Can Mud Island Park be brought back to life?
by: David Royer, Jerrita Patterson
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Reactivating Mud Island Park is on the city’s radar, officials say, but so far a plan for its future is as cloudy as the muddy Mississippi.
Mayor’s administration officials say they are working with stakeholders on a master plan for Mud Island, and for the entire riverfront.
“We are going to activate this, you have our promise,” interim city COO Antonio Adams told City Council on Tuesday, promising to bring a redevelopment plan to them at some point in the future.
But they admit there’s no solid plan on how to resuscitate Mud Island Park, which many describe as being on life support.
“It is the first park you seen when you’re going across the bridge, and it shouldn’t look dead,” Council Member Jana Swearengen-Washington said. “When I was over there, even some of the tourists that were walking asked me, ‘What’s going on? What happened with the park?’”
Mud Island River Park opened in 1982 but has seen better days. The monorail that once ferried visitors over the harbor hasn’t been in use since 2018 and has become a target for vandals. The amphitheater hasn’t hosted a concert since 2018. Escalators aren’t working. No water flows in parts of the riverwalk. Restaurants, a gift shop, and a museum are long-closed and much of the interior is left in the dark.
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