"The State Of The City" And Stuff

(artistic rendering by Fuss & O'Neill Inc., via The CA)

Effin' Memphis did not go to the mayor's State of the City address. We were busy. The overall feeling we get though is that, as ever, the actual state of the city is tenuous but hopeful. Yesterday was kind of a shitty day, was it not? We learned that Pinnacle Airlines is leaving Memphis, in a move that surprised no one except the people quoted in the CA piece. We learned that the auction of the 19th Century Club on Union did not go well, as the highest bidder of course plans to raze the only remaining evidence that Union Avenue was once pretty, as opposed to the Midtown fly-over it has become. A competing bid would have transformed the home into a sort of home base for businesses run by women. Heaven forfend something remotely progressive happen to the space, I guess.

That said, it is good to remember, as the mayor pointed out, that Electrolux and Mitsubishi are both bringing jerbs to the Mid-South, so it's not like corporations are just picking up and leaving Memphis in droves. Also, according to a friend who was there, the mayor is proud of the fact that, while Memphis used to be ranked as one of the worst cities for cyclists, we are now considered one of the most innovative! That is good! One thing about cities that have reached the, ahem, pinnacle of where we're trying to go, is that they're a bit healthier and willing to move around than we have historically been, and anything that offers alternatives to the car-based Memphis lifestyle is a step in the right direction.

Here is another cool thing!

The rejuvenation of Broad Avenue may now become two-sided with a project that embraces the street's industrial buildings and redefines "loading dock.'' The proposed Water Tower Art Depot is a finalist for a $400,000 to $600,000 grant from ArtPlace, a national collaboration that supports "place-making." 

[...] 

The Water Tower Art Depot would not only make Broad's well known, 140-foot-tall industrial water tower into a public art beacon, the project would transform exterior warehouse spaces into an amphitheater for performance and art exhibits. 

Hey, now, we like that idea! The fact that the Broad corridor even exists in its current form is a testament to the creative minds of this city, and we need to be supporting those businesses on a regular basis to show that we value such innovation. Years ago, your editor used to take piano lessons at Rhodes and had to drive Broad every day to get there, and if you had told him then that one day in the not too distant future, there would be neighborhood festivals and bike lanes and bars and restaurants and art galleries in that space, he would have been skeptical. That little picture above shows what it would look like once completed.

So, since this is Effin' Memphis, and part of our point for existing is keeping people engaged in making the city better, as we head into the weekend, here are a few suggestions. If garage rock is your thing, head to the Hi-Tone to see The Whigs tomorrow night. Ty Segall, another one of those artists that's on everybody's "best-of" lists this year, is there Sunday night. (Listen to their music in the Spotify player up there.) Bill Maher is at the Orpheum tomorrow night, and coming from a household where Real Time is watched throughout the week, we support that wholeheartedly. Trolley Tour is tonight in South Main -- yes, it is cold, but you can layer, and free wine always warms people up.

Regular posting will begin next week, so if you have submissions/ideas/suggestions/questions, send 'em on to effinmemphis at gmail dot com.

What are you all getting into this weekend that other readers should know about? Leave comments, either here or on the Facebooks, and if you missed our intro letter, check that out here.