MEMPHIS, Tenn. — If you haven’t been to downtown Memphis lately, you’d be pleasantly surprised by all the new construction that has broken out all over. From South Main to the Pinch District, new development and renovations to existing structures have remade the look of the Bluff City’s front door. Where there was once vacant land or blighted buildings, new hotels now stand on Beale Street and Union Avenue.
So it’s safe to say that downtown is making a statement. But a bid to make one literally has been rejected, at least for now. The Memphis River Parks Partnership wanted to erect a sign at Mud Island River Park that reads We Have no time for Things with no soul. The dominant words would read We Have Soul – which seems very appropriate for Memphis, right? But nearby residents objected to the 40-by-46 foot sign. And Wednesday, the Downtown Memphis Commission’s Design Review Board said no to the soulful message.
The sign was meant to temporary. Sort of a sassy way to describe this city’s heritage and its downtown revival. But one review board member objected to the sign’s size, saying at 1840 square feet, it would be larger than the average house in Memphis.
So for now, we’ll just have to make due with all the new downtown venues. But sign or no sign, Memphis still has a whole lot of soul. And that’s my point of view.