You're Invited to Walk the High Line

Greenways, paths, promenades, esplandes are “in,” and probably the most talked about, strolled, and acclaimed is New York City’s High Line.

Join Memphis artist and Master Gardener Cheryl Converse and Friends for Our Riverfront for a photo tour:

Take a Walk on the High Line
Mon., April 2, 6:30 pm; (light refreshments @ 6pm)
Benjamin Hooks Main Library (3030 Poplar)
Free.




Called the most extraordinary promenade you can imagine, the High Line was an abandoned, elevated, railway track on NYC’s West side. Rescued from demolition through grassroot efforts and redesigned by James Corner Field Operations, the “park in the sky” blends contemporary and historical design, industrial decay and natural beauty. It has not only captured the hearts of New Yorkers and been called "the most innovative and inviting public space in New York City and perhaps the entire country" by "National Geographic," but it has also spurred some $2B in ancillary development, primarily housing adjacent to the park.

History of Memphis Cobblestone Landing & Why it's Important to Preserve It

Judith Rutschman's interview with Virginia McLean and Judith Johnson for Sierra Club Nature of Conservation.

Memphis Cobblestone Landing from Chickasaw Group on Vimeo.

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Greatest Maritime Disaster in U. S. History ?

When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, 1,177 men on the USS Arizona tragically lost their lives. Today more than one million people annually visit the memorial, a National Historic Landmark that sits astride the sunken hull.

BUT the greatest maritime disaster in U.S. history took place 76 years earlier and much closer to home.
Just across the Mississippi River from Memphis in Mound City, AR, the SS Sultana sank on April 27, 1865. Carrying mostly Union soldiers released from Confederate prison camps, the ship exploded and sank killing an estimated 1800 of its 2400 passengers. Today the ship's remains lie under silt near Marion, AR.

Photos from the 1860s and a few fascinating Sultana artifacts are temporarily on exhibit at Bella Vista Commons Shopping Center (2895 Ark. Highway 77, Marion, AR) through March 25 with hopes that eventually a permanent museum in Marion will commemorate the disaster. Sounds like a fun short excursion!

Click for stories in the Daily News and Commercial Appeal.

What a great day on our Riverfront!

Water - Tomorrow's "gold" - Rethinking what we do with it while it's in the City

A traffic circle in Normal, IL has been voted the #1 public space in the U.S. It's of course not just your normal traffic circle; it's also a water recycling system and a park.

Flooding along Lick Creek put storm water run-off and retention basins on the front page in Memphis and in the city budget. Retention basins, like the new one under a University of Memphis parking lot on Central Avenue and the one proposed for Overton Square, are being built to slow the run-off down and help reduce flooding.

Around the country, engineers and designers are also working on "bioretention cells" and rain gardens -- sustainable solutions that absorb, filter, recycle and clean the water through collections of plants. That's what Hoerr Schaudt Landscape Architects did at the traffic circle in Normal. Take a look.

An idea for storm water before it hits our harbors and the River?

A Gentle Love Affair with Memphis & our River

Jason Allen Lee's video captures the mood. Bet you'll like it.

Memphis Moments from jason allen lee on Vimeo.

Music by Patrick O'Hearn-Beyond this moment