Tom Lee Park in Memphis: Learn, Play, and Connect Along the Mighty Mississippi River

So many places in Tom Lee Park beckon me to linger. Adirondack chairs overlook the river, hammocks are nestled in the trees, and native plants are arranged in inviting gardens.

Reopened in 2023 after a $61 million redesign, this large urban park in Memphis pays tribute to local Black hero Tom Lee, who rescued 32 white passengers from the Mississippi River in 1925 when their steamship capsized. This 31-acre stretch along the Mississippi River was intentionally designed to connect people from all walks of life with one another and with nature. The park has received a dozen major accolades, including recent global recognition with a Large Urban Park Award from World Urban Parks. Tom Lee was one of only three North American parks to earn such an honor.

“Tom Lee Park is the product of aiming high, thinking more boldly, and insisting that equity, opportunity, and joy are driving park design principles,” said Paul Chandler, President & CEO of Memphis River Parks Partnership.

Fostering Community

The 15,000-square-foot multi-use Sunset Canopy anchors the park. There are sports courts for basketball pickup, spots for yoga, concerts, and more. For post-workout refueling, there’s a café, with lots of outside seating. The picnic deck is a great spot for gathering with friends or enjoying an al fresco brown-bag lunch.

Open lawns, public sing-alongs, seasonal fire pits, and a welcome center contribute to a sense of belonging. A miniature putting green invites playfulness.  And a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream truck stands ready for impromptu treats. Signs around the park address visitors as “neighbors,” emphasizing community and connectedness.

Encouraging Unity and Healing

The thirty-two basalt sculptures that comprise artist Theaster Gates’ A Monument to Listening represent the lives saved by Lee. Twenty-eight chair-like forms stand in a circle, creating a space for reflection. Four additional structures and a sculpture of Tom Lee sit near the river’s edge.

“The monument itself is too passive to tackle the generational scar tissue that remains in Memphis, but it invites you to ask one another more complex questions about your belief systems, how you want to imagine a new future for Memphis, and how you might enact change in the world,” reads an artist statement near the sculpture.

“I want Tom Lee to be remembered as a human who saw other human lives as equally valuable, if not more valuable, than his own. I invite you to visit the site and have the same encounter with your own humanity. This is my small contribution to the possibility of healing in our world,” Gates continues.

Restoring Habitats

Stretching 2,350 miles as it snakes across the U.S., the Mississippi River is one of the busiest migratory paths in the country for pollinator insects and birds.

Tom Lee Park provides a critical stopover point for the many North American birds that travel the river on their annual migration. A renewed wildflower meadow and tree canopy support the survival of these species.

The park’s Pollinator Lab is more than just a showy flower bed. Carefully selected Butterfly Milkweed hosts recently endangered Monarch Butterflies. Native Paw Paw trees provide a precious food source for Zebra Swallowtail caterpillars. Supporting pollinators like birds, bees, and butterflies boosts biodiversity and is important in maintaining food security.

Learning from the River

A bird flits out of the belly of a sturgeon as a pair of river otters frolicked nearby. Children climb, swing, and slide down these larger-than-life wildlife structures on the playground. They chase each other around caterpillars, salamanders, and cypress trees, immersing themselves in the ecosystem of the Mississippi River as they play.

The Life on the River play area is so inviting I wished for a moment I was a kid again. But adults can have fun too working up a sweat in the adjacent fitness zone with an obstacle course, pull up bars, climbing net and more. What could be better than a fresh air workout with views of the river?

Rustic wood benches on the river’s edge offer space for classes, and educational signs throughout the park unveil the rich layers of biodiversity in the urban park.

Whether you relax in solitude in a hammock in the trees, join a game of pick-up basketball, or wander through thought-provoking art installations with views of the river, it’s hard not to leave changed by Tom Lee Park and the transformative power of the Mississippi River.

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