I've spent part of the last two days traveling around Whitehaven. I think it's a fascinating area of the city, and far less blighted than its reputation in certain quarters. I tend to think that this neighborhood is a good gauge for the city as a whole in the future.
It's easy to imagine that Midtown, East Memphis, and even Downtown will remain stable communities years into the future. It's similarly easy to imagine areas like Hickory Hill, Cordova, and Berclair becoming more blighted. If you were to tell me that Whitehaven is a uniformly unsafe and blighted community in twenty years, I would expect Downtown, East Memphis, and Midtown to also be less stable. If you were to tell me that Whitehaven in twenty years is thriving, then I would probably think Berclair, Hickory Hill, and Cordova would be stable communities. This is just a hunch I have. I haven't really thought about why I think so.
The future notwithstanding, it's entirely possible to drive around Whitehaven today and have no inkling that the area has any problem with crime and neglect (mostly this involves staying away from Brooks/Millbranch area). There are a number of quite fetching neighborhoods in great condition, as well as great retail options on Elvis Presley south of Graceland.
The Elvis Presley Boulevard commercial strip, from Graceland to Shelby Drive, is very interesting to me. You don't see all of the stores that would accompany big strip developments on say Houston Levee, but the stores you do see are well kept up. Whitehaven seems to have a good number of locally owned stores, which seems very healthy. The Southland Mall is a revelation to me. The mall is spotless. People walking for fitness greatly outnumber the lingering teenagers you see in every other mall in town. I saw maybe three vacancies in the whole complex. There is a great mix of local stores and national chains. Again, the stores are not as upmarket as those you would find at Wolfchase, but are well maintained.
Whitehaven's proximity to Downtown, the Airport, and North Mississippi bode well for its future. Massive development around Graceland, as well as investment in the concept of the Aerotropolis will hopefully in sure that most of the world's first and last impression of Memphis will be a good one.
Update: Since I wrote this post last night, the Memphis Flyer has a cover story on the plans by CKX, the company that owns American Idol, to redevelop the tourist complex around Graceland. Somewhat disappointingly, the article doesn't speak much to the state of the neighborhood itself, or how such an investment will help it. The southbound approach to Graceland, which is the one used by almost all tourists is decidedly more run down than the northbound approach, so any investment there will be good. The link to the Flyer article isn't up yet, but you should be able to find it here soon: http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/Content?oid=oid%3A37881
Also of interest might be this discussion from the Smart City Memphis blog last May.
At any rate, here are some pictures from my wanderings yesterday.
Whitehaven has a good mix of residential stock:
This neighborhood is on the east side of Whitehaven between I-55 and the Airport.
There are several new subdivisions with houses like those found in Olive Branch or Cordova.
The area just west of Graceland shelters some very lovely homes on gently hilly terrain. I believe the neighborhood is named Bluebird Estates. There is some infill going on there as well, which is a healthy sign.
If you've never been, the Whitehaven Branch Library at Raines and Millbranch is lovely. It's done in an Art and Crafts style, even going so far as to include Morris Chairs and Benches for seating with Mission Style tables, as well as appropriate light fixtures. The library manager very politely asked that I not take pictures of the interior, so you'll have to go experience it for yourself. The design lends itself to a certain quiet that one expects of libraries, as opposed to the Central Library, excuse me er...the 'Infohub' which makes me want to yell loudly.
In closing I'm including a picture of Whitehaven Presbyterian on Shelby Drive, which I think rivals Holy Communion Episcopal and Evergreen Presbyterian in its combination of lovely architecture and setting.
8 comments:
Has anyone suggested changing the name? Over the 30 plus years I have lived in San Francisco, I have periodically explained the origin of my high school's name, White Station, usually after my native-Californian wife has drug out my senior year annual to embarrass me. To mollify these West Coasters' disappointment for the failure to support stereotype, I throw them them the Whitehaven bone for their enjoyment.
You should have no shame about Col. Eppy White.
i have a question about logistics. when you take pictures, do you stop and get out of your car and walk around or do you point and click from the car window - or is it a function of where you happen to be, i.e. in a residential place vs. business vs. street...
what's your photography philosophy?
A little of both I suppose. It depends on the weather and how much time I have to kill. In this case the answer to the first question was "bad" and the second was "not much".
As I look over the pictures in this post, all of the pictures were taken from the car window except the library ones.
If I had the time, I'd like to get out and walk around somewhere like Uptown or the College Park development. You miss a lot in the car, and you miss out on human interactions that tell you more about a place than pictures.
On the other hand, human interaction in this post, i.e. when I asked permission to take pictures in the library, ended up making me lose some pictures. Probably always better to ask forgiveness when you've got a camera.
I would like to say thank you for plugging my street Bluebird in Bluebird Estates. Frankly, I was thinking of moving out of Whitehaven soon. Because of the area's decline. The new neighbors or resident (better word) aren't really interested in keeping up their property. I don't know what it is. I love areas like Chicksaw Gardens, Berclair, Highpoint Terrace, Midtown and the close surrounding areas of U of M. There is Neighborly energy there that we have apparently lost and I can't wait until it returns.
Your blog will be on my tops and I can't wait to read future post.
interestingly enough, southland mall was the first mall in memphis.
Shannon- They built them a lot smaller back then, which I imagine has helped it survive over the years. It's certainly a lot easier to keep occupied than something on the scale of Hickory Ridge or the Mall of Memphis.
Does anyone know if the crazy faceless statues and fountains are in the Hickory Ridge Mall. Those and all the interior greenery made it a pleasant place to wander around.
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I can vouch from experience that there are many people like you who are concerned about blighted property in Whitehaven. Most of the people who have shared these concerns with me are over the age of 60. Getting young people involved in the future of their neighborhood is difficult, even in the places that you mentioned.
I'm not sure how to get young people to put down roots in a community such that they care enough to fight for it early and often. Good schools would help. Whitehaven has John P. Freeman, which I know is excellent. I hear mixed things about Whitehaven High, but little good about Fairley or Hillcrest.
As with most things in Memphis right now, I view the future of Whitehaven with a mixture of hope and dread. Things could get much better or much worse, though it's hard to imagine them staying the same.
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