MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE
Completed in 1987 by an interdisciplinary team headed by Philadelphia
architects and planners Venturi, Rauch and Scott Brown, this comprehensive
plan is intended to guide the development of downtown Memphis to the Year
2020. As the only local member of the team, James Williamson / Carl
Awsumb / Architects were responsible for the Mississippi Riverfront,
Historic Preservation, Parks and Open Spaces, and Arts and Cultural
Resources components of the plan.
Over the past twenty years, major office and retail development in East Memphis caused the historic Memphis downtown, on the Mississippi River, to become the Western boundary of the city. But in recent years, new interest in the downtown has generated development and rehabilitation in the area.
Our object was to develop a plan to revitalize the Center City as a residential, financial, commercial, and cultural center. The Center City Commission called for a comprehensive development strategy: an overview that would address the area's problems, develop policies, and implement programs to ensure the present and the future growth of the city while at the same time reserving the amenity of the downtown --- the prime attraction for economic development.