Tag: Reimagining Civic Commons

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Fitness Under the Stars at Mud Island

CREDIT: Izabella Sandoval

This summer was the hottest on record, and finally, some cooler weather is ahead of us. To celebrate beating the heat and the arrival of autumn, Fitness Under the Stars may be just the place to go.

Taking place around sunset every Friday until October 18th, Fitness Under the Stars features free yoga, barre, spin, and aerobics classes led by a collective of local fitness studios. The nine-week-long summer/fall fitness series takes place at Mud Island River Park, providing an aquatic background perfect for letting go and getting fit at the same time.

“It’s all about coming and leaving all your issues and problems, everything, on the mat,” says Courtney McNeal, who has partnered with Mud Island River Parks to present Fitness Under the Stars. “Or, as Janeen Gordon told me during an interview, ‘Just let it all flow down the river.'”

Izabella Sandoval

Take me to the river — for some yoga.

Fitness Under the Stars got its start when McNeal, who’d been a member of Your Inner Yogi, saw the need for more free fitness programming in Memphis.

“There is yoga that takes place on the riverfront. And that’s been pretty consistent,” she says. “It’s fabulous. I’ve actually participated in it several times. But I wanted to do something a little bit different — something that gives a little more variety and at a different location.”

The stars aligned when McNeal heard about Fuel the Fourth Bluff, a community grant provided to Memphians with ideas for programs to revitalize the Civic Commons footprint, a six-block area that stretches from Main Street to Mud Island, as part of a national initiative called Reimagining Civic Commons.

Fitness Under the Stars, Mud Island River Park, Friday, September 13th, 6 p.m., free. Register at fitnessunderthestars901.eventbrite.com.

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Renovated Cossitt Library Could Open By February

CREDIT: Maya Smith

Maya Smith

The current library sign and courtyard

Cossitt Library, the oldest public library in Memphis closed its doors in January 2018 in preparation for a renovation and in a little less than two months, that work will finally begin.

In the now emptied foyer of the library, Shamichael Hallman, director of Cossitt talked to a group of Memphians Tuesday, detailing the plans for the space.

“Over the last several years, there’s been a lot of discussion about the library,” Hallman said. “It’s been on the chopping block a couple of times. People have really questioned if this library can continue to live and be relevant in a changing society, which is a question I think a lot of libraries are asking.”

The project will be completed in three phases, Hallman said. The first part of the library transformation will be the exterior courtyard on the corner of Front and Monroe.

Maya Smith

The new courtyard will house seating, green space, and public art.

Hallman said the revamped courtyard will feature seating, landscaping, a large, “eye-catching” piece of artwork, and green space for yoga and other fitness classes.

The fence currently separating the courtyard from Front Street will be torn down, as Hallman said it’s a “literal barrier” that hinders people’s access to the space.

“The hope is that for the people who are walking or driving by the message is clearly ‘You’re welcome in this space,’” Hallman said. “We want people to come, sit, and hang out.”

The second phase will target the interior of the library, beginning with the first floor and moving to the second level.

Hallman said the goal of the first floor is to create a gathering space: “From wall to wall, we’ll have tons of social seating.”

“We want people to be able to come in and meet a neighbor or a friend and have a conversation. We really want to go against the ‘Shh, we’re in the library’ mentality.”

To create that kind of environment, there will be a cafe on one end of the first floor, serving coffee, juice, salads, sandwiches, and other refreshments.

For those who want to work in quiet, there will also be meeting rooms with river views on the first floor.

Along the back wall of the library’s first floor, Hallman said there will be a mural paying tribute to the African American students who participated in a series of sit-ins and read-ins at Cossitt and other segregated public libraries in the city during the 1960s.

“There’s a lot of history here,” Hallman said.

Maya Smith

Renderings of the new library displayed on the library’s second floor

On one end of the second floor, there will be a performance area for dance, theater, music, and fitness classes, as well as a technology workshop where local professionals can give classes on various topics such as programming, photo and video editing, and robotics.

The opposite end is slated to house music stations where visitors can listen to a collection of vinyl records. There will also be a studio for producing graphic design, music, and video projects, which Hallman said will be “digital playground for adults.”

Finally, the second floor will also be home to the Memphis Jookin Academy, where Memphis youth can come learn to jook from Memphis actor and dancer, Charles ‘Lil Buck’ Riley.

Every program, class, and space will be available to anyone with a library card with no charge, Hallman said.

Another change the library might see is extended hours. Before the library closed in 2018, its hours were 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., but Hallman said those hours didn’t allow the library to serve as many people as it could.

To extend hours, Hallman said additional funding is needed.

In addition to the new programming, Hallman assured that the library will still have “quite a few” books.

“Libraries have always been a place to openly access information and knowledge,” Hallman said. “Those things will be very much still in tact. We just want to build on that and meet some of the needs of the changing community.”

The renovation of the library is a piece of the larger national Reimagining Civic Commons initiative meant to improve civic engagement, socioeconomic mixing, environmental sustainability, and value creation in five cities. Memphis, along with Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, and Akron, were chosen to be demonstration cities for the three-year project.

Here the initiative focuses on re-imagining the riverfront, including the Cossitt Library, the River Line Trail, Memphis Park, and the Mississippi River Park.

Memphis Public Libraries

A postcard featuring the Cossitt Library in 1906


Cossitt first opened its doors in 1893 as the Cossitt-Goodwyn Institute. It was a library and a museum.

The building serving as the library today, was added in 1958, when a part of the original structure was torn down.

Now, the only remnant of the original library is the red sandstone building sitting west of the current library.

Hallman said the library is in talks with officials from the Brooks Museum of Art, which might have a use for the historic building, but “it’s pretty wide open now.”

Hallman said contractors should begin work by mid-summer and “if there are no mishaps,” anticipates the library re-opening in February 2020.

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Fourth Bluff to Fund Memphians’ ‘Fresh Ideas and Programs’

CREDIT: The Fourth Bluff

The Fourth Bluff collaborative is looking to grant residents up to $20,000 to fund community programs Downtown near the river.

The “Fuel the Fourth Bluff” Community Fund is meant for project or programs “that can activate public space to make them places that bring people of diverse backgrounds together, that foster civic engagement and environmental stewardship, and that add value to community,” according to the Fourth Bluff website.

The local Fourth Bluff collaborative is a piece of the national Reimagining Civic Common initiative. Memphis is one of five cities that received a total of $4 million to invest in shared public assets. To date, those funds have helped create the River Garden and River Line, as well as other activations and programs like RiverPlay and the Fourth Bluff Ice Rink.

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Now, the Fourth Bluff wants to give Memphians a share of $100,000 in order to fund “fresh ideas and programs.” Grants will be distributed in $1,000, $5,000, $10,000, and $20,000 amounts.

Anyone from artists and activists, to students and entrepreneurs, to organizations and corporations, is encouraged to apply. However, the proposed programs must take place within the Civic Commons footprint — an approximate six-block area, roughly bordered by Main, Mud Island, Jefferson, and Monroe. Projects can also take place on the River Line between the Beale Street Landing and the A.W. Willis Bridge.

The Fourth Bluff

Map of the Fourth Bluff

The projects also have to meet one of the Civic Commons’ four goals: civic engagement, value creation, socioeconomic mixing, and environmental sustainability.

Applicants will be chosen by a group of community reviewers who will select proposals for “imaginative programs that advance one or more of the goals of the civic commons. We’ll also be looking for innovation and ensuring the applicant has the capacity to produce the requested program.”

Selected programs, including one-time events and series, could kick off as soon as April and wrap up in October.

Applicants can apply here before Monday, March 18th. There will also be a public Q&A session about the opportunity Tuesday (today) at 6 p.m. at 409 South Main.