Tom Lee Park

Tom Lee Park is located to the immediate west of downtown Memphis, Tennessee, overlooking the Mississippi River. The park was named after Tom Lee, an African-American river worker, who saved the lives of 32 passengers of the sinking steamboat M.E. Norman in 1925.

The park encompasses approximately 30 acres parallel to the Mississippi River for about one mile, and includes the addition of more than 1,000 newly planted trees and other natural flora. Tom Lee Park offers panoramic views of the Mississippi River and the shores of Arkansas on the opposite side. Tom Lee Park is a popular location for walkers, joggers, rollerbladers and cyclists, and hosts one event per year, the Beale Street Music Festival that kicks off Memphis in May.

The Tom Lee Park Sunset Canopy framing features box frames measuring 6’0”x18’0”x18’0” housing a complex “Teepee” pipe column splice. A duplex system of hot-dip galvanizing and wet paint was specified for this project due to the coating durability, corrosion performance, and overall appearance. Early in the project Grinder Fabricating & Erection, Inc. decided they wanted to maximize the frame size with the internal pipe columns to aid the complicated erection process.

They worked closely with the galvanizer over several meetings and reviewed several AGA design documents to make sure the hot-dip galvanizing would be successful.