Located in Memphis, Tenn., on the Mississippi River, the new Beale Street Landing consists of a public park, passenger boat docking facility, and terminal building. A modern, world-class docking facility was needed to better accommodate passenger boat traffic up and down America’s most used interior waterway. A secondary goal of the design was to create a unique public space and destination linking downtown Memphis to the riverfront and Tom Lee Park, Memphis’s major event and festival venue.

The yearly river stage cycle causes the project site to be submerged regularly, so the desired size and scope of this project presented several civil engineering challenges. In addition, the 600 feet of waterfront allocated for the landing required a highly orchestrated bank stabilization effort.Memphis sits at the widest point on the Mississippi River and provides docking access for countless local excursion boats and approximately 50 stops from three major passenger vessels each year. To provide historical context, the adjacent Historic Cobblestone Landing is one of the nation’s largest remaining cobblestone landings and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The landing was built in the second half of the 1800s to accommodate the heavy traffic of incoming ships that traded their cargo for loads of cotton, lumber, and other goods. This landing allowed Memphis to blossom as a major river port and still operates for leisure boat docking. However, the cobblestones are in need of repair, and the opening of Beale Street Landing will allow the city to divert traffic from the Historic Cobblestone Landing and begin restoration.

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