A barge terminal seeks permission to build exceptionally tall silos, which some say will spoil river views from the Chickasaw ceremonial mounds on the South Bluff next the Metal Museum.

Opposition to the proposal has spread since American Commercial Barge Line last month filed for a zoning exception allowing it to build two 145-foot-high silos, where only 40-foot or 60-foot-tall structures are normally allowed.

"We would be opposed to anything that certainly sticks up above the bluffs there at Chickasaw (Heritage) Park,'' said Benny Lendermon, president of the Riverfront Development Corp. which maintains the park. "I think that would be atrocious.''

Sara Lewis, who has lived in the neighboring French Fort subdivision since 1969, said late last week that she did not have enough information to make an informed opinion. But she added, "That's the very best view in this city because it's so high up and unobstructed.

"... We think it is a landmark, and it is a historical landmark. Those Indian mounds were there before Memphis and Boss Crump and Beale Street, and will be there in perpetuity,'' Lewis said.

The silos would rise from the base of the bluff, which is 50 to 70 feet tall. That means the 145-foot-high, 43-foot-diameter structures would extend 75 to 95 feet above Metal Museum Drive, which loops atop the bluff, Lauren Crews said. The developer owns and plans to renovate the nearby, historic Marine Hospital into 85 apartments.

Chickasaw Heritage Park visitors can take in panoramic river views from Metal Museum Drive, or climb the burial mounds for even longer views.

That vista frames where the Mississippi River bends west, meaning sightseers experience a long, downriver view instead the cross-river view seen from Downtown Memphis, Crews said.

"It's one of the most beautiful vistas,'' he said. "Thousands of people go every year to stand at the top of the mounds at the west end of the park to enjoy the sunset.''

The flood of 2011 is the reason American Commercial Barge Line wants to build the silos at its Memphis terminal at 427 W. Illinois. That's where the company has operated a terminal — that has existed for nearly 100 years — for 37 years.

The floodwaters destroyed the company's 23 storage tanks that held such products as petroleum, diesel fuel, tallow, soybean oil and molasses. Ever since, operations have been limited to barge-to-truck product transfers and business volume has shrunk, George Piccioni states in the application to the Board of Adjustment. He is senior director for business development with the Indiana-based company.

Now, the barge firm is trying to rebuild business there in concert with a customer. The proposed silos would store dry cement, which would be later trucked to Mid-South customers.

Allowing the silos would help keep construction costs down in the Memphis area, Piccioni indicated in an email to The Commercial Appeal.

"Dry cement is the main ingredient used in ready-mix which is what makes concrete,'' he said. "This project allows more efficient access to a major cement producer that will result in more options for local projects and ready-mix consumers.  It would ultimately make construction projects and economic growth in the region more viable with lower infrastructure costs.

The dry cement company — the barge line's customer — evaluated other sites along the river in Memphis and also in West Memphis, Arkansas, Piccioni stated in his application. "Each of the alternatives considered required the construction of a new river facility. The Memphis terminal is an existing active facility and therefore minimizes the overall impact to the community and region.''

The silos would be 124 feet high, and dust-collector equipment would add another 21 feet.

The company originally planned to place the silos 250 to 300 feet north of the proposed spots, but determined those locations would "have a negative impact on the Metal Museum, their customers and the numerous photo opportunities that they enjoy from their property and gazebo,'' Piccioni wrote. The firm decided to move the proposed silos despite significantly higher costs, he said.

But the Metal Museum opposes even the revised plan for locating the silos.

"While we appreciate this gesture, silos of the proposed height located anywhere along this section of the Mississippi will disrupt the view of the river, a view that belongs to all Memphians – a view with a long history linked to important events and people – a view that should be preserved for future generations,'' museum officials said in a prepared statement provided to The Commercial Appeal by executive director Carissa Hussong.

"This area is the southern anchor of our great riverfront – and as such should be treated as a community asset and protected.  For this reason, the Metal Museum is opposing American Commercial Barge Line’s variance request.  While we respect the company’s right to invest in its property and business, we believe they can and should do so within the existing zoning restrictions.''

The Pickering Firm is an engineering consultant to American Commercial Barge Line for the silo project. Principal Bob Pitts submitted to the Office of Planning & Development a map and a number of images showing to what extent — if any — the silos could be seen from various places within several miles of the terminal.

"From the street level perspective, there is only a small area, albeit along Metal Museum Drive at the river, where the proposed structures are visible,'' Pitts wrote in an email to planners.

The zoning lines crisscross the barge company's property, said Josh Whitehead, planning director for Memphis and Shelby County. It appears one silo is in the Heavy Industrial zoning district and could be 60 feet tall, and the other is in the Conservation Agriculture district and could be up to 40 feet tall.

The Board of Adjustment will consider the request at its meeting at 2 p.m. April 26 in City Hall.

The Metal Museum and Chickasaw Heritage Park offer breathtaking views of the Mississippi River and the Harahan Bridge, a view that Mark Twain once described as the finest between Cairo and New Orleans. It is also believed to be the location where Spanish explorer Hernando DeSoto first viewed the Mississippi River in 1541. 

It is home to two ceremonial mounds built by the Chickasaw tribe in the 1500s and in the 1700s was the site of several military forts, built by the French, Spanish and Americans. The United States’ first was Fort Adams, believed to be located where the Exxon plant now stands.  In 1801, it was remained Fort Pickering and was moved to the other side of the mounds, in what is now French Fort, and stretched north to Beale Street.  Over the past few years there has been renewed interest in Fort Pickering as the site of the Memphis Massacre of 1866.

In 1884, almost two decades after this tragic moment in our history, a US Merchant Marine Hospital opened its doors along the bluff.  Two of the original structures are still standing.  The other structures were built in the 1930s as part of the Works Progress Administration and are now part of the Metal Museum, which opened in 1979, and a planned residential redevelopment project. 

In the 1960s the residential subdivision known as French Fort was built.  Many of its original homeowners still live in the neighborhood.  They include business leaders, community activists, civil servants and one of Memphis’s most celebrated local artists, George Hunt.

The Metal Museum, Chickasaw Heritage Park and the French Fort Neighborhood have thrived alongside the heavy industrial sites located along the river at the base of the bluff and to the south on President’s Island.  Their activities have not infringed upon the beauty and tranquility that draw over 30,000 visitors to this area each year, visitors drawn not only to the Metal Museum, but also to the park and to the bluff itself.  Everyday neighbors can be seen walking through the park and along the bluff.  People park along Metal Museum Drive to enjoy the river view while eating breakfast or lunch.  Couples climb the mounds to watch the sunset.  School groups explore the rich history of the area with a field trip to the park and the Museum.  And tour buses passes by the park to share the stunning views and a little bit of history with our city’s visitors.

In American Commercial Barge Line’s application they site a decision to relocate the silos further south to lessen the silos impact on the view from the Metal Museum.  While we appreciate this gesture, silos of the proposed height located anywhere along this section of the Mississippi will disrupt the view of the river, a view that belongs to all Memphians – a view with a long history linked to important events and people – a view that should be preserved for future generations. 

This area is the southern anchor of our great riverfront – and as such should be treated as a community asset and protected.  For this reason, the Metal Museum is opposing American Commercial Barge Line’s variance request.  While we respect the company’s right to invest in its property and business, we believe they can and should do so within the existing zoning restrictions.