Take Me to the River

Janann Sherman

Powerful and beautiful, the Mississippi River at Memphis is at its most volatile--rising and falling a dramatic fifty feet annually. Critical to Memphis' history as a source of transportation and commerce, it remains the defining feature of the city and a compelling lure to travelers.

City founders recognized not only the commercial importance of the river, but also its aesthetic value. They set aside five miles of waterfront from Auction Avenue to Union Avenue for a permanent Public Promenade. Although this strip has acquired a variety of public buildings and parking lots over the years, large sections of riverfront remain accessible.

One of the best places to access the river is at the foot of Monroe Avenue where the landing is paved with historic cobblestones. Most of these ballast stones were laid in the mid-nineteenth century during the heyday of the steamboat era. As the largest remaining cobblestone landing in the country, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. While the cobblestones once provided sure footing for horses and mules, they are treacherous for high heels and slick-soled leather shoes. In front of you, as you stand on the cobblestones, is Mud Island River Park. Reached by a monorail or pedestrian bridge, Mud Island features a half-mile-long scale model of the lower Mississippi River, the Mississippi River Museum and the "Memphis Belle,"; the World War II B-17 bomber.

Across Riverside Drive, Confederate Park affords an elevated view of this area. During the Civil War, some 10,000 Memphians gathered there to watch the Battle of Memphis on 6 June 1862. The River Defense Fleet--comprised of eight converted river steamboats reinforced with compressed cotton and railroad iron--was no match for the Union fleet of five ironclads and nineteen rams. The battle was over in less than ninety minutes.

For more spectacular views of the river, try the Bluffwalk, an eight-foot wide paved and lit walkway that meanders 1.1 miles overlooking the historic waterfront and three great bridges.

To the south, situated at the foot of Beale Street is Tom Lee Park, named in honor of the black laborer who rescued thirty-two passengers when the steamer M.E. Norman sank in the river near Memphis in 1925. Expanded in the 1990s to twenty-four acres, Tom Lee Park is the site of numerous spring and summer festivals and offers one of the very best walking paths along the river.

At the very southern end of the bluffs is a series of protected Indian mounds in DeSoto Park (local legend has it that this was the spot where Hernando DeSoto first spotted the Mississippi River), the National Ornamental Metal Museum, and the site of a World War II army hospital. This promontory overlooks the widest point on the river as it turns sharply westward revealing miles of uninterrupted river and sky. To the north of Mud Island is Harbortown's Greenbelt Park--a reclaimed 1.5 mile strip of grassy lawn ideal for strolling and picnicking, topped with a paved walkway favored by walkers, joggers, bikers and skaters.

Janann Sherman is associate professor of history at the University of Memphis.