Winner: The Memphis Pink Palace Museum

The Memphis Pink Palace Museum was once the future home of Clarence Saunders, the founder of the Piggly Wiggly grocery store chain.

Built in the 1920s, the Central Avenue structure is striking in its size and derives its name from the pink Georgian marble of which it is made. Memphis architect Hubert T. McGee designed the 37,000-square-foot original house with the distinctive green Spanish-tile roof.

Sadly for Saunders, he had to declare bankruptcy before the construction was finished, and the building was eventually donated to the city. Additions were made to the original building, and the Pink Palace now houses a museum, an IMAX theater, and a planetarium.

As Memphis’s Most Admired Architecture, Saunders’ loss became the city’s gain for many generations to come.

3050 Central; 320-6320; memphismuseums.org.

Finalists: Rhodes College; The Pyramid