On my way back to St. Louis from Birmingham, I passed through Tupelo, Mississippi, the birthplace of Elvis Presley. The house is now a museum.

Tupelo is a beautiful town that has successfully parlayed its major tourist attraction into a boon for the local economy.

Instead of massive parking lots, the downtown has embraced new-urbanism, and walkable, street facing new building have been built, creating a desirable place to visit for tourists.

It was sort of a gloomy day when I passed through, but it is still clear that the town was doing things right with its historic assets.