Memphis's Bluffwalk

Memphis's own highline, the Bluffwalk along the Mississippi River, started as an idea in the 1970s to help spur downtown's renaissance. Today it runs atop the bluff from Union Ave. to Martyr's Park with an additional short stretch in the core of downtown on the Public Promenade.

With its proven track record and popularity, it’s hard to imagine the controversy that almost blocked the public walkway in the 1990s.

The Bluffwalk had been a trail for decades and was part of the 1982 Center City and Riverfront Spaces Plan. By the 1990s, however, residential development of the South Bluffs on property previously owned by Burlington Northern Railroad was happening, and a public walkway became highly controversial.

The Chickasaw Bluff Conservancy was organized in 1990 to preserve public access and the public walkway along the blufftop. Two lawsuits later, the 1st section of the Bluffwalk officially opened in August 1999. Designed by Ritchie Smith and built for $2M, the walkway was extended south from Ashburn-Coppock to Martyr's Park in 2006. A disconnected stretch behind the law school and a pedestrian bridge to Confederate Park was added on a section of the Public Promenade in 2010. (Click on map to enlarge.)

Funding for a feasibility study of a pedestrian and bike pathway to extend further south and cross the Harahan Bridge will be considered by the Public Works, Transportation, & General Services Committee of the City Council today (7/19/11). For more info. on the Harahan Bridge Project, click HERE.

Current Brooks Museum Design is a DEAD END for the Bluffwalk

But it can be corrected. We can have both - continue the Bluffwalk and add a museum. We've been told it's an easy fix. 

We  crossed the Mississippi. We connected to the Wolf River Greenway. We built the Bluffwalk. We cannot stop now. Memphis has wanted a connected system of parks along our riverfront forever.

On Wednesday, April 5, the Design Review Board is scheduled to review the current dead-end design. Tell them you want the review postponed and the design fixed. Email Brett Roler today. It's important. 

The 1980s: Emphasizing conservation and public spaces

By the late 1970s downtown Memphis had been abandoned for the suburbs. The Public Promenade and Front Street were lined with parking garages -- the City had turned its back on the River. Searching for a way to rejuvenate a depressed downtown, the City decided to take another look at the riverfront.

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Public Access to Bluffwalk & Trolley Stop

Whatever position people take about the Towers being proposed on Wagner at Beale, a seperate but linked item on the Land Use Control Board agenda has met almost unanimous concern and opposition. It's the proposal to close Martin Luther King Blvd. (formerly Linden) to make way for a building and swimming pool between the Towers. 

Currently a tree-lined, cobblestone and concrete pathway, the public right-of-way leads from Wagner west one block to the Bluff's edge. From downtown, It provides important ADA-compliant, public access to the Bluffwalk and riverfront loop Trolley stop.

 

Staff Report: Click on project and then on pdf link to download report. Public Right-of-Way SAC 15-606

Join us for a Sunset Stroll along the Mississippi

Join Friends for Our Riverfront

 &

Celebrate National Trails Day 

with a 2-3 mile stroll on Memphis's beautiful Bluffwalk
. 

Saturday, June 7

6:45 - 8:30 pm

Meet at Butler Park for free parking. This entrance to the Bluffwalk is just north of the TN Brewery (495 Tennessee Street). 

No pets, please; but, yes, be sure to bring your camera.

Design for Brooks on the Bluff

Plans were made available Wednesday for the proposed "Brooks on the Bluff". You may find them confusing, but please take a careful look.   Click HERE to see the proposal. 

The museum's planned site is the block where the fire station and parking garage were torn down. But there's no Bluffwalk!

Review by the Design Review Board is set for this Wednesday (April 5).  You may send comments to Brett Roler. Ask that the review be postponed until a Bluffwalk is added. 

There’s more than a Choo-Choo in Chattanooga Today

We wish you’d all been able to join us on FfOR's February trip to Chattanooga. Thanks to the Kruesi Center for Innovation, we not only got a 1st-hand look at the city’s "new" downtown and riverfront but also met with many of those instrumental in the transformation. Here are some highlights and a comparison of Chattanooga with our own downtown and riverfront.
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Equinox Sunset - Walk the Bluff

One of the best ways to enjoy the natural beauty of our riverfront is to stroll the Bluff Walk. And sunset on the Equinox (Sat., Sept. 22) looks like the perfect time and weather. Time: 5:30 - 7 pm.

Sue A. Williams, Sierra Club - Chickasaw Chapter chairman, will lead the walk and probably head to dinner afterwards with those who are interested. Meet at Union & Riverside; parking meters along Wagner are free on weekends. Don't forget your camera.

And be sure to look for the "Queen Tree" of the Riverfront. Don Richardson's fascinating article in this month's Downtown Neighborhood Association Newsletter tells its story.

You’ve passed by her many times on Riverside Drive. She’s that big leafy green mass that shades the west end of the pedestrian bridge from South Bluffs over to Ashburn-Coppock Park near the River Tower. This is also where the Bluffwalk and Riverwalk merge to continue south along the bluff to Martyrs Park and the Chickasaw Heritage Mounds. Her formal name is Quercus michauxii, but most folks know her as Swamp Chestnut Oak. Even fewer Downtowners know that she may just be the oldest tree on the downtown Memphis riverfront.

To read the full article and learn "how" Ashburn-Coppock Park got its name, click DNA Newsletter or "read more" below.

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Anne Whalen Shafer (1923 - 2013)

Anne Whalen Shafer has played a major, substantive role in the life of our city, and Friends for Our Riverfront is particularly appreciative of her advocacy and commitment to ensuring public access to our waterfront and the creation of the Bluffwalk.

A lifelong community activist, Mrs. Shafer served as Chairman of the Memphis City Beautiful Commission 1964 - 1966 and in her own gentle way "rearranged the furniture" and received recognition for integrating City Hall.

Mrs. Shafer was a delegate to the Tennessee Constitutional Convention in 1965, and in 1966 was honored by Lady Bird Johnson as one of 9 Democratic “Women Doer’s” in the United States for her efforts in city beautification. She served on the Panel of American Women, President of the Memphis Chapter of the League of Women Voters, Church Women United and was head of the Memphis Chapter of the United Nations Association.

Links:
Obituary in Commercial Appeal, HERE,
2008 Video Interview, HERE
"Memphis Instruments of Peace: How Volunteers and Visionaries Challenged Racism, Reactionary Politicians and the Catholic Hierarchy" by Anne Shafer, HERE
Editorial: Memphis Women carried on MLK's work, HERE.

Alley Naming & Walking Tour Honors Jack Tucker

On Saturday, April 3 at 1 pm, the sign will go up naming the cobblestone alley just south of Union, between Front and Wagner, Jack Tucker Alley. Afterwards Jimmy Ogle will lead a walking tour of some of the master architect's most significant downtown projects.

You might wonder, why name an alley for Jack? But for someone who understood urban spaces, the importance of the details that create them, and spent much of their architectural career giving Memphis's historic spaces new life, it is the perfect memorial. And it adds Tucker to a colorful and fascinating list of Memphians for whom downtown's alleys are named, a list that includes Rendezvous barbecue king Charlie Vergos, another long-time downtown advocate who died this past week.

Jack Tucker, recognized as the "father of downtown living," was an architect, downtown residential pioneer, and advocate for preservation. He served on the Landmarks Commission and boards of AIA, Memphis Heritage, Chickasaw Bluff Conservancy, and Friends for Our Riverfront.
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What can be done with $7 million

When we began discussing a way to restore the riverfront for as little as $7 million, the RDC became greatly agitated. They attacked the idea as flawed and unaffordable. It will cost $20 million just to move the fire station, they reminded us. "[Any plan] no matter what you put back is very costly -- $50 million." Lendermon wrote.

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"An Old Forest Fairy Tale" - Grab your young Friends & Go

In Memphis a lot of good things have happened (or haven't happened) because citizens have stood up for our city, our riverfront, our neighborhoods, our people. It happened to support Civil Rights, protect Overton Park, create the Bluffwalk, and, more recently on our riverfront, to prevent damming up the harbor and private development of our public bluff top Promenade.

Friends for Our Riverfront is proud to help sponsor "An Old Forest Fairy Tale," an original children's musical that celebrates Overton Park's Old Forest and perhaps more importantly all the "little old ladies in tennis shoes" who stood up for its protection.

Presented by Voices of the South, the original musical was written by Virginia Ralph and is directed by Alice Berry. It will be presented on Fridays - Sept. 14, 21, 28 at 7 pm and on Saturdays - Sept. 15, 22, and 29 at 3 pm and 7 pm at Evergreen Theatre (1705 Poplar). Tickets ($15/adult, $10/child) are available online or at the door. At 45-minute performance length, it is appropriate for PreK - 8th grades. Phone 901-726-0800 or click HERE.

Towers on the Bluff?

It's hard to imagine two skyscrapers on the west side of Wagner between Beale and Pontotoc, but that's what the Land Use Control Board (LUCB) will consider on June 11.

As proposed the Towers could be 45 and 35 stories tall and would cut off public access to the Bluffwalk and trolley stop. Planning regulations in the South Main District prohibit the massive scale of development proposed, however staff at the Office of Planning and Development recommends approval.

To some this is desired downtown economic development. To others there are concerns that it is short-sighted development that will block views and radically alter the unique historic charm of the area.  Others favor postponing a vote on the project until adequate drawings and information on the project's seismic, environmental, and economic viability is available.


Created with flickr slideshow.
At 45 stories, the northern tower will be the tallest building downtown and dwarf Waterford Tower (17 stories), Auto Zone Headquarters, Belz Tower, and buildings on Main, Beale, and the adjacent Candy Factory, considered a role-model for S. Main redevelopment. 

Staff Report: Click on project and then on pdf link to download report.
Towers   PD 15-308

Links to newspaper articles: Daily News & Commercial Appeal

Land Use Control Board Meeting 
Thursday, 10 am, City Hall, City Council Chambers
or comments may be emailed to Troy.frasier@memphistn.gov

Q: Who changes the numbers on this sign?

An e-mailer spotted this photo by Michelle Clayborne on the blog http://www.memphistanista.com/ and wanted to know more.




A: The sign, on the Bluffwalk just N. of Vance, shows the water level of the Mississippi River at Memphis. The Corps of Engineers provides the information and hires someone to post the levels for boaters. Daily river levels also are posted in the "Commercial Appeal" on the weather map page, a reminder that the Mississippi is the most important river in N. America and a transportation artery for inland America.

Check-out http://www.memphistanista.com/for more great photos of Memphis. And if you have information to share or questions about the riverfront, e-mail us at info@friendsforourriverfront.org, and we'll try to get an answer for you.

New Stretch of Bluffwalk Opened

It was a beautiful, breezy day as the ribbon was cut, and a new section of the riverwalk opened. Several members of the Chickasaw Bluff Conservancy were present to join in the celebration.
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In Memory of Ann Breen with gratitude for her commitment to community planning and the Memphis Riverfront

It is with heavy heart that we share an announcement from the Waterfront Center announcing the death of its co-founder and co-director, Ann Breen, on Friday, January 7, 2022, after a brief illness.

Following eight years as the Waterfront Coordinator for the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office of Coastal Zone Management, Ann had the vision to co-found the Waterfront Center in November, 1981 with Dick Rigby; she served as its co-director for 41 years. Through the Center, she traveled the world providing community consulting; in 1981, organized an industry-leading annual conference; and ran an annual juried awards program to recognize outstanding plans and projects. 

In 1999, the City of Memphis hired The Waterfront Center to lead participatory community planning workshops on the riverfront; thus began Ann's and the Center's commitment to our riverfront. In 2000 they honored the Chickasaw Bluff Conservancy for preserving public access along the Blufftop and the resultant Bluffwalk. In 2009 the Center honored Friends for Our Riverfront for leadership in protecting and promoting an environmentally sustainable, historically sensitive, public riverfront; and in 2017, the Center awarded the year's top honor award to Big River Crossing, which transformed the Harahan Bridge to include a pedestrian crossing from TN to AR and future parks and trails along the river.  Link to Waterfront Center searchable database of projects.

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Tucker's Alley - The Basics of Good Preservation

Cyndy Grivich Tucker unveiled the marker designating Jack Tucker Alley. Comments by his friends and a tour by Jimmy Ogle and Keith Kays were a 101 course on what preservation and good design have meant to downtown revitalization.

The principles guiding Jack's work might be summed up as keep it simple, keep it real, keep it functional and always pay attention to the details. They are the principles that protected "his" alley's character and prevented the authentic cobblestones from being replaced by fake Bomanite replicas, and the same principles that guided Jack's suggestions on the best way to restore our historic Cobblestone Landing, a project now threatened by a design that calls for regrading the landing's slope and using riprap along the landing's toe.

Here are photos of some of Jack's work downtown that illustrate his design principles.Read more »

Nashville's Waterfront - Going Green & Environmentally Sound

Memphians have been enjoying the beauty and benefits of a natural riverfront along the Bluffwalk and at Greenbelt, Tom Lee, and Jefferson Davis Parks. And we’re starting to think about the bigger picture of cleaning up the harbor and creating a greenway around the harbor, along the waterfront, and a walkway/pathway to cross the Mississippi.

Now Nashville is jumping on the bandwagon. They’ve looked at Chattanooga and Louisville and seen the enormous benefits of waterfront parks. In Louisville the 85-acre riverside park is attracting a million people a year, and Nashville doesn’t want to miss the opportunity.


They've started to view the Cumberland River as a natural asset and a greener, people-friendly waterfront as the goal. A 6.5 acre play park on the river’s east bank will open this summer. But that’s just for starters. The future plan for 32-acres of Nashville’s waterfront includes environmental clean-up, trails, lawns, and an urban forest.



Click here for the article in the Tennessean.

One Day in the Life of Downtown Memphis

We've picked 1 day - Saturday, Sept. 21 - to show you some of the great things you can do downtown this time of year. Start the day off with a cup of organic coffee and a fresh muffin at 7 am and find yourself dancing at midnight, all within a block or so of the River.

Memphis Farmer’s Market, 7am - 1 pm. (S. Front at G.E. Patterson).  Fresh produce, flowers, downtown neighbors, and always something special. On the 21st there's story-time, pet adoptions, and 3 different musicians. Click HERE. 

Downtown Bicycle Ride. 9 am. (Start: Central Station Pavilion, G. E. Patterson). Take a fun, leisurely ride through Downtown led by Bill Draper. Free. Helmets required. Click HERE for more information. 

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Beale Street Landing Underway

by Lynda Ireland

Over 200 Memphians gathered at the river under two large shade trees at the groundbreaking ceremony, highlighted by Reverend Benjamin Hooks’ blessing and Middle Baptist Church gospel choir’s lively rendition of “O Happy Day.” Mayor Willie W. Herenton mentioned a visit years ago by Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson who pointed out that Memphis has something Atlanta is missing: the Memphis riverfront.
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