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The Riverfront Plan

Analysis

The City of Memphis has a storied history regarding its relationship to the Mississippi River. Whether through the prosperity of cotton and hardwood industries, its popularity as a transportation hub, the hardships endured through great floods, or the culture from which the Blues and Rock ‘n Roll evolved, the Mississippi River has defined life in Memphis.

During the last fifty years, however, the city has lost its reliance on the river for commerce and transportation. While the river has remained a stunning natural and visual resource, most commercial development and prominent projects oriented to the east, away from the river. Also during this period, the river was engineered to control flooding by adding rock dikes and a concrete floodwall. The Cobblestones fell into disrepair and the riverfront became underutilized and uninviting. The “City on the Bluff” not only sat well above the river, but was also now further away. Finally the formation of the Mud Island peninsula further separated the city from the river.

Recently, in the last two decades, the city has begun to turn itself around, reorienting toward the river. In the north end, Mud Island was stabilized and Harbor Town revived both the notion of living Downtown and living on the Mississippi. In the south end, Tom Lee Park was stabilized and enlarged, providing a home for Memphis in May, the largest Mississippi riverfront celebration north of New Orleans. Downtown has seen the restoration of the Peabody Hotel, and Peabody Place, a wonderful new ballpark for the Redbirds, and a new NBA arena under construction.

Yet the riverfront remains sorely underutilized.

There are many physical challenges to the realization of a world-class waterfront. Key among them are grade changes, railroad tracks, heavy traffic on Riverside Drive, land use restrictions on the Overton Heir Blocks, public parking garages constructed on prime waterfront real estate, the impact of highway ramps to and from I-40, the deterioration of the Cobblestones, limited public access to Mud Island, and a lack of infrastructure at the riverfront all contribute to the inactivity there today.

The recommendations of the Master Plan must confront many complex issues and resolve them into a single, coherent, unique design proposal. These issues become the key underpinnings of the physical plan:

  1. The fluctuation of the Mississippi. Because of the extreme variation in river stages, the city operates at these key elevations; the top of the bluff (+75’), Riverside Drive (+50’) and the river level (0’-50’). The plan aims to overcome the differences between these three elements.
  2. Development. There are very few sites, if any, adjacent to the waterfront seemingly able to be developed to activate the riverfront and provide a critical mass of people and activity. Too much land is currently devoted to railroads, and parking; industrial and parkway infrastructure; or is underutilized (Mud Island and Overton Heirs Blocks). Creating new development sites will be crucial to achieve a better balance between public improvements and private investment.
  3. The future status of Mud Island. It is key to the plan that Mud Island be conveniently connected to Downtown.
  4. The condition of the Cobblestones. As a significant historic element, they must be kept and modified to function as part of a modern docking facility.
  5. Parks and Open Space. Much work has been done already to connect the riverfront parks. The plan should complete this effort and describe each park as part of a system that offers a variety of activities.
  6. Overton Heirs Blocks. Ironically, the blocks which were set aside for public purposes have become a barrier to the largest public purpose of all, connecting Downtown to the Mississippi.
  7. Pedestrian access to the riverfront. Riverside Drive, the Cobblestones, and the railroad tracks must be redesigned to create a pedestrian friendly environment at the riverfront.
  8. Downtown traffic. Most Downtown streets are underutilized while Riverside Drive is overcrowded. The plan must distribute traffic throughout the Downtown grid.
  9. Downtown parking. There are too many remote parking spaces, and too many cars on the riverfront. A key parking strategy will identify Downtown parking locations and incorporate the trolley as a means for people to move from parking to their destinations.
  10. The riverfront is over 12 miles of frontage, within the five-mile long study area. An effort this large needs a 50-year horizon. The first phases must be kept small and start where the action already is, at the foot of Downtown.
  11. The north and south ends are part of the plan. Downtown is surrounded by a variety of residential neighborhoods, a unique condition for an urban waterfront. The plan should reinforce residential development north and south of Downtown along the riverfront. The north end has to overcome industrial presence, and the south end the effects of the interstate.
  12. Authenticity. The riverfront is for Mem-phians first and must combine the city’s historic character with future development.
  13. Enhancement of tourist experience. The newly designed riverfront will provide an additional tourist attraction to the City of Memphis, by providing an enhanced visitor experience that entertains the entire family.

The goals of this Master Plan are: to create an active, publicly accessible waterfront; to create a connected riverfront park system; to connect Downtown directly to the Mississippi; to provide a variety of riverfront experiences (active, passive, cultural, commercial, recreational, residential and tourist); and finally to ensure that the public realm is the most important aspect of the new Mississippi Riverfront.

Precedents

Memphis can benefit from the success of other waterfronts. While no other place is like Memphis, other cities have had to consider similar issues that will shape the Memphis riverfront. The Master Plan is informed by lessons learned from other important waterfronts.

Baltimore’s Inner Harbor was once an underutilized body of water at the foot of Downtown. By introducing activity in the water, and enforcing an open space plan, Baltimore’s Inner Harbor has become a key model for waterfront revitalization.

Pittsburgh created Point Park, a public place on their most valuable real estate. That small park reestablished the three riverfronts as the city’s primary addresses and new Downtown investment followed.

Portland, Oregon has transformed its Downtown by making its entire riverfront accessible and friendly to pedestrians. Its light rail system has become a national model for convenient Downtown pedestrian travel.

Paris, France has for centuries battled the floods of the Seine. The floodwalls and quay have become city treasures, designed to be under floodwater part of the year.

Sydney’s Darling Harbor has merged the commercial potential of their Downtown with the commercial potential of the water. It has become one of the world’s most dynamic waterfronts.

Design Principles

The analysis looked at what already exists, and the strengths and opportunities on the riverfront that the Master Plan can build upon. The plan wants to be authentic, to integrate with the city, and be designed to feel as if it is a distinct part of a larger city. The Master Plan is guided, both generally and in detailed thinking, by the following design principles:

  1. Create a continuous, publicly accessible riverfront.
  2. Consider the riverfront as a series of unique neighborhoods linked to the river through important east-west corridors.
  3. Develop Riverside Drive as a civic street by shifting its traffic burden to Second and Third Streets.
  4. Develop the Wolf River Harbor as a primary open space resource for all neighborhoods on the north end.
  5. Maximize mixed-use development along Front Street and the Overton Heir Blocks.
  6. Reinforce Beale Street as an urban entertainment district with a special destination at the riverfront.
  7. Restore the Cobblestones to their historic uniqueness, and establish them as a great commercial boat landing and civic square at the foot of Union Avenue.
  8. Provide plentiful, direct, convenient public access to Mud Island and develop it as a special waterfront district.
  9. Improve Tom Lee Park to accommodate greater casual use while remaining flexible enough for major events.
  10. Establish the tip of Mud Island as a new public place to overlook and experience the Mississippi River.

Master Plan Elements

The following sections illustrate how the design principles are integrated into a single, coordinated Master Plan. The Master Plan is composed of two fundamental elements: first is the public realm, which is fixed in its delineation and consists of street, parks, esplanades and all public connections to the riverfront; second are private development blocks and parcels which are flexible to a great degree, are market responsive, and are generally guided to ensure an appropriate public realm at the riverfront.

A Five-Mile Plan
The entire frontage has been considered as a single design based on a beautiful and varied system of parks, promenades, overlooks and edges along the riverfront. The plan suggests an urban environment Downtown with the design of parks and promenades being more manicured and hardscaped. To the north and south the park and public place elements gradually become more naturalistic, and culminating at the Wolf River to the north and the Chickasaw Heritage Park to the south.

The Downtown Harbor
The single most important defining element in the plan is the Land Bridge, which extends the fabric of the city to the Mississippi River. The Land Bridge defines a new riverfront neighborhood, and creates two new bodies of water: a Downtown commercial Harbor at the Cobblestones, and a new stabilized Lake north of Poplar Avenue. This single gesture will transform the nature of the entire Downtown riverfront. The Land Bridge enables many street connections to the river by extending Poplar, Washington, Adams, and Jefferson Avenues directly onto Mud Island. Court Street is extended to a new semi-circular, pedestrian amphitheater-style gathering place as another means to access Mud Island and have views of the new Harbor and the Mississippi River. The Land Bridge also creates new riverfront real estate that adds greatly to the development potential of Downtown.

Street and Block Plan
The proposed street and block plan starts with the existing Memphis grid. But where the Downtown grid is composed largely of repetitive square blocks, the new pattern at the riverfront proposes a variety of block shapes. The block pattern establishes a new district extending from Downtown. The street and block plan is designed to meet the following objectives:

  1. Extend east-west streets all the way to the riverfront, each with a purposeful and different ending at the water.
  2. Establish new north-south streets, which are short and intimate, unique to the riverfront.
  3. Accommodate infill development within the existing grid, especially between Riverside Drive and Main Street.
  4. Allow for a truly mixed-use environment on the riverfront including commercial offices and residential, destination retail, expansion or reconstruction of the Mississippi River Museum, and other cultural institutions, expansion of the Convention Center, a new Pyramid District, and the extension of Harbor Town-like housing south to the Hernando- DeSoto Bridge.

Key Streets
The east-west streets are designed to end purposefully at the riverfront. The north-south streets are designed to connect neighborhoods and districts along the riverfront.

East-West Streets

  1. Beale Street – will end at a new landing at the foot of Beale in Tom Lee Park.
  2. Union Avenue – The most important street Downtown will arrive at the Downtown Harbor, centered on the Cobblestones and riverwalk esplanade, and extend over the Harbor via pedestrian bridge to Point Park.
  3. Jefferson/Adams Avenues – Working as a couple, these streets extend Downtown to the riverfront.
  4. Washington Avenue – Part pedestrian and part vehicular, the street connects Civic Center Plaza to the riverfront.
  5. Poplar Avenue – As an important arrival for points from the east, this street is best known for its framed view of the Hernando-DeSoto Bridge, and is to be extended all the way to the Mississippi, landing at the base of the Hernando- DeSoto Bridge.

North-South Streets

  1. Riverside Drive – This street will be transformed from its role of connecting high ways (I-40 and I-55) to simply becoming a pedestrian oriented, Downtown civic street. Riverside Drive will end at Jefferson Avenue and will be narrowed north of Beale Street. On weekends a portion of the street north of Union Avenue may be closed for street festivals and farmer’s markets.
  2. Front Street – Will be reinforced as the primary commercial office street “at the top of the bluff.”
  3. Island Drive – This drive will extend south, under the Hernando-DeSoto Bridge, connect to many Downtown streets, and provide access to Point Park.
  4. Second/Third Streets – Will become primary traffic carriers for Downtown traffic, extend Downtown access to its north and south ends, and supplant Riverside Drive as the primary highway access.

Open Space Plan
Within the larger comprehensive riverfront park system, the open space plan for Downtown’s riverfront is designed to restore a sense of public places at the riverfront, re-establish Downtown’s connection to the Mississippi River, provide new riverfront addresses to enhance Downtown real estate, and balance the needs of all users, including residents, workers, tourists, and visitors. The open space plan is rich and complex, with a variety of experiences, park and street types, and opportunities to view the river all taken into consideration. The complexity of the plan is intentional, as a response to many existing conditions, and to develop a rich experience. But the underlying organization is simple. Downtown’s open space plan is composed of three components:

  1. Mississippi River Parks – Tom Lee Park and Greenbelt Park form the basis of this system. The two parks are not connected today but the plan foresees a continuous group of parks, including the renovated Cobblestones and riverwalk esplanade, the amphitheater-style gathering place, Point Park, and an extension of Greenbelt Park to complete the connection between the two existing parks.
  2. The Lake Parks – When the Wolf River Harbor becomes a stabilized Lake, all of the land at its edges will become a park system. Just south of the Hernando-DeSoto Bridge the Lake ends in a basin surrounded by an urban park edge. As the water and parks move northward, the environment becomes more naturalistic.
  3. Main Street and Downtown Parks – Court Square, Confederate Park, and Civic Center Plaza are included in a larger composition of Downtown parks organized along Main Street and the extension of Washington Avenue to the riverfront. New parks include Beale Street Square at the intersection of Main Street and Beale Street. Civic Center Plaza will be extended over Front Street as a pedestrian extension of the Washington Avenue corridor. This will end at Washington Terrace, an intimate residential address at the riverfront. Poplar Avenue extends all the way to the base of the Hernando-DeSoto Bridge, ending at Poplar Place, but not before bending around the basin, a new commercial promenade at the foot of the Lake. Finally, an important connection will be made dir-ectly between the head of the Harbor and foot of the Lake by Canal Street, a new, small-scale commercial street with a canal-like water feature running down the middle of it.

The open space plan is organized as a sequence of experiences that create special places within the plan. The existing riverwalk is proposed to follow the Mississippi River parks. The Downtown Harbor is framed by the Cobblestones, the amphitheater-style gathering place, and the terraced gardens of Point Park, creating a spectacular setting. The new neighborhood on the Land Bridge engages four water amenities: a new canal, the Lake, the Downtown Harbor, and the Mississippi River.

The Water Plan
The key to the Memphis riverfront Master Plan is the water: Water is the “gold” that creates value and becomes an attraction in and of itself. By developing a water plan, we create a riverfront that is complete. The water becomes part of the designed experience of the riverfront, and the water plan informs landside open space and development decisions. The plan seeks authenticity, and nothing is more authentic to the identity of Memphis than the Mississippi River. The goal of the water plan is to create as much variety as possible, developing a way to connect special places in the city to special places on the water. The water plan contains three primary bodies of water:

  1. The Mississippi River
    This is one of the three or four greatest and most recognizable rivers in the world. It is Memphis’ Empire State Building and Eiffel Tower. It is one of the most powerful forces in nature; its might, massive scale, and strong currents are a sight to behold. The mission is simple. Provide as many ways as possible to get above, beside, on or near the river. You don’t change this river, you respect it, and the plan defers to the river with understated awe, every individual coming to their own understanding of it.
  2. The Downtown Harbor
    This small river Harbor may become the most unique body of water, connected directly to the Mississippi River. This small sheltered inlet, naturally protected from the river’s devastating current, is defined by its location at the foot of Downtown and a compelling historic artifact: the Cobblestones. The Cobblestones are amphibious in nature, part land, part water and are the perfect form for boat landings given the river’s rising and falling tendency. A full restoration and retro-fit of the Cobblestones into a contemporary state-of-the-art riverboat landing with dining and retail opportunities is essential to the success of the Harbor. This Harbor is the place where river life will come to rest in Memphis. The mouth of the Harbor will be a new landing at the foot of Beale, designed to accommodate the largest commercial riverboats, and facilities for passengers with baggage and local transportation needs. The main body of the Harbor accommodates local, commercial, recreational, and private boat needs. A 200’ wide navigation channel remains along the Harbor’s west side, ending at the amphitheater-style gathering place, in front of which docking for various boats would be available. The Union Avenue Bridge, a pedestrian crossing, creates two sections of the Harbor, a logical separation with larger boats to the south and smaller and permanent boats to the north. Simply put, the Harbor is the reintroduction of river boating, once a familiar scene, back to the Memphis riverfront in a contemporary way, providing unique retail and dining opportunities that bring boaters into the city and downtowners to the river.
  3. The Lake
    This body of water is designed as a stabilized Lake and a recreational resource for neighborhoods around it. By stabilizing the water level, the banks can become useful parks and provide access to the water at many points. The Lake is to become a recreational body of water, a safe and leisurely alternative to the Mississippi River, which can be dangerous and is often avoided by most recreational boaters. Most of the Lake will remain as naturalistic as it feels today, but the north and south ends of the Lake will change. The Lake’s basin will be a more urbanized Lake environment with hardscaped edges and Downtown development around the perimeter of the basin becoming a front door for the Convention Center, Pyramid, and other tourist attractions.

Land Use
The distribution of land uses throughout the Riverfront Master Plan supports the creation of a mixed-use environment where the emphasis is on the public open spaces. The proposed uses generally follow or expand upon the pattern of uses found at the riverfront today. The trend for residential uses and living on the riverfront position Memphis as one of the most unique downtowns in the region. The general intent of the land use strategy is to balance enough dense commercial development with less dense residential development, seeking an environment appropriate to the culture of Memphis, with market responsiveness and economic feasibility.

The Overton Heirs Blocks orPromenade, as the land has come to be known, originally encompassed all of the land west of Front Street from Auction Avenue to Beale Street. This land has not become the great Mississippi River overlook as once envisioned. On this promenade sit three public parking garages, some of the Memphis Cook Convention Center, the Tennessee Welcome Center and its parking area, concrete columns supporting the I-40 ramps and roadways, Memphis Fire Department Headquarters, among other elements not normally located along great riverfronts.

This plan proposes mixed use development that includes residential, retail, commercial and open spaces, which will better reconnect Downtown to the riverfront.

At the heart of the land use plan will be a predominantly residential/ mixed-use neighborhood on the Land Bridge. All other new development will be related to this waterfront neighborhood. To the east, Front Street will continue to become established as a commercial mixed-use street with some residential included in the mix. The development of riverfront blocks along Beale Street are seen as a similar mix of uses. To the west, north of the Hernando-DeSoto Bridge, will become a new predominantly residential neighborhood, which extends from the Mississippi River to the Lake. This neighborhood will provide new housing directly on the banks of the Mississippi. To the east, north of the Hernando-DeSoto Bridge is a district of largescaled special uses supporting the Pyramid and Convention Center. To the south, the area around the new Harbor will contain retail and dining options that leverage and support that of existing facilities such as Peabody Place Retail and Entertainment Center. Finally, a cultural district will be established between the Mississippi River, the Downtown Harbor, and Point Park, which are seen as the grounds for the cultural district.

In 1819, John Overton, James Winchester and Andrew Jackson set aside a large portion of their newly purchased Fourth Chickasaw Bluff as “. . . an ample vacant space, reserved as promenade; all of which must contribute very much to the health and comfort of the place as well as to its security and ornament.”

Building Form and Height
The intent of recommendations on building form and height is to reinforce the goals of the open space plan: to frame public spaces, define street and view corridors, and to reinforce the concept of linking inland neighborhoods to the riverfront. The general approach is that the lowest buildings are those directly fronting on a body of water and building heights “step up” as development occurs further from the water’s edge allowing everyone to share views to the river. To that end, the “wall” of buildings along Front Street, 120’ – 150’ tall, will be reinforced with similar structures with exceptions allowed at important intersections with Beale, Union, Jefferson, and Poplar. The remainder of the plan is considered as low- to mid-rise. The most important characteristic is that building walls are built to reinforce street corridors and public places on which they front. The plan relies on groups of buildings to coordinate and shape public places rather than any single building becoming more important than the others.

Special Places
Place-making is the essential ingredient of urban design. Memphis’ riverfront must become a well-designed environment with a variety of things for people to see and do and become a memorable experience. The Master Plan proposes many special places within the plan, each one different from another. But as a whole they work together by focusing on the Mississippi River, making the riverfront the new “place to be” in Downtown Memphis.

The Downtown Harbor
strives to become the next great place in the city. Here, Downtown purposefully meets the riverfront in the most public way. There will be no shortage of things to do. The Harbor will be lined with unique shops and restaurants, there could be open air concerts on a floating barge at the base of the amphitheaterstyle gathering place, you can take a cruise on a variety of commercial riverboats offering dinner, sightseeing, and other entertainment. You will be able to stroll over the Harbor on the Union Avenue Bridge, to Point Park, the tip of Mud Island for the most unique way to experience the Mississippi River. Walk along the riverwalk esplanade atop the Cobblestones, the city’s new “front porch” to Beale Street Landing where a new restaurant sits at the edge of the river. If you live Downtown, take the trolley to the Harbor. If you work Downtown, walk through Court Square, Main Street, and Confederate Park to get to the Harbor. If you are at a Redbirds game, a short walk down Union Avenue will lead to the Harbor. If you are a visitor on Beale Street, the Harbor will certainly be part of your evening’s entertainment. There will be no other public place comparable in any other city along the Mississippi River and no other address as desirable for private development.

Point Park
The southern tip of Mud Island, often seen but seldom visited by Memphians, will become the city’s next great park, and the crown jewel of all Mississippi River parks. As a peninsula, the park takes full advantage of its riverfront setting. The north end of the park is formed by the cultural district, and the west side by the riverwalk, completing the connection between the city and the river. The east side of the park facing the Harbor, are the terraced gardens. This is a special landscaped public place designed to flood and provide tie-ups for transient boats. The visual effect should feel as if Point Park is terracing down into the Harbor.

The Amphitheater
frames the north end of the Harbor. This semi-circular grass and stone landscape will be partially under water at high river levels, but will always be a public performance and gathering space. Around the circular form will be retail, restaurants, and smaller cultural institutions and attractions on two levels with arcades and verandas providing southern architectural character. A floating barge could provide opportunities for open-air concerts and other public performances. At low water the amphitheater will accommodate up to 10,000 people.

The Cobblestones
are Memphis’ most treasured historic river resource. No credible Master Plan could be put forth without their inclusion. In fact, the Cobblestones are situated in the most strategic Downtown location, at the foot of Union Avenue. In order to have a successful Downtown Harbor and riverfront, the Cobblestones must be greatly improved from the vast eyesore that they are today. The plan envisions the north and south ends of the Cobblestones being framed by public stairs, which provide safe access down to the water. The Cobblestones themselves must be properly reset and retrofitted in an historically sensitive manner with state-of-the-art services and dock facilities needed by commercial riverboat operators. Finally, the top of the Cobblestones along Riverside Drive must be treated as more than a simple sidewalk. The entire length is proposed to become the riverwalk esplanade, establishing the Cobblestones as the new civic centerpiece of Memphis’ riverfront.

The Riverwalk Esplanade
is the great promenade at the top of the Cobblestones. It is to be part of the bluff/riverwalk system, but a grand civic space at the same time. It is envisioned to be 30 feet in width with special lighting and boardwalk flooring. The esplanade should extend the entire length of the Cobblestones, becoming the city’s front porch onto the Mississippi.

Beale Street Landing
terminates Beale Street at the river with a public overlook. The landing is also designed to accommodate the largest commercial riverboats, including baggage handling and transportation needs of passengers. This public space also functions as a transition between Tom Lee Park and the Cobblestones, which have never been directly connected. There will be a restaurant at the landing and Beale Street will end with a view of the “Memphis Elevator,” a contemporary version of the historic dock structure once found here that boat passengers will disembark upon.

Tom Lee Park
will remain the city’s waterfront events park, home to Memphis in May. With minor design changes, the park can become a better pedestrian park, but any future design should reinforce the view of the Mississippi River from Riverside Drive, especially when entering the city from the south.

The Lake Basin
will become an important public space on the Lake. Poplar Avenue, one of the city’s most important east-west streets, will bend around the Basin. The Basin is expected to be one of the most active places on the Lake, where the Convention Center, retail, commercial office and residential come together. This is a place where pleasure boaters on the Lake may tie up and walk to Downtown. There will be no permanent tie-ups here, only transient slips to emphasize the public nature of the Lake.

Greenbelt Park
will be extended south to Point Park. For the first time, the entire Mississippi River frontage on Mud Island will be public and walkable. South of the Auction Avenue Bridge, the park will be lined with housing on the riverfront. South of the Hernando-DeSoto Bridge the park will open up and include the Mississippi River model, and the Museum of the Mississippi River. The civic and the cultural district will be an important part of the park environment in this area. The extension of Greenbelt Park ensures continuous public connection with the riverwalk along the entire river frontage.

Poplar Place
is a small riverfront park designed to frame the view of the Hernando- DeSoto Bridge from Poplar Avenue.

Washington Terrace
is a small residential court ending Washington Avenue, which connects back to Downtown at Civic Center Plaza, and to the riverfront.

Jefferson Square
provides a purposeful end for Jefferson Avenue at the cultural district on the riverfront.

Canal Street
is designed to be an intimate, active retail and shopping street that connects the Downtown Harbor to the Lake. This short street will be for pedestrians and, not surprisingly, will have a canal running down the middle of it and will remind many people of San Antonio. The canal will have small reflecting pools at each end to further connect the Harbor and the Lake.

The Lake Estates
is a new neighborhood between the Auction Avenue and Hernando-DeSoto Bridges. The development will front on both the Lake and the Mississippi River. In concept, this place will be modeled after Harbor Town with one exception: there will be estate homes across Island Drive, fronting on the Mississippi River.

The Civic and Cultural District
starts with the Museum of the Mississippi River. It is the consensus of the design team that this institution can be better, can draw more visitors, can become more attractive and accessible, and must undergo changes in order to do so. The future of the museum includes a major renovation and addition, at a minimum or, more likely, construction of a new museum at the front of Point Park. The institution would be the backbone of a riverfront cultural district, designed to tell the story of the Mississippi River in new and state-of-the-art ways.

Union Avenue Bridge
will likely come in the later portion of the project but is conceived to be more than a shortcut to Mud Island. It is thought of as a public place to “see and be seen,” to provide a new way to view the Harbor and Mississippi, and to provide a new symbol for the riverfront, completing a new image of Downtown and the river coming together again.

Conclusion
The recommendations made in the Riverfront Master Plan are based on an important notion, that the riverfront is for everyone, yet only a few can live or work here. The plan strives to create an active waterfront with something for everyone. The plan recommends a system of connected riverfront parks to ensure that the entire river frontage is publicly accessible. It is important that today’s Downtown becomes an integral, connected part of the new riverfront. No plan can be successful on its own; it has to build on existing successes. Because this is a large riverfront, the plan incorporates a variety of ways to experience the riverfront, from active to passive, day and night, families and individuals, locals and tourists, and boaters and non-boaters alike. Finally, the plan’s emphasis is on the public realm as the most important element of the riverfront plan. The Mississippi River is an extraordinary physical attraction, and this plan recommends a mixeduse development strategy aimed at fully maximizing the value potential of the river as a draw and address. The strategy is to extend Downtown to the Mississippi River by extending familiar streets: Union, Jefferson, Adams, Washington, and Poplar.