DANNY THOMAS PAVILION- Memphis

St. Jude Hospital and ALSAC are located in north downtown Memphis.  As you approach St. Jude on the northern loop of the expressway, you may be asking yourself “Is that the Dome of the Rock?”  The campus is fully gated and is insulated from the surrounding slums.

The Danny Thomas Pavilion keeps the hours of a 7/11.  When we went on a Sunday afternoon there were three other visitors.  

When Danny Thomas was a young upstart struggling to break into show business, he prayed to the patron saint of lost causes, St. Jude.  After attaining a measure of success, Danny did not forget his promise and built St. Jude Hospital in Memphis.  It is a bit murky, but appears that randomly, Cardinal Samuel Strich, of Chicago, who confirmed Danny, was from Memphis and suggested putting the hospital here.  Danny knew that this was going to be an expensive project.  To help his funding problem, Danny who was of Lebanese decent turned to his fellow Americans of Arabic heritage, thus ALSAC was born.

Although Danny was a Christian, the building looks like a mosque.  The Pavilion is broken into four sections; Danny the entertainer, Danny’s career mementos, history of St. Jude and history of ALSAC.

Danny Thomas fans will be thrilled as the Pavilion is chock full of memorabilia and awards from his career thus freeing up his home for more decorative items.  The family generously supplied three of his Emmys and his
Congressional Medal of Honor. There is also a computer mounted on a wall where fans can watch reruns of “Make Room for Daddy” 

As far as I was concerned, the two sections devoted to Danny were fine, let’s face it not much has changed. However, the sections devoted to ALSAC and the hospital itself appeared to be stuck in the early 1990’s and a bit dated and faded.  It would be nice if St. Jude Hospital could freshen things up a bit as I am sure that things have changed a bit since 1990.

On a final note, Danny and his wife, Rose Marie are laid to rest in back of the Pavilion.

Recommendation: Best appreciated by those who actually remember Thomas in his heyday or are late- night TV devotees.