Notes and Readings from League of Women Voters presentation February 28, 2005

On February 28, Virginia McLean and Benny Lendermon gave presentations to the League of Women Voters on the subject of the land bridge. Here are some notes and further readings from Virginia McLean's presentation.

The RDC's land bridge, as shown in the Master Plan.

Photos and Plan renderings

• The satellite image was obtained from TerraServer (www.terraserver.microsoft.com). The image was photographed on January 29, 1997. The river's level on that date was 16.5 feet.
• Overlay images of the land bridge and other Master Plan components were extracted directly from a mapview drawing by Cooper Robertson & Partners, prepared for the RDC. The drawing appears in the published Master Plan, and at one time appeared on the RDC Web site.
• The drainage service area for the Gayoso Pumping Station is based on a 1914 City map of the North Memphis Levee system, by J.H. Weatherford, City Engineer, which is still in general use.
• The computer model of the Master Plan appears on our site here; it can also be found on the Cooper Robertson & Partners Web site.

Newspaper & Commentary Articles

• “Pumping Stations Fulfill Role in Surging River Rise,” Tom Charlier, The Commercial Appeal, January 10, 1991.
• “Harbor Lake Cost Rises by Millions; City Hopes to Land Federal Dollars,” Cornell Christian, The Commercial Appeal, June 25, 1997.
• “Ford Discourages Harbor-Park Project; Says Housing, Education More Important,” James W. Brosnan, The Commercial Appeal, June 4, 1998.
• “100 Cast About, Snag Some Ideas for the Riverfront,” Deborah M. Clubb, The Commercial Appeal, February 17, 1999.
• "Downtown Drainage System Stressed Out, Overhaul in Works," Tom Charlier, The Commercial Appeal, October 30, 2000.
• Aim of Reshaping Harbor is New Land, Not Man-Made Lake,” Deborah M. Clubb, The Commercial Appeal, November 18, 2001.
• “No Land bridge! The costs, both human and economic, would be unacceptable,” Thomas Kroll, The Memphis Flyer, April 25, 2002.
• “Land bridge Yes! The ‘disadvantages’ of the project have been greatly exaggerated,” Benny Lendermon, The Memphis Flyer, May 10, 2002.
• “Riverfront Project Could Delay Cleanup of Harbor,” Tom Charlier, The Commercial Appeal, January 13, 2002.

Other documents

• The Waterfront Center: Memphis Riverfront Redevelopment Workshop, February 16, 1999 (complete text of report).
• Memphis Riverfront Master Plan, March 2002. Online version here. We strongly recommend obtaining the printed version, which has numerous drawings and some additional material, from the Riverfront Development Corporation.
• Jack Belz memo to Lendermon and City Council, April 26, 2004.
• An Advisory Services Report, Memphis Riverfront, Memphis, Tennessee, by the Urban Land Institute (PDF file available on RDC Web site). Quotation is from p. 33.