Q: Who's Got a Cobblestone Landing Besides Memphis?

A: Nobody in the U.S.A. has an authentic, usable waterfront or riverfront cobblestone landing anymore except Memphis.

"It is the last remaining stone-paved landing on interior waterways. There used to be others, especially at St. Louis and Cincinnati‚ but those have been destroyed," says archaeologist Guy Weaver.

When the shore at the foot of the bluffs was paved with cobblestones back in the 1800s, Memphis became a center of commerce. This is one reason FfOR and other civic groups ardently promote preservation of Memphis Cobblestone Landing and restoring its usability for boating and enjoyment for everybody, locals and visitors.

"The cobblestones are one of the most significant historic sites in this area," says Guy Weaver. Actually, Americans (and other nationals) spend thousands of dollars each year to visit European and South American cities that preserve their sites' cobblestones. Think about it!

Click HERE to learn more about the Cobblestone Landing at Weaver & Associates.

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Q: How Long Did It Take to Lay The Cobblestones at Memphis?

A: Start-to-finish, the cobblestone paving took about 22 years. The
first paving project was 1859-1881; the final phase was 1879-1881.
The stones were shipped on riverboats to Memphis from about 7
locations with quarries that had stone best suited for the purpose.
These carefully selected stones have lasted 150 years in good
condition.

So, what is the problem with the stones? No problem at all with the stones themselves. Problem is a lack of maintenance and dredging too close to the base of the landing. Those are fixable. Sand and soil, not mortar hold them in place, creating a permeable and sustainable riverfront landing.

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Q: Who Laid Our Original Cobblestones?

A: Irish and German immigrants, who had masonry skills and previous experience in cobblestone paving. Contractor Joseph Loudon was in charge of laying the Memphis Cobblestone Landing.

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This Place Matters

Full of memories and in continuous operation for 150 years, the Memphis Cobblestone Landing is eligible to become a National Historic Landmark.

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Join the Fun - Outdoors Inc. Canoe & Kayak Race

Paddle or just join the celebration. Voted "Best Race in America" by Paddler Magazine.

Date: Sat. May 2
Check-in: 7am at north end of Greenbelt Park on Mud Island; registration deadline Fri. 6 pm.
Finish line & Celebration: Jefferson Davis Park on the Memphis Riverfront.

Dick Hackett, Cybill Shepherd(twice), Olympic paddlers, and the rest of us who dust off cobwebs and drag boats out of garages have raced. It's the largest canoe & kayak race in the southeast United States!

For more information, click HERE.

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200 Memphians Answer Ol' Man River's Call

A beautiful bank of green flags waving in the morning breeze
greeted volunteers on Saturday April 25 for Riverfront Harbor Cleanup!

Sponsored by Mississippi River Corridor - TN
Partners: Friends for Our Riverfront, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,Clean Memphis, Sierra Club, Riverfront Development Corp. and Comcast Cares

Click HERE to read Commercial Appeal coverage.

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Join us on our Facebook page

Log in and then go to http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=56776021320#/group.php?gid=567760213 to join. Invite your friends, too!

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Tribute to Jack Tucker, Father of Downtown Living

Over 300 gathered in tribute to Jack Tucker Saturday afternoon April 25, at the beautiful Lord’s Chapel he designed. The speakers included friends, colleagues and admirers: Mason Granger, Tommy Polk, John Elkington, Virginia Overton Mclean, John Malmo, Carol Coletta, Congressman Steve Cohen.

For information about his life and work, click HERE.

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Ol' Man River Wants YOU on Earth Day!

Good. Clean. Fun.

Riverfront Harbor Clean-Up

Cobblestone Landing, Memphis Riverfront - Riverside Dr. at Monroe

Saturday, April 25, 9 am-1 pm Raindate: Sunday, April 26, 1-3 pm.
Free Lunch for volunteers! Courtesy of Chick-fil-A and Pepsi America celebrating Earth Day

Sponsored by Mississippi River Corridor - TN
Partners: Friends for Our Riverfront, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Clean Memphis, Sierra Club, Riverfront Development Corp. and Comcast Cares

Click below for additional information.

What to wear: Cleanup work clothes and comfortable sportswear-type shoes

What's the job?
Picking up trash and litter that tarnishes our riverfront and our reputation as a "City Beautiful".

E-mail Janet@cleanmemphis.org for more info. and to sign-up.

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Songs & Stories at Minglewood Hall

True Story Pictures documents the stories of Memphis artists, and on Sunday, April 19, they're featuring some of our city's best music at a benefit performance "Songs & Stories" at Minglewood Hall (1555 Madison).

Memphis's seminal supergroup, Mudbody and The Neutrons, are reuniting for the night; Jim Dickinson and Sid Selvidge, who donated their talent for the CD "Save Our Riverfront", and Jimmy Crosthwait will take the stage with Paul Taylor and Steve Selvidge at 6:30 pm. Amy LaVere and Alvin Youngblood Hart are the night's headliners, and the California-based Pawnshop Kings will honor their Mid-South roots by opening up the evening.

For details and a sneak preview, click below.

* Dickinson and Crosthwait perform "When You're Down and Out"
* Sid Selvidge sings "Boll Weevil"
* Sons of Mudboy members Steve Selvidge, Luther Dickinson, and Paul Taylor with Sid Selvidge perform "Mr. Crump"
* The Pawnshop Kings
* Amy LaVere
* Alvin Youngblood Hart

This is an EARLY evening. Doors will open at 5 pm., music begins at 5:30 pm sharp. Reserved seating sold out, but general admission tickets available for $17. Click HERE for more info. and to buy a ticket.

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What do Cobblestone Lovers Really Want?

We say "YES" to both questions posted in the Commercial Appeal. We don't see a choice of either/or:

• Is $6 million necessary for Cobblestone Landing repairs to stabilize it and increase safety?
  
• Is Cobblestone Landing a historic place that shouldn't be unduly disturbed?
  

Since about 1995, lots of people, including the Riverfront Development Corporation and Friends for Our Riverfront, have agreed on two common goals:

1. The historic Cobblestone Landing should be the central focal point of the riverfront.
   
2. It is important to have access to the river.

FfOR supports a plan that will accomplish BOTH goals. Without modifications, the currently proposed plan for Cobblestone Landing will not achieve BOTH of these goals. FfOR recommends everyone's careful consideration and review of the plan. We have requested a copy to study the details.

[Click here to read more...]

Cobblestones are Hot News. WHY?

Because Cobblestone Landing launched Memphis as a major distribution center back when the river was the highway of commerce. That was our starting point. Today, Memphis is still a major distribution center with Fed Ex headquarters. How great that is for our city! But river barges keep coming and going daily, so let's not forget our roots. The original Port of Memphis, or Memphis Landing, was a muddy embankment. Paving the shore at the foot of the bluffs with cobblestone back in 1800s is what paved our future as a center of commerce. This is why FfOR and other civic groups ardently promote preservation of our cobblestone landing.

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WHY would we pave over our historic riverfront parkland?

As ALL citizens of Memphis and Shelby County own the riverfront property between Auction and Union as a pertual gift from Memphis founders designated for all citizens to enjoy freely as parkland, why would we allow our rightfully inherited property to be taken by city or county government for purposes of private commercial development? Common sense says we wouldn't do that.

Guess what? New York City is facing a similar issue. Take a moment to watch this video; click HERE, and then e-mail us your opinion about private commercial development on public property.

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"Blacks Going Green in Memphis Could Fill a Book"

Mayor AC Wharton accepted the surprise award for his innovative project "Sustainable Shelby: A Future of Choice, Not Chance" and also presented a recyclable Key to Shelby County to guest speaker Dr. Sharon T. Freeman, author of "Blacks Living Green" on her first (and hopefully not her last) visit to Memphis.

Dr. Freeman was delighted with the award and Memphis hospitality during her visit. She told the crowd of about 100 people, that the African-American "Green" role models in our community could fill a book. To find out more about the night, the award recipients, and read Chris Peck's article in The Commercial Appeal click below.

After receiving his award, Mayor Wharton said that our local agrarian heritage is a strong foundation for a sustainable green lifestyle in our urban environment, a gift from our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. He proudly chuckled that his 92-year-old grandmother will not come to the phone to talk to him when she's working in her garden.

The other nine award recipients: Dr. Stanley Abell, Hazel Burks, Pearlie Estes, Andree Glenn, Calvin Robinson, Frank D. Robinson, Shawn Posey, and Sandra Upchurch. FfOR congratulates and thanks these distinguished Memphians for their notable contributions and their inspiring examples of keeping Memphis sustainably green and advancing our reputation as a "City Beautiful".

For more information about "Blacks Living Green" and the award program hosted by Don Richardson and Rita Harris of the Sierra Club Environmental Justice Program/Chickasaw Group and by Onie Johns of Caritas, click HERE.

Commercial Appeal editor Chris Peck attended the event and covered it in his Sunday column:
Inside the Newsroom: Green before green was cool
Sunday, April 19, 2009

''Blacks Living Green'' is the title of Sharon Freeman's latest book.

She came to Memphis a few days ago to learn whether this majority African-American city is interested in this story line.

Freeman was stunned at the turnout for her reading.

''To see all of these Memphians tonight is very, very encouraging,'' Freeman told the packed house at Caritas Village, an inner-city community center, coffee shop and art studio where there wasn't a spare seat on the night she came to talk.

Freeman explained how each chapter of ''Blacks Living Green'' tells a personal story about small, smart steps African-Americans around the country are taking to sustain their local environments.

There is the story of Fredrick Carter, a Mississippi-born businessman-turned-farmer who explains his journey from working as a General Motors contractor to operating the Black Oaks Center outside of Chicago, where he teaches city kids about gardening, cutting your carbon footprint and tapping into alternative energy.

The remarkable tale of Phyllis Perrin Harris gets a chapter, too. Harris, who spent 20 years with the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, was hired by Wal-Mart as its environmental compliance officer. Her charge: Help Wal-Mart become powered by 100 percent renewable energy and create zero environmental waste through its packaging.

As good as these stories are, they weren't the best part of Freeman's visit. The most moving stories came from real people in Memphis who were honored by the local Chickasaw Sierra Club chapter for environmental work done by African-Americans right here.

-- Sandra Upchurch, a chemistry teacher in Memphis City Schools who has developed a green training program to help inner-city high school students learn about alternative energy.

-- Shawn Posey, a forester for the Tennessee Department of Agriculture who is helping Memphis become a Tree City, whereby we value and nurture our trees and quit butchering them with bad pruning and worse land-use planning.

-- Rev. Ralph White, an inner-city pastor who tirelessly melds environmental cleanup efforts near old industrial sites in his South Memphis neighborhood with community education on environmental justice for the poor.

-- Pearlie Estes, a Memphis master gardener who teaches others how to grow a beautiful garden in an urban setting.

-- Calvin Robinson, the manager of T.O Fuller State Park and someone who works daily to create a beautiful, quiet green space for all Memphians to enjoy.

-- Hazel Burks, a FedEx retiree who now talks all over Memphis about the value of maintaining good health in one's personal life by eating right, and maintaining good health in the community by treating the natural world gently through recycling, reusing and reducing the human impact on where we live.

-- Andree Glenn, who, after the infamous Hurricane Elvis in 2003, helped organize ''Neighbors for Trees'' in the Vollintine-Evergreen community to replace the greenery that was blown down.

-- Dr. Stanley Abell, a LeMoyne-Owen College professor who teaches young black college students the basics of environmental science and runs a workshop called the Saturday Academy of Environmental Education and Awareness.

-- Frank D. Robinson, an artist who takes found objects that others might consider throwaways and makes sculpture and other imaginative artworks.

The last environmental award winner of the night was Shelby County Mayor A C Wharton. His crusading efforts to convene a coalition of business interests to create a sustainable environmental consciousness for Shelby County are well documented.

The mayor recalled that as a child growing up in Middle Tennessee, he didn't ever hear terms such as "sustainability" or "environmentally aware."

Those fancy words weren't part of his African-American family's life a half-century ago.

"'But my mother said you don't fool Mother Nature,'' the mayor recalled. ''And she always planted a big garden, without any fertilizer. And we breathed clean air. And we drank fresh water. So our family knew all about sustainability.''

The same would be true of many African-American families in Memphis today, the mayor noted. The value of reducing one's consumption, reusing that which was around you, and recycling everything from motor oil to grass clippings are ideas that have simply been baked into family life for decades.

''We started out being green and didn't even know it,'' the mayor laughed.

The crowd nodded.

They knew what he was talking about.

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"Ol' Man River" is Living Legend on Memphis Riverfront

James Hyter has become physically invisible to us, but his voice is very much alive in our memory of his incomparable rendition of "Ol' Man River" at Sunset Symphonies 1979-1998. Countless Memphians, and former Memphians, came to the riverfront to hear him sing, not in an enclosed concert hall but outdoors, regardless of the weather, in the open space of Tom Lee Park alongside the Mississippi River he sang about. It's probably true that he upstaged Bach's Brandenburg Concerto and fireworks.

Click to twice on the video below to hear his performance in 1998.


Click below to read the tribute to him from the Commercial Appeal.

Chorus of praise at rites for "Ol' Man River" icon James Hyter
By Cindy Wolff (Contact), Memphis Commercial Appeal
Thursday, April 9, 2009

The Memphis Symphony Quartet was lovely.

The combined voices of two choirs and a chorus were mighty.

Even a soloist gave a taste of a syrupy, rich bass baritone voice
that left the crowd wowed.

But it wasn't until the end, after all the fine words had been said
about James Hyter, that the crowd of several hundred at his funeral
Thursday got what they wanted.

As his casket was taken down the aisle at Christ United Methodist
Church, a recording of Mr. Hyter's distinctive voice belted out the
song everyone's ears ached to hear one more time: "Ol' Man River."

The man who made the song from the musical "Show Boat" an anthem to
end the Memphis in May International Festival died April 2 at age 87.

For 21 years, he patiently sang up to 10 encores of "Ol' Man River"
before the fireworks ended the Memphis in May celebration Downtown.

Images of him on the stage with the Mississippi River as a backdrop
flashed on a screen above his silver casket during a visitation prior
to the service. Mr. Hyter was dressed in his signature white tuxedo
with red tie and cummerbund and a red rose on his left lapel.

Visitors spent an hour filing past the casket. Some stopped to kiss
his forehead or touch his hands folded at his waist. His daughter,
Beverly Hyter-Ngah, said her father lost his song 15 months ago.
That's when Flora, his beloved wife of 47 years, died.

"They were inseparable," said Hyter-Ngah. "I know I was blessed to
have parents that were this special. He was ready to go be with her."

She said Mr. Hyter would usually begin to sing "Ol' Man River" around
the house a few weeks before the Memphis in May Sunset Symphony, just
to make sure he wasn't rusty.

"Mom always watched 'The Young and the Restless,' so she always
begged him not to sing during her soap opera," she said.

His friends praised him as kind, gentle and sweet. He usually called
everyone "buddy, buddy."

Mr. Hyter was lauded during the service by Memphis Mayor Willie
Herenton, Shelby County Mayor A C Wharton and U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen,
D-Memphis, as an icon for the city who reminded everyone that this is
a river town.

Former Memphis in May director Cynthia Ham said Mr. Hyter's rendition
came during an era when Memphis seemed to forget about the
Mississippi River. Growth was out east and people weren't coming
Downtown as much.

"That song on the banks of the river with the symphony unified us,"
Ham said.

Mr. Hyter's friends talked about the thrill they'd get when he would
call and sing "Happy Birthday to You" to them.

When he stopped driving at night, his friend, Larry Kaler, used to
give Mr. Hyter rides.

"Whenever I left, the last thing he told me was to call and let the
phone ring once so he knew I made it home all right," Kaler said. "It
was nice to know that someone was worried to see if this old man made
it home."

Mr. Hyter grew up in Memphis and began singing in choirs in
elementary school.

He rarely turned down a chance to sing. People always wanted to hear
his rich voice.

Even in his final days, he'd give the nurses a thrill at the
hospital, especially if they did something that caused him pain, said
Hyter-Ngah.

"He'd drop down to that low C, and they'd love it," said his only child.

He finally quit singing "Ol' Man River" at the Sunset Symphony when
Memphis Symphony conductor Alan Balter became ill and retired in 1998.

"It was a good time for him to let it end," said his daughter.

-- Cindy Wolff: 529-2378

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Friends Have Lost a Great Friend

"In Memphis I needed to be Downtown near the river," architect Jack Tucker told the Business Journal in 2004. "That's the city's soul."

Jack Tucker died a little past midnight on April 5th at his home in downtown's Cotton Row Historic District one block from the Mississippi River. His wife Cyndy Grivich and a few friends were with him. It's where and how he would have chosen. A memorial service will be held at the Elmwood Cemetery Chapel, which he designed. Details of date and time will be posted at this website.


Jack, who served on the Board of Directors of Friends for Our Riverfront since its inception, was a champion of conserving parkland along our riverfront and of protecting the rich heritage that defines our city. A pioneer in downtown's revitalization and a dedicated proponent of architectural restoration, Jack represented integrity, including wise spending on public property owned by the citizens of Memphis and Shelby County.

Jack is irreplaceable, but he left us a legacy of sound guidelines and an example of a life well-lived. Click "read more" below for information about his life and work.

From the Arkansas Gazette:

It's a day for deaths of note. Comes word now of the death of Jack Tucker, 70, a Little Rock native and UA-educated architect, credited with revival of downtown Memphis, beginning with the first condo conversion of a former cotton warehouse.

Jack Tucker was a modernist architect possessed of a deep love and appreciation for older buildings. In 1975, he combined these two seemingly diverse interests with results that would leave Memphis forever changed.
He was the architect, and co-developer, of downtown’s first condominium conversion, The Timpani Building, a former cotton warehouse at 41-43 Union Avenue. With its ground level retail and office space, and two floors of living spaces above, Tucker’s transformation of the decaying building was the first multi-use rehabilitation project in downtown Memphis.

Jack battled tirelessly for good urban design, especially when fighting for the Cotton Row Historic District that he called home. At his front door, he fought to design what is arguably the most attractive sidewalk in Memphis (along Union from Front to Wagner). At his back door, he famously defeated the city’s plans to replace the original cobble stones in the alleys leading from Front Street to the River with a pinkish colored concrete block called Bowmanite. His victory over city planners was won by having Cotton Row added to the National Register of Historic Places, trumping the city’s ability to influence changes and allowing him to substitute his own designs for the area.

Jack’s penchant for preservation grew out of an experience he had in Tunisia while serving in the Peace Corps. Troubled that the Tunisians were destroying centuries of history in the name of modernization, Jack met with civic leaders and convinced them to adopt a plan to restore crumbling buildings, converting them into museums, hotels, and tourist attractions. Among the first structures he rebuilt under the plan was the Mosque Maklouf in LeKef Tunisia; after that, Jack always received the goat’s eye at dinner.

His dedication to preservation, however, was never at odds with his modernist training. Jack was a student, and later employee, of the famed E. Fay Jones, who himself was the favorite apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright. After moving to Memphis, Jack joined the firm of Roy Harrover, designer of the airport, with whom Jack worked closely on building the Mud Island River Park and Ampitheatre. More recently, his involvement with Mud Island took on something of a preservationist tone when he was asked by the River Front Development Corporation to design a structure which may someday house the old Fairgrounds carousel at a new site proposed on the Island.

In nominating Jack for a Fellowship with the American Institute of Architects, Roy Harrover credited Jack Tucker, with “having more to do with saving downtown Memphis than any other person,” calling Jack a, “tireless advocate of urban living, adapting buildings that had outlived their original purpose to new uses, saving them and preserving the city’s urban fabric.”

For a number of years the Timpani Building remained the only example of downtown’s rehabilitation that the Center City Commission could show developers; “They about wore my floors out with their tours,” Tucker often joked. The list of buildings adapted by Jack grew, however, to include The Candy Factory, The Scimitar Building, The Memphis Convention and Visitors Bureau, The Pontotoc Building, The Child Advocacy Center (former Four Flames), the upper level of Charlie Vergos’ Rendezvous, as well as the Lennox School (in Midtown), to name but a few.

Always keenly aware of the latest developments in building materials and techniques, Jack also designed a significant number of new modernist spaces for libraries, schools, housing, commercial, office and institutional use, but he steadfastly maintained that “reusing an existing structure is the greenest building method of all.”

Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1939, Jack graduated from the University of Arkansas in 1963 with a Bachelor of Arts & Bachelor of Architecture. He became principal of his own architecture firm, Jack R. Tucker, Jr. & Associates Architects in1979, winning dozens of professional awards from national, regional and local organizations.

Jack was an accomplished photographer and sculptor, as well as an enthusiastic developer of Bonsai. He was a member of the University of Arkansas’ School of Architecture’s Advisory Board, Dean’s Circle, and held the school’s John G. Williams Fellowship. In addition to being a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, Jack served as former President of AIA’s Memphis chapter. He was a former Chairman of the Memphis Landmarks Commission; a founding member & past President of Memphis Heritage; a founding member and architectural consultant to Friends For Our River Front; a founding member and past President of the Downtown Neighborhood Association, a founding member and past President of the Chickasaw Bluffs Conservancy, and a member of the Center City Commission Policy Committee for the Downtown Development Plan.

He succumbed quietly to the cancer he had held at bay for the past year, shortly after Midnight on the morning of Sunday, April 5. He spent his last night among friends in the rehabilitated building that sparked the revitalization of Downtown Memphis.

Jack Tucker, visionary and urban pioneer, leaves behind his beloved wife, Cyndy Grivich Tucker, of Memphis; as well as his mother, Amanda Davis Tucker, a nephew, Ren Tucker, and a niece, Lauren Garaputa, all of Little Rock Arkansas; his devoted dogs, Mati and Joy, the boxers who guard the balcony on Union near the River; and the thousands of people who followed him to live in downtown Memphis.

Click here to read his obituary in the Commercial Appeal.

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Grizzlies Went Green - Beat Mavericks

The Grizzlies beat the Mavericks 107 to 102 as FedEx Forum went green, and fans had a great time. Click "read more" below to see some fun photos taken at the FfOR table.

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