PARK HISTORY

Tom Lee Park was expanded to its current size by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1991.

The construction of a dike wall expanded the nine-acre, unremarkable patch of grass at the foot of Beale Street to the 31-acres we know today. For years, the park sat mostly empty with few trees, little shade and no amenities.

In 2O17, Mayor Strickland and the City of Memphis created a task force to reimagine the riverfront and called on memphis river parks to make the concept plan a reality.

That task force commissioned Studio Gang to develop a concept for the transformation of five miles of mostly underused public space and 11 river parks into a connected network of beautiful, welcoming, natural spaces that would reconnect Memphians with their river. More than 4,000 Memphians were engaged in the production of the Memphis Riverfront Concept.

In only seven years, the Concept went from a dream to reality. Memphis River Parks Partnership reinvented two former Confederate-named parks into River Garden and Fourth Bluff Park, completed in 2O18 and 2O19. River Line—a five-mile walking and biking trail that connects all river parks—opened in 2O18.

The design process for Tom Lee Park began in 2019 and was informed by stakeholders, including local teens - Youth Design Leadership program - embedded as part of an extensive public input process that guided the design of the park. Final design for the park was unveiled in March 2O2O. Construction on the $61 million project began in December of 2020 with the park opening to the public on Labor Day Weekend, September 2O23. In its first two years, it had more than 2.5 million visitors and was awarded eight national and international design awards from American Society of Landscape Architects, Fast Company magazine, American Institute of Architects New York, Urban Land Institute, Architect’s Newspaper, Architizer, the Bay Awards, and World Urban Parks.

Tom Lee Park under construction, 1991