Tom Lee Park is a city park located to the immediate west of

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, overlooking the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

. Encompassing about parallel to the Mississippi River for about , it offers panoramic views of the

and the shores of

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

on the opposite side. The park is named after Tom Lee, an

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

riverworker, who saved the lives of 32 passengers of the sinking

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...

'' M.E. Norman'' in 1925. Tom Lee Park is a popular location for walkers, joggers, roller bladers and cyclists, and hosts one event per year, the Beale Street Music Festival that kicks off

Memphis in May Memphis in May International Festival is a month-long festival held in Memphis, Tennessee. The festival, which is saluting Ghana in 2022, honors a specific foreign country every year and features many events. The ''Beale Street Music Festival'' ...

Geography

Tom Lee Park is approximately long, but not more than wide at any point. It encompasses about , running south from

Beale Street Beale Street is a street in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee, which runs from the Mississippi River to East Street, a distance of approximately . It is a significant location in the city's history, as well as in the history of blues music. Today, th ...

, bounded by the Mississippi River to the west, and Riverside Blvd to the east, offering panoramic views of the

. Luxury homes and condominiums line the top of the bluff overlooking the park and the river.

Sinking of ''M.E. Norman''

The park is named after area resident Tom Lee (1885–1952). Late during the afternoon of May 8, 1925, Lee steered his skiff ''Zev'' upriver after delivering an official to

Helena, Arkansas Helena is the eastern portion of Helena–West Helena, Arkansas, a city in Phillips County, Arkansas. It was founded in 1833 by Nicholas Rightor and is named after the daughter of Sylvanus Phillips, an early settler of Phillips County and the n ...

. Also on the river was the

, carrying members of the Engineers Club of Memphis, the American Society of Civil Engineers, and their families.

One man rescues 32 lives

Tom Lee witnessed ''M.E. Norman'' capsize in the swift current downriver from Memphis at Cow Island Bend. Although he could not swim, he rescued 32 people with five trips to shore. Lee acted quickly, calmly and with no regard for his own safety, continuing to search after night fell. Because of his efforts, only 23 people died.

Posthumous honors

To honor the hero, the Memphis Engineers Club raised enough money to purchase a house for Lee and his wife. Tom Lee died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

on April 1, 1952 at John Gaston Hospital. Two years after his death, the park along the Memphis Riverfront was named in his honor and a granite obelisk was erected. The obelisk was destroyed once in 2003 in the aftermath of

Hurricane Elvis The Mid-South Derecho of 2003 was a severe derecho event that affected parts of the Southern United States, particularly southwestern Tennessee and northern Mississippi, including the Memphis metropolitan area. It left 7 people dead and en ...

and again during strong storms in May 2017. In October 2006, a

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

sculpture by artist David Alan Clark http://www.davidalanclark.com was erected in the park to commemorate the event and to honor the civil hero. The sculpture depicts the rescue of a survivor saved from drowning in the Mississippi River.

Events held in Tom Lee Park

Among several events held throughout the year, the park is well known throughout the city and region as the site of different outdoor events.

Music

The annual ''

'' celebration is a high-profile event in the park. The Beale Street Music Festival is a three-day event during the Memphis in May celebration, hosting over 60 musical acts each year on four stages, in diverse genres such as blues, hip-hop, and metal. The ''Sunset Symphony concert'', since discontinued, the largest annual performance event of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, was a highlight in the park during Memorial Day weekend, marking the end of the Memphis in May celebration. It has been replaced with a "Celebrate Memphis" event marking the end of the monthlong affair.

Barbecue Cooking Contest

The ''World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest'', held the third weekend of May, is the world's largest pork barbecue cooking competition, attracting hundreds of competitors to Tom Lee Park from around the world.

References

External links

Memphis River Parks Partnership
{{Memphis, Tennessee Parks in Memphis, Tennessee