“I don’t mean to insult Memphians, but I wonder if they are asleep.”
So said Mike Cromer, a retired businessman
who moved here a year ago after living in Boston,
Ottawa, Canada, Park City, Utah, and San Diego. The
quote comes from an interview with Cromer in the
current issue of The Keystone, a publication of Memphis
Heritage, Inc., the historic-preservation group. He was
responding to a City Council meeting with
representatives from the Riverfront Development Corporation
and Friends for Our Riverfront in July.
At issue was the RDC’s building plan for the
Promenade overlooking the Mississippi River and the
Friends’ opposition to that plan. But Cromer was
commenting on what he hasn’t been hearing since this
controversy began: the economic feasibility of the RDC’s
proposal. Instead, what he has heard are fuzzy references to
“vision,” “growth,” and “progress” — “vapor-ware,”
according to Cromer, a former software executive. “I
should think [Memphians] would care more about a matter
that affects their pocketbooks.”
For the record, Cromer also believes that Memphis
is “on the cusp of something big and special.” He likes
its “mix of old and new.” He visited the city many times
in the past, and he’s watched it “grow up.”
Memphians are watching too, sometimes with
pride, sometimes with concern — watching if not their
pocketbooks then their city’s built envivonment as never before.
Which makes the month of September in Memphis, Architecture Month, a good
wake-up call. The events and exhibits have been
coordinated by the local chapter of the American Institute of
Architects and Memphis Heritage and include the
participation of individual design firms and the Memphis Brooks
Museum of Art.
The visiting lecturers are impressive: John Connell,
architect, artist, and author of Homing
Instinct and Creating the Inspired
House; Thomas Hylton, preservationist, Pulitzer
Prize winner, and author of Save Our Land, Save our
Towns; and Memphian Carol Coletta, executive director of the
Mayor’s Institute of City Design and host of NPR’s
Smart City.
The activities are varied too: an art by architects exhibit;
a public-service project in Victorian Village; a downtown
scavenger hunt; a panel discussion by leading local architects; an
art exhibit by the city’s youth; a tour of homes designed by
local architects; a golf tournament; and the annual
Preservation Awards.
Heather Baugus, executive director of the Memphis
chapter of the American Institute of Architects, is psyched.
“The Memphis AIA chapter was founded in 1953 to support
the profession,” she says. “But for the past few years, we
realized that part of our responsibility is to the community as
well. We’ve been trying to refocus our programming, open it
up, and appeal to the general public. We’re a
resource for the public. We’re here for them.
“It’s funny,” Baugus says.
“I get plenty of calls from individuals coming to Memphis and wanting
to know the top 10 buildings to see. Or out-of-state individuals looking for a local
architecture firm to partner with in a project. I love those
calls, but I don’t get enough of them from within the city!
“We want to reposition the role of the architect
in people’s minds. The stereotype is not the reality. We
have architects involved in community giving. We’re
developing programs to offer design services for nonprofits.
“But we also need to emphasize the value of
historical buildings and engage the public to become
active citizens. Our history, and especially the built
environment, will not maintain itself. It takes pride. It
means hands-on work. It means sometimes getting a little
dirty. It means taking ownership. Memphis has a long way
to go. Architecture Month is a first step.”
For more information on Architecture Month, go
to aiamemphis.org or memphisheritage.org.
