Archive - December 2018

Hawkeye Blog November 2018 December 01, 2018

 

Signs abound everywhere you look. Some give you a hint about the progress made.These are a few recorded in Memphis, Tennessee, this beloved, funky river city.

Few get to see a real implosion so when Baptist Hospital's medical building on Union Avenue was razed it brought the crowds out.

Who could have imagined that the old Sears distribution center which sat empty for over 20 years and was over 1 ½ million square feet could ever be re-purposed. This is a window into the derelict building. Today The Crosstown Concourse houses multiple businesses, restaurants, apartments, a school and artists. Daily over 3000 people make use of the now splendid facility.

And what does the name Memphis bring to mind apart from music? BARBECUE! The Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest draws thousands to the riverside with a number of teams coming from Europe.

Dr. Martin Luther King gave his last speech and his last breath in Memphis. The Lorraine Hotel where the tragedy struck has redeemed that stain with the National Civil Rights Museum within its walls.

The mighty Mississippi which birthed this city seldom overflows its banks to reclaim it but when it does thousands turn out to see its power as it spreads for over a mile wide in front of Downtown.

Brooks Art Gallery created Brooks Outside with 30 vignettes from their collection scattered about the city, reproduced on buildings and walls to bring remarkable

art to the people. This is a scene from Carroll Cloar's "The Wedding".