The Overton Park Conservancy unveiled plans last night for a sidewalk that would encircle the park, a walking path around the greensward, and better entry access for cyclists and pedestrians. Bianca Phillips has the story.
Month: May 2014
It’s not uncommon to see cyclists risking their lives in heavy Poplar Avenue traffic to access Overton Park since, currently, there is no paved pathway along the south side of the park.
But that will change by late 2015 or early 2016. Plans for a paved pathway that would encircle most of the park were on display last night at one of two Overton Park Conservancy meetings to address the need for improved walkways and park entrances.
Ritchie Smith & Associates presented plans to install a five to eight foot walkway that would begin at Tucker and Poplar, head east down Poplar, and wrap around the Old Forest along East Parkway. The pathway would veer into the Old Forest near the new bike gate, and it would connect with the paved forest loop. But near the East Parkway/North Parkway corner, pedestrians would have the option of continuing on the existing loop or taking a new path that hugs the edge of North Parkway and heads west. Currently, there are no sidewalks along North Parkway through the park, but a well-worn foot path in the dirt proves that many runners and walkers use that route anyway.
Also planned is a new paved path circling the greensward. It would connect with the path around Rainbow Lake and extend out around the greensward in a loop. At the meeting last night, architect Ritchie Smith told those attending that when the zoo parking situation is resolved, the greensward “can be one of the first improvements” they’ll make.
“We think people would love a path around the greensward, because we know more and more people are using the park for walking and jogging,” said Overton Park Conservancy director Tina Sullivan. “A loop around the greensward would provide more space and more greenery for people to see as they walk around.”
Improved access points are also planned for several park entrances. Currently, pedestrians and cyclists entering the park from Cooper and Poplar are greeted with a standard MATA bus stop and green space. But a new stone balustrade and some benches will mark that entrance, and a small paved “gathering area” will be added. It will connect with the new paved perimeter path.
“Maybe we can add a new bus shelter to replace that standard MATA shelter with its unsightly advertisements,” Smith said.
A pedestrian path is planned the Tucker and Poplar entrance as well since, right now, park users must compete with cars and enter the park through the roadway. Better crosswalks will be added at Poplar and East Parkway, and steps or a ramp will lead park users up the hill into the park. At East Parkway and North Parkway, a 10-foot shared use path will connect with the existing Old Forest loop. And a better crossing is planned for pedestrians entering the park from Rhodes College across North Parkway.
“We already have funding for the Poplar/Cooper connection, so we’ll see movement on that early next year,” Sullivan said. “The perimeter trail will be done in late 2015 or early 2016, and we have funding for that as well.”
The Overton Park Conservancy is hosting another public meeting on Saturday, May 31st at 10 a.m. in the Playhouse on the Square Cafe.
Intermission Impossible talked to Haint playwright Justin Asher prior to a workshop production of the new work in 2013. This week Asher’s play opens at TheatreWorks as a part of the New Moon Theatre Company‘s regular season.
Here’s what Asher had to say about spooky stories, and why we love them.
Intermission Impossible: Since this is a new work, maybe you can tell us a little about what we can expect to see, without telling us too much, of course.
Justin Asher: What I hope to show you is the story of a woman who holds on to the past so tightly that she can’t live in the present. Mercy, the central character, who used to be a well-known root worker and healer, now secludes herself in her home and depends on her thirty year old son, Charlie, as her only source to the outside world. But, after her son’s death she is forced to deal with life again and along the way discovers the secrets that Charlie had been keeping from her for years. After that, Charlie acting as the narrator, watches as his mother learns to trust people again and let go of the fear and anger she’d been a slave to for years.
It’s not a traditional ghost story, but rather a drama that just happens to have a ghost in it. It doesn’t try to be scary. It does however try to make you uncomfortable at moments. It’s really just a story about people as seen by a person who has passed on.
II: I grew up in rural Middle Tennessee and there was a place called “Hainted Holler” so I always immediately associate that version of the word “Haunt” with older, more rural traditions. I’m curious as to where you picked up the word, and what images you hope it evokes even before people have experienced the play.
JA: I picked up the word “Haint” from my Granddad. He used to tell me ghost stories from back home and it just sort of stuck. This story is a rural piece which has elements of folk traditions, superstition and hoodoo. The word “Haint” brings to mind, for me, images of light blue porch ceilings and cracked mirrors hung just outside the front door. Both of which were used to keep the spirits away. I have a deep appreciation for those sorts of things. For being respectful of the world you cannot see and looking for the signs and clues it leaves out for us to find.
II: As a culture we seem to love our ghost stories. What’s your take on that?
JA: I really like to be scared. I think it’s the adrenaline. I think it’s that feeling of knowing that you have no control over the situation, of being powerless – but can feel safe in the knowledge that once the movie is over I will be home safe and sound, on my couch with my dog in my lap. It letting absolute chaos take control of your emotions on the condition that it doesn’t stay for long. Yeah, it’s something like that. That’s why I like it.
Haint is at TheatreWorks May 30 – June 15.
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Remembering Maya Angelou
Louis Goggans talks to Memphis photographer and videographer Richard Copley about his meeting with Maya Angelou.
Maya Angelou, the world-renowned author and poet, passed away Wednesday, May 28th. She was 86 years old.
Angelou’s fascinating literary works and honesty, passion, and candidness gained her respect and admiration from across the world. She’s largely known for her book, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, an autobiography that highlighted the struggles she experienced early in her life.
She was also an actress, singer, inspirational speaker, college professor, and held many other talents.
Angelou recited her poem “On the Pulse of Morning” at former President Bill Clinton’s first inaugural address in 1993. She became both the first woman and African-American selected to read a poem at an inauguration.
President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, in 2011.
World-renowned photographer Richard Copley, popular for his imagery of the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Strike, had the chance to meet Angelou decades before she enjoyed global reverence. In the 1970s, Copley worked as cameraman for local television show Face to Face hosted by the late David Yellin. The show was an hour-long segment that featured Yellin interviewing different people in a conversational style. One of those people happened to be Angelou, who had released I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings years before appearing on the show.
“David calls me and says, ‘I want to interview Maya Angelou.’ I didn’t say anything,” Copley remembers. “At the time, I doubt that there were five people in Memphis who knew who she was, and I wasn’t one of them. But David knew, and he was brilliant in that respect.”
By the time they completed the interview, Copley said he was amazed by the graciousness of Angelou’s character, and the softness of her voice.
“It was very enriching for me personally to meet her, because I didn’t have a clue who she was when he called me that day, but I sure did after that,” Copley said. “She was intriguing and very thoughtful about everything she said. It’s been years and years and years, but I can still picture the whole scenario.”
Copley got a chance to speak with Angelou after the segment but regrets that he didn’t have a photo taken with her. He made it a priority to become more familiar with Angelou’s accomplishments. And he followed her career up until her death.
“She was a fascinating woman who had it rough growing up, but it shaped her into an amazing voice,” Copley said. “She could sing, she could act, and she wrote incredible poetry. She was very inspirational to be around when we shot that interview. And just charming. It was a sad day when I discovered that she passed.”
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TTT Answer
Few sports are built on historic rivalry like college football. Certain teams would call a 1-11 season successful if the lone victory came against the right opponent. (Two or three programs in the SEC fit this category in their view of Alabama.)
As for the Memphis Tigers, longtime series with Southern Miss and UAB are no more, not since the U of M joined the American Athletic Conference. Among the 12 teams on the Tigers’ 2014 schedule, which team has the longest current series with Memphis?
The Tigers will play Middle Tennessee for the sixth straight season this fall. SMU is the only other opponent to appear on the Tigers’ last four schedules. (The Tigers will play Ole Miss for the 60th time, but it’s their first meeting since 2009.)
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