Memphis Riverfront Promenade Named to "Ten in Tennessee" Endangered
Current
Promenade property looking east from Riverside Drive
Each year
the Tennessee Preservation Trust (TPT) seeks nominations from the
public for the "Ten in Tennessee," a
roster of the state's most endangered historic sites. This successful
program highlights the ten most endangered urban and rural places
across the state to help garner public support for saving threatened
historic resources. "Listing a site will not give the property any
formal protection, but the TPT hopes it will increase awareness about
these irreplaceable cornerstones of our heritage and inspire local
groups and individuals to act before it is too late. A committee made
up of preservationists from across the state meets to choose the list.
This year's edition was announced at a press conference during National
Preservation Week, on Wednesday May 5, 2004.
Memphis Heritage nominated the
property on the west side of Front Street down to Riverside Drive from
Auction on the north to Union on the south, known as "The Public
Promenade". This property was included in the original 1819 plan
for the City of Memphis. It was set aside by the city's
founders
to be
public leisure space to ensure that the people of Memphis retained
access to the riverfront and is owned by the citizens with the City
holding an easement to the property.
The Promenade is threatened by a plan which calls for turning this
public land over to private developers who will carry out a massive
plan for total
redevelopment of the site. The plan includes construction of
12-story buildings which will block views of the
Mississippi River from Front Street and many areas east of the planned
development. The new buildings will change the scale of the
street and have a negative impact on the neighboring Historic Cotton
Row District (locally and Nationally designated Historic
Districts). The damage done to the historic bluff could never be
repaired.
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