny Cash.

Stephen Shutts, who coordinated last month's $1 million sale of Elvis Presley's former house on Audubon, said he plans to take Elvis' favorite car from the Zippin Pippin -- the first car -- and use it as an attraction in his traveling music museum.The rest of the towering wooden roller coaster on the Libertyland grounds would be listed on eBay primarily "to generate interest and publicity. It could be put up in a best-offer scenario. The idea is to see if anybody has any land, any ideas," Shutts said of his effort to preserve the roller coaster as part of Americana.

 

"Though our company is based in Nashville, we recognize that Memphis plays an incredibly important part in our national, state and even personal history. As the new owners of the Zippin Pippin, we intend to respect that history and hopefully help the city leaders move forward with their vision for the property," Shutts and partner Robert Reynolds said in a letter to the editor in today's editions of The Commercial Appeal.

 

In addition to the coaster, Shutts said he has agreed to represent owners of two other Memphis properties in eBay auctions. One is the home at 3650 Hermitage once owned by Elvis's father Vernon Presley. The four-bedroom brick house appraised at $146,000 now is owned by Willie C. Thomas and Evelyn Thomas.

 

The other property, at 5676 Walnut Grove Place, just off Walnut Grove Road in East Memphis, was owned by Johnny Cash for one year after his first Sun Studio recordings.

 

Current owners David Pollow, a real estate investor, and wife Pearl Pollow, said the only sign that a musician lived in the house is the mailbox Cash had installed. It has a wrought-iron guitar motif above the box.

 

Pollow said he bought the house in 1960 just after Cash moved to California. The couple said they didn't realize at first Cash had lived in the home, then liked the idea.

 

"I like his singing, and he was a good country boy," said Pearl.

 

David Pollow said one of Cash's daughters, Rosanne, has visited twice through the years as a reminder of her childhood and her father's beginnings in Memphis.

 

The couple own a shopping center in West Palm Beach, Fla., and lease nine buildings to the Postal Service. The four-bedroom house with 3,053 square feet is appraised at $228,000.

 

David Pollow said he has no idea what the house might bring at auction, but he was attracted to the auction idea when he saw the outcome of the auction for Elvis Presley's former home on Audubon Drive in East Memphis. The house sold on eBay for $905,100, then, when bidders and owners were unable to close, another buyer stepped in and paid $1 million.

 

Pollow said the price of his house will depend on the zeal of Cash fans, some of whom may be inspired by the "Walk The Line" Cash film. "If fans wanted the house, they would bid whatever it takes," he said.

 

For Shutts and Reynolds, the first priority will be the Zippin Pippin. It could be listed on eBay as early as this week, Shutts said. They bought the coaster for $2,500 in an auction by the Mid-South Fair and were given 30 days to remove it.

 

Shutts said he plans to ask for a 30- to 60-day extension to remove it from the Libertyland grounds. However, City Council parks committee chairman Scott McCormick said last week the city, which holds the lease on the Libertyland property, may not be willing to grant an extension.

 

"That's very narrow-minded. ... How bad would that look on the part of the city?" Shutts said.