Vacant storefronts in downtown Memphis

[Rardy]

I know that the CCC is working on a public art project to feature local artists in vacant storefronts along South Main with paintings, sculptures, etc.

[G-townTN]

Nashville already has guitars, maybe we could have "blues" notes.

[TchulahomaKid38118]

i love memphis but not the bums that litter the street....especially when they are aggressive and have been known to be recently.

[tennreb]

Nashville already has guitars, maybe we could have "blues" notes.

[TennBear]

Jackson, Miss used to have catfishes. Maybe we could have pigs.

[tennreb]

Cincinnati has had pigs. Usually the city's have groups decorate animals that go with the city and then have them out for a period of time and then auction them off as art pieces. Adds street interest for a while and then helps raise money for organizations within the city.

[Rural King]

^I was taught back as an undergrad that it used to be called "Porkopolis" because it was once a major trading center for swine and meatpacking.

[NickR78]

i think every vacant storefront should be a BBQ. hehe.

[jmduke]

Cincinnati was the original western ag market that Chicago and Kansas City later became. Hogs were a major commodity back in the early 1800s when Cincy really began to take off in ag trading. "The Natty" was pretty much the major western city until the mid 1800s when Chicago and St. Louis took over.

Tennessee used to be known as the "Hogs and Hominy" state in ag circles, with much of the former going to Cincinnati for trade. Memphis' claim to fame comes more from consumption; speaking of which, I am a tad hungry.

Along the lines of products that used to be traded back in the 1800s, what about a mule statue? Memphis used the be the major mule trading market of the country a long time ago. Gotta pay a little respect to our sure-footed, plow-pulling friends...

[tnse]

Kinda along with that, I know a lot of cities have themes that local artists develop into sculptures that are placed in prominent locations around town.

I know Anchorage, AK has bears everywhere (super cool!), New Orleans does fleur-de-lis, I believe, and Omaha has giant "O!"s everywhere (look at them here). If Memphis did something similar DT, I think it would be a really neat way to brand Memphis and remind people DT that they indeed are in Memphis and it is a truly unique place.

I think big M's everywhere would be cool, or maybe guitars or something music-related.

[Clobber]

How about giant cartouches, obelisks, or ancient-style columns (whether greek, egyptian, roman, whatever)?

[sleepy]

Ok so pigs are taken, and though Memphis is known fow BBQ maybe we should do something else. I Musical note sounds nice. But sometimes it seems Memphis focuses too much on music. How about a Tiger? Or a bear (Grizzly). Maybe an airplane (transport or FedEx)? A tiger would be a bolder animal than a pig and would also support th University. Maybe some of the students an the art program kick the first one off at the campus. If it is a bear, maybe the Grizzlies help sponser the urban art program while brining civic pride and building their brand. If it is an aiplane, it help show Memphis is striving to be a world class city. It is about transportation, logistics and distribution. Maybe in that case, FedEx helps sponsort eh urban art program.

Anyway, I think it would take some effort on some organization to get such and art program started. Any ideas who? CCC? Memphis Arts comission? Maybe the people of this forum should voice their opinions to express such a need. Also, where would people sugest such items be placed?

Street vendors is a great idea. Why is it not allowed anywhere? There are street vendors selling all sorts of things in other major cities. NYC has vendors selling about any kind of food a person could want. They heven have awards for the best called the Vendy Awards. You can also buy t-shirts (I heart NY, FDNY, NYPD, etc.) and all sorts of souveniers. Street vendors should be allowed in the city. Doing so on Main Street would be a good start.

[mandrws1]

I for one think Memphis should embrace its Egyptian roots more. The Pyramid and the zoo are already in place. We just need a few more bold symbols to embrace the historical name and the similarities of both Memphises.

[Rural King]

I believe street vendors on Main are allowed, but with very heavy restrictions--only during certain events and with some heavy duty licensing fees. I understand too, though I may be wrong, that it's done through the Center City Commission. I suspect competition with established businesses is one factor, but then again, there's not many established businesses on many blocks of Main.

One of the best ways imho to help Main would be to open it up for traffic.

[fearlessvk]

I believe street vendors on Main are allowed, but with very heavy restrictions--only during certain events and with some heavy duty licensing fees. I understand too, though I may be wrong, that it's done through the Center City Commission. I suspect competition with established businesses is one factor, but then again, there's not many established businesses on many blocks of Main.

One of the best ways imho to help Main would be to open it up for traffic.

[fearlessvk]

Oh, and just to follow up on the street vendor idea that I floated - there are indeed a very, very few street vendors already on the Main Street Mall. There's one guy who's there pretty reliably, selling a variety of jewelry and trinkets. He's either on Main and Monroe or Main and Union, I forget...and just yesterday I noticed a small hot dog stand on Main and Union, which was also there again today.

[tennreb]

Oh, and just to follow up on the street vendor idea that I floated - there are indeed a very, very few street vendors already on the Main Street Mall. There's one guy who's there pretty reliably, selling a variety of jewelry and trinkets. He's either on Main and Monroe or Main and Union, I forget...and just yesterday I noticed a small hot dog stand on Main and Union, which was also there again today.

[Rural King]

Front Street is open to traffic and has WAY WAY less activity than Main Street. More abandoned storefronts, fewer pedestrians, much much less going on. So I'm not sure traffic is necessarily the key here...

[Rardy]

I agree Fearless, Main St. isn't a failure IMO. Opening it up to traffic would also require ripping up the trolley tracks. There are a lot of hotels that cater directly to the convention center and that's the main route the convention people walk. Every time I've been down there during lunch it's busy. Not so much at night, but during the day it's far from empty IMO. Of course if we could get some major retailers down there, it'd go nuts.

On the sculpture idea, what about something to do with our world cargo hub status? Sculptures of boxes could be rather cool if they're done right (and NOBODY else has that)...

Music notes would work. I'm guessing we've overused Elvis, right?

What about something representing the Mississippi River? Water themes could be cool too.

[Rural King]

^ The tracks are the major sticking point to re-opening Main Street. Double-tracked it would be a financial burden to rework that street and tracks at this point without a plan that guaranteed an upswing benefit in the development of the street. Again, good points being made here.

[sleepy]

^ The tracks are the major sticking point to re-opening Main Street. Double-tracked it would be a financial burden to rework that street and tracks at this point without a plan that guaranteed an upswing benefit in the development of the street. Again, good points being made here.

[Rardy]

Why would you have to re-work the street? Streetcars run with traffic on South and North Main. In New Orleans from Lee Circle to Canal which is a good half mile, the St. Charles line runs in traffic on Camp St. and St. Charles and that area is way more congested than anything would be on the present Mall.

[Rural King]

In regards to opening Main without re-working its current cofiguration;I wouldn't think there would be enough room for a proper sidewalk, one way traffic each way, and the double track and stations along the closed part of Main Street. Maybe there would be, but it seems like to me there would be safety concerns with all that packed into such a confined space.

[DoctorGonzo]

The utter lack of space for parking would make opening Main more trouble than it's worth. Not that cars and parking have helped most of Front St.

[mandrws1]

I actually started an earlier post on the subject of opening up Main Street. I think it would really help street level retail, etc. on the street. There are streets in Houston that are just as tight, if not tighter, than Main Street than have light rail and vehicle traffic.