Across the street from Memphis' 21C Hotel is a row of classic cast-iron buildings reminiscent of nothing so much as SoHo before it became a giant shopping mall. A block of those buildings are nothing but shells, however, as they're slated to be an entrance to the massive diagonal elevator that is one of the hallmarks of Museum Plaza, the oil derrick–cum-skyscraper planned for the Louisville waterfront. Majority-backed by Steve Wilson and Laura Lee Brown (the owners of the 21C), Museum Plaza is the brainchild of Joshua Prince-Ramus, the Rem Koolhaas protegé who recently built the ballyhooed Seattle Library. Museum Plaza, which is slated for completion in 2010, soar 703 feet and 62 stories, becoming the tallest building between the East Coast and Chicago. The now-$465 million project includes a Westin Hotel, a connection to the nearby Muhammad Ali Center, office space, museums, and, of course, luxury condos. I'm told the prices for those condos start at about $1 million each. Perhaps I've been living in the New York real estate market too long, but $1 million for a 60th story apartment in a starchitect building is starting to make a lot more sense than a two-bedroom in Brooklyn.

Read more of Greg Lindsay's travel blog, IN TRANSIT.