A group of Memphis pastors and community leaders is pushing a $20 million comeback for long-neglected Robert Church Park on Beale Street, unveiling a pitch on Tuesday to rebuild the historic site with a new auditorium and community spaces. Their goal is to revive what they describe as a missing cultural anchor just east of FedExForum and to reconnect downtown Memphis with its Black civic roots.
The proposal, presented Tuesday and headed for formal review by the Memphis City Council, calls for constructing a new auditorium on the park’s footprint and adding offices, senior services and an African American museum at an estimated cost of $20 million, according to WREG. Organizers say the mixed-use setup is designed to keep the site active throughout the year instead of leaving it as mostly empty public space that only comes alive for occasional events.
Robert R. Church Sr., born into slavery and later recognized as the South’s first Black millionaire, paid for Church Park and its original auditorium in 1899 to create recreation and performance space for Black Memphians, according to the city’s parks authority. Memphis Parks records describe early gardens, playgrounds, and civic amenities that once made the area a neighborhood hub…