Authentic - YES!

Our culture - a festival you won't want to miss. A huge thank you to the Center for Southern Folklore for all their great work!

Placemaking Meets Preservation

Project for Public Spaces (PPS) and the National Trust for Historic Preservation are working together to promote a new vision for the future (and past) of American communities.

As PPS says, "historic places often rank high on our list of Great Public Spaces, because their human-scale qualities create vibrant, people-friendly settings. The mission of the National Trust shares a deep resonance with the principles of placemaking: to bring people together to protect, enhance and enjoy the places that matter to them.”

For PPS Placemaking Memphis report, click HERE.

It's Not a Beach Book

But it's probably the closest that a history of historic preservation could come.

A fascinating read, Anthony M. Tung's "Preserving the World's Great Cities" tells the global story of cities and the events and people that made or destroyed parts of them.

It is the story of 20 cities: of Rome that has "twice been the center of the universe"; of Warsaw where citizens defied the Nazis to painstakingly rebuild their past; of Beijing, Cairo, ... - the story of the need to balance growth and the allure of a better future with the cultural and historic continuum.

As author Anthony M. Tung, Read more »

A Sense of Place - A City of Choice

Ultimately quality of life will be determined by five senses: the sense of place, the sense of evolution, the sense of ownership, the sense of identity and the sense of community itself.

Donovan Rypkema, economic development and preservation consultant

How we treat our riverfront - it's past, present, and future - is important.

Is preservation a “green” issue?

Click HERE for an excellent article by Wayne Curtis that debunks some myths.


And YES as Memphis Heritage bumper stickers proclaim, “The greenest building is the one that’s already built.”

Does historic preservation make economic sense?

A self-proclaimed history nerd says YES and gives some good reasons.

So much to Love about Downtown Memphis

And a jog along the riverfront's Bluffwalk is one of them. Thank you, Chickasaw Bluff Conservancy!

T. O. Fuller State Park - One of Memphis’s Best Kept Secrets

T. O. Fuller State Park is off the beaten path, but the 1,138 wooded acres are within the city limits and only 10 minutes from Graceland and 20 minutes from Beale Street.

The park was the 1st State Park east of the MS River and the 2nd in the nation that was open to African-Americans. Built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1937, its construction was part of President F. D. Roosevelt’s efforts during the Great Depression to create jobs that fostered park and forest conservation and provided social services to people across America. Built on land purchased from Dover Barrett, the park was originally known as Shelby Bluffs. In 1942 its name was changed to T. O. Fuller State Park in honor of Dr. Thomas O. Fuller who spent his life empowering and educating African-Americans.


A good time for a visit - Saturday, August 7, from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm, Friends of Fuller State Park is sponsoring Fuller Fest 2010, an afternoon full of family activities, including a golf tournament, gospel concert, and antique/classic car show. The swimming pool will be open with certified lifeguards. For more info., call 543-6041.