2025 marks 100 years since the namesake of Memphis’ Tom Lee Park saved the lives of more than two dozen people, earning him national celebrity status and a host of honors for his heroism.

When 2024 becomes 2025, it will mark the centennial of Tom Lee’s 1925 Mississippi River rescue of 32 people. The Downtown Memphis riverside park that bears Lee’s name will be a focal point of observances marking the anniversary, including a film, a walking tour that features the story of the river rescue and community sing-alongs.

The city of Memphis, Tennessee, was founded on the banks of the Mississippi river in the 19th century but its modern waterfront has long been defined by unremarkable swaths of turf abutting the famous waterway. Now, a 12.5-hectare portion called Tom Lee Park has opened as a dynamic public and natural space, refreshing the city’s most prominent landscape.

Tom Lee Park is a beautiful, nicely detailed project with a great integration of materials, plantings, and context to create a variety of spaces and unique experiences. It sets a remarkable precedent for inclusivity, social equity, and learning.

From St. Louis’s popular City Museum to the Life on the River Playground in Memphis’ Tom Lee Park, these kid-friendly spaces put a fun twist on what playgrounds can truly be.

A new $10 million observation deck is coming to Downtown Memphis. The one-of-a-kind observation deck is called the “Memphis Flyway,” and is located on the south end of Tom Lee Park.

Remember those days when you dined at the River Terrace on Mud Island, with the view of the Mississippi River and the sunsets? Remember how you felt? Well, you can feel that way again when Mahogany River Terrace opens October 2nd at 280 Island Drive,  the space once occupied by the River Terrace.

As many monuments look back, A Monument to Listening celebrates Tom Lee’s heroic legacy by asking Memphians to look around (and listen).

The Life on the River playground in Tom Lee Park on the Mississippi River in Downtown Memphis has been named one of the 11 Most Unique Playgrounds in the U.S. by Mental Floss.

When faced with the opportunity to reimagine an existing public space, the Memphis River Parks Partnership and the City of Memphis focused on bringing to life more than a refresh – leveraging Tom Lee Park to foster an inclusive, shared experience among all residents. 

In “Inclusive Placemaking: Tom Lee Park, Memphis,” researchers from the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins explore four key lessons from Memphis that can aid other cities in putting equity commitments into action.

Through strategic investments, partnerships, gradual placemaking, and strong focuses on public art, landscape design, and communications, Tom Lee Park has become a living embodiment of how a City’s commitment to inclusivity can help build a stronger city.

Alex Bozikovic | Toronto Globe & Mail

On a recent sunny Sunday, the people of Memphis, Tenn., found common ground...That is just what the designers of the 31-acre park, architects Studio Gang and landscape architects SCAPE, had been hoping for: a group of people young and old, Black and white, enjoying a grand public space. The revitalized park is part of a larger effort to bring the city’s riverfront back to life and bring new public space to this historic – and historically segregated – city.

Ryan Waddups | Surface Magazine

Studio Gang and Scape transform an underused section of the Memphis riverfront into a thriving public park replete with biodiversity that honors an overlooked hero.