The north gate to Mud Island Park is getting a facelift! Coming soon: a new, enhanced visitor experience, better aesthetics and more clearly defined movement patterns.

Imagine a big, dreamy play space for your grandchildren. A space tucked amid solid oaks and small hills that form comfortable, safe rooms with ample shade. Space filled with wondrous wooden river creatures standing 30 feet tall, made for climbing and exploring. Space that feels right whether you are eight or 80 years old.

The transformation of the most visible real estate in Memphis — Tom Lee Park — is well underway. What was a flat and largely featureless 31 acres of open space is becoming a stunning, natural, inviting place for all of Memphis and Shelby County with Tom Lee’s legacy of kindness, generosity and empathy at the forefront.

Originally published in The Best Times, February 2022.

Submit Poetry and Spoken Word Entries Here Read the Tom Lee Contest Rules and Guidelines Memphis River Parks Partnership, with support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

The Mississippi River is at its widest and wildest as it flows by Memphis. We are lucky to sit at a uniquely spectacular spot on the river and to look across to unspoiled wetlands in Arkansas. The new Tom Lee Park will finally be worthy of the river flowing alongside it.

Internationally acclaimed artist and social innovator Theaster Gates is creating a new, site-specific artwork for Tom Lee Park.

Ensuring safe, convenient and joyful access to the river is a priority for Memphis River Parks Partnership.

This morning, we have very good news to bring you. Yesterday, the Mayor’s Riverfront Steering Committee has issued its final approval for construction documents for the Cutbank Bluff, Tom Lee Park and Riverside Drive.

A year ago this week, Mayor Jim Strickland gave the city a great gift with the closure of Riverside Drive to vehicles. Opening the street to people changed the way Memphians used their riverfront and created the potential for new park experiences at Tom Lee Park.

New placemaking installation headlines upgrades at Mud Island Park for the 2021 Summer Season.

As construction continues on the Cutbank Bluff, final details for the groundplane of Tom Lee Park west of Riverside Drive continue to be refined. Watch the video update above to see the latest images and details of the new park. Design development is now complete and the design team is working to finalize construction documents for the balance of the park. Construction is scheduled to begin this summer.

As the new northern entrance to Tom Lee Park takes shape at the Cutbank Bluff, Memphis River Parks Partnership celebrates major steps forward as funding and design milestones are hit, powered by significant donations from acclaimed local brands.

A virtual groundbreaking is set for 3:00 p.m. Wednesday, December 9, at the site of the park’s new gateway — the Cutbank Bluff — and will run live on the Partnership’s Facebook page.

Last month, Memphis River Parks Partnership shared an update on Tom Lee Park’s design process and published the completed schematic design. The design and approval process can be complex — your questions answered below!

Remarks by Carol Coletta to the International Downtown Association Annual Conference on October 7, 2020.

Memphis River Parks Partnership held a virtual public meeting Monday, September 21, 2020, to consider ways to make Riverside Drive safer, slower, and accessible for all visitors to a reimagined Tom Lee Park. Participants overwhelmingly supported improvements that achieved those goals.

New signage in Martyrs Park points the way to Big River Crossing and back.

Today, traffic moves very quickly (and sometimes very wildly) on Riverside Drive. Pedestrians attempting to cross the street (or even to enjoy the park) are often placed in an unsafe situation.