Mud Island is a small peninsula in Memphis, Tennessee. [1]
Mud Island is a small peninsula in Memphis, Tennessee. [1]
It is bordered by the Mississippi River to the west and the Wolf River and Harbor Town to the east. Mud Island River Park is within the Memphis city limits, 1.2 miles (1.9 km) from the coast of downtown. Mud Island includes a museum, restaurants, an amphitheater, and a residential area. [2]
It is accessible by foot (via a footbridge), kayak, paddle board, or automobile. [1] Activities on Mud Island include concerts/performances, kayaking, paddle boarding, and biking. [3]
The park is managed and operated by the Memphis River Parks Partnership. [4] Admission to the park is free. [1]
Mud Island River Park, opened in 1982, is on the south end of the peninsula. [1] It includes bike trails, paddleboats, and kayaks, and a hydraulic scale model of the lower Mississippi River from Cairo, Illinois to New Orleans. [1] The model is called the Riverwalk. [5] The replica is carved out of cement to provide a scale model of the Mississippi River. [5] The model is 2,000 feet (610 m) long and includes plaques with details about the river's history throughout. [5] [6]
The Mississippi River Museum was on Mud Island from 1982 to 2019. It includeed 18 galleries and exhibits and presented the history of the lower Mississippi River Valley over the span of the last 10,000 years. The museum also displayed over 5,000 artifacts. [7]
The Mud Island Amphitheater is a concrete outdoor amphitheater that seats up to 5,000 people. [8] The structure has been used for concerts and shows since it was built in 1982. [8]
The northern portion of Mud Island ("Harbor Town") includes mansions, single-family homes, and apartment complexes. [9] The total population of Harbor Town is 14,648. [10] Harbor Town offers various trails and ponds, as well as a shopping district and a private school. [11] [12] Harbor town also offers a dog park that allows for dogs to be let off the leash. [11]
Kayaks and paddle boards are available to rent on Mud Island at Fourth Cup coffee kiosk in the River Garden. [3] They are available every day of the week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. [3] There is also a portion of the Wolf River Greenway on Mud Island that provides a trail for walking, running, or biking. [13]
Mud Island Amphitheater has been used to host concerts and shows since it was built in 1982 but has gone unused since 2018. [8] The city of Memphis is putting $4 million towards renovations on the amphitheater so it can be used as a concert venue again. [14] Artists that have performed there include Bob Dylan, Journey, Eric Clapton, and Peter Frampton. [15]
The River Inn of Harbor Town also offers three restaurants – Paulette's Restaurant, Tug's Casual Grill, and Terrace at the River Inn. [16] Café Eclectic also has one location in Harbor Town. [17] The main grocery store on Mud Island, located in Harbor Town, is Cordelia's Market. [18]
Mud Island had been formed by a buildup of silt, gravel, and sand by 1899. [19] It was originally referred to as City Island until the 1950s. Mud Island became the location of the Memphis Downtown Airport in 1959 and was used primarily by wealthy businessmen to access Downtown Memphis. [19] In 1960, the Wolf River Levee was used to divert the flow of the Wolf River. [13] The airport was shut down in 1970 due to the construction of the Interstate 40 bridge. [19] In 1976, the architect responsible for the Memphis International Airport and Memphis College of Art came up with a project to turn 50 acres (20 hectares) of property owned by the city into a destination designed to attract locals and tourists alike. [2] The proposed name for the park was Volunteer Park, but it was later named Mud Island Park when it was opened on July 4, 1982. [2]
The park has been run by several different groups including the Park Commission, The Parks Division, Sidney Shlenkner, and the RDC (Riverfront Development Corporation). [2] The RDC is being in charge of running the park since 2000. [2]
On October 1, 2020, a break-in at the Mississippi River Museum was reported to police. Over $50,000 worth of historical artifacts were stolen shortly after the museum shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The burglar(s) have yet to be found as of February 2021. [20]
On Sunday, January 23, 2021, human bones were found scattered in an area of tall grass near the large Memphis sign, located on the southern end of the peninsula, by a landscaping crew. [21] The remains were found in an area that tends to be covered with water at different points in the year, and the police stated the remains may have washed up from the Mississippi River, but it is still unknown at this point. [22] The police have yet to release any further information on the case as of February 21, 2021. [22]
Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County, in the southwesternmost part of the state, and is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-most populous city in Tennessee after Nashville.
Shelby County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 929,744. It is the largest of the state's 95 counties, both in terms of population and geographic area. Its county seat is Memphis, a port on the Mississippi River and the second most populous city in Tennessee. The county was named for Governor Isaac Shelby (1750–1826) of Kentucky. It is one of only two remaining counties in Tennessee with a majority African American population, along with Haywood County.
The Memphis Pyramid, formerly known as the Great American Pyramid and the Pyramid Arena, and colloquially known as the Bass Pro Shops Pyramid, is a pyramid-shaped building located in downtown Memphis, Tennessee, United States, at the bank of the Mississippi River. Built in 1991 as a 20,142-seat arena, the facility was owned and operated jointly by the city of Memphis and Shelby County; Shelby County sold its share to Memphis in April 2009. Its structure plays on the city's namesake in Egypt, which is known for its ancient pyramids. It is 321 feet (98 m) tall and has base sides of 591 feet (180 m); it is by some measures the tenth-tallest pyramid in the world.
The Wolf River is a 105-mile-long (169 km) alluvial river in western Tennessee and northern Mississippi, whose confluence with the Mississippi River was the site of various Chickasaw, French, Spanish and American communities that eventually became Memphis, Tennessee. It is estimated to be about 12,000 years old, formed by glacier runoff carving into the region's soft alluvial soil. It should not be confused with The Wolf River which flows primarily in Middle Tennessee and southern Kentucky. The Wolf River rises in the Holly Springs National Forest at Baker's Pond in Benton County, Mississippi, and flows northwest into Tennessee, before entering the Mississippi River north of downtown Memphis.
The Grand Harbor Resort and Waterpark is a resort hotel and indoor waterpark located in Dubuque, Iowa.
Harbor Town is a new urbanist-style neighborhood in Memphis, Tennessee. Harbor Town sits atop 132 acres on a sandbar in the Mississippi River known as Mud Island. It was developed in 1989, and was a collaborative effort of Memphis developer Henry Turley, RTKL of Baltimore, and the Looney Ricks Kiss architectural firm from Memphis. The Henry Turley Company stated that the neighborhood intends to "emphasize the human rather than the automobile." Nowadays Harbor Town is considered dense and walkable, known for its traditional row houses, shops, parks, and marina.
Downtown Memphis, Tennessee is the central business district of Memphis, Tennessee and is located along the Mississippi River between Interstate 40 to the north, Interstate 55 to the south and I-240 to the east, where it abuts Midtown Memphis.
The Wolf River Conservancy (WRC) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization whose stated purpose is "conserving and enhancing the Wolf River and its environs as a natural resource for public education and low-impact recreational activities." Headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. It has approximately 1,500 members from throughout West Tennessee, led by an active Board of Directors and staff and advised by the Wolf River Conservancy Trustees. It is a fully accredited member of The Land Trust Alliance.
The Chickasaw Bluff is the high ground rising about 50 to 200 feet (20–60 m) above the Mississippi River flood plain between Fulton in Lauderdale County, Tennessee and Memphis in Shelby County, Tennessee.
The Memphis Suspension Railway, Mud Island Monorail, or Memphis Monorail is a suspended monorail that connected the city center of Memphis with the entertainment park on Mud Island. Celebrating its grand opening on July 3, 1982, it was located beneath a footbridge over the Wolf River Lagoon connecting to the southern tip of Mud Island. In 2018, multiple malfunctions occurred during passenger service, one of which required the fire department to attend to stranded passengers, and finally the motor failed.
Bud Boogie Beach was a small water park located on Mud Island in Memphis, Tennessee. It opened in 1987 and closed in 1997.
The City of Memphis is located on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the regional hub for a tri-state area of Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee.
The history of Memphis, Tennessee and its area began many thousands of years ago with succeeding cultures of indigenous peoples. In the first millennium, it was settled by the Mississippian culture. The Chickasaw Indian tribe emerged about the 17th century, or migrated into the area. The earliest European exploration may have encountered remnants of the Mississippian culture by Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto. Later French explorers led by René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle likely encountered the Chickasaw. The city of Memphis was not founded until 1819. The city was named after the ancient capital of Egypt on the Nile River in North Africa.
Tourism in Memphis includes the points of interest in Memphis, Tennessee such as museums, fine art galleries, and parks, as well as Graceland the Beale Street entertainment district, and sporting events.
Sports in Memphis, Tennessee are supported in the city by Memphis Park Services, which offers a wide range of public facilities, including 17 swimming pools, 8 public golf courses, 48 athletic fields hosting a range of 510 youth and 269 adult teams, 130 basketball courts, 7 tennis centers and a soccer complex.
The Mississippi River Trail is a designated bicycle and pedestrian trail that traverses the shores of the Mississippi River in the United States. The trail extends from the headwaters at Lake Itasca in Minnesota to near the mouth of the river in Venice, Louisiana. Much of the trail’s 3,000 miles (4,800 km) follows roadways used by motor vehicles, although some of the route is on multi-use trails. The segment in Minnesota has been designated as U.S. Bicycle Route 45, part of the U.S. Bicycle Route System.
Roy Perkins Harrover, FAIA was an American architect who designed the Memphis International Airport as well as numerous civic buildings across the southern United States. His designs range in style from New Formalist to Brutalist and are characterized by their strictly linear forms. He is largely credited with having established a modern architectural identity for Memphis, Tennessee.
Mud Island Amphitheater is a 5,000-seat concrete outdoor amphitheater located on Mud Island, a peninsula in Memphis, Tennessee. The structure has been used for concerts and shows since it was built in 1982. A few artists that have performed at Mud Island Amphitheater include Bob Dylan, Journey, Eric Clapton, Heart and Peter Frampton.
The Mississippi River Museum was a museum located on Mud Island, in Memphis, Tennessee.
The Memphis River Parks Partnership (MRPP), known as the Riverfront Development Corporation (RDC) until being renamed in April 2018, is a nonprofit organization that manages and develops the various riverfront parks and amenities located along the Mississippi River in Memphis, Tennessee, on behalf of the city government.
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