For Ryan -- The Phenix City Riverwalk

Today’s post is offered in celebration of our brand new granddaughter, Ryan Avery Fussell, born last night. Ryan’s Phenix City roots run deep: Her grandfather Fred was born and raised there, as was her grandmother Linda, her greatgrandmother “Granny Annie,” and, in memory, her greatgrandparents Jessie Nix and Kathleen and DeWitt Fusssell. There were others before that, too, but I’ll stop there for now. I look forward to stickin’ your toes into the Chattahoochee, Ryan, and to taking you on long walks and bike rides on the Riverwalk. Here we go!

I love the Phenix City Riverwalk. If you haven’t been, take my advice and venture over there to the wild side – ha. Seriously, the Phenix City Riverwalk is intentionally left more “natural” than is the downtown section of the Columbus Riverwalk, making for a great view from the Georgia side, and a pleasant, shady experience if you’re on the Alabama side. Access to the River is much easier on the Alabama side, too. You can climb out onto the rocks, wade into the River … but be careful if you do that. Folks are always getting’ into trouble over there.

Here’s a suggested walk, a loop of about two miles: Park your car in the Country’s Barbeque Parking Lot on Broadway in downtown Columbus. Walk across the 14th Street Bridge (the pedestrian bridge) into Alabama. On the Alabama end of the bridge, take a left onto the Phenix City Riverwalk and walk south until the P.C. Riverwalk ends – at the Dillingham Street Bridge. Take the Dillingham Bridge back over into Georgia and walk north on the Columbus Riverwalk to Eagle and Phenix Dam and Powerhouse. If you want to go back to your exact starting point you’ll have to leave the Riverwalk here (because it ends for a spell at Eagle and Phenix), in which case you need to walk up the steps underneath the watertank, proceed the one block up to Broadway where you’ll walk north to your starting point at Country’s Barbeque and 14th Street Bridge.

Then you might want to walk across the street to the Lucky Starr where you can buy all sorts of good luck charms and love potions, should you be in the market.

Uh-oh, I’m venturing too far from the Riverwalk now. I’ll hush and show you some photos:


If you're following my suggested loop, this is the approach to the pedestrian (14th Street) bridge, at Country's on Broad.



This is the TSYS parking garage, a travesty in my opinion. They tore down one of the largest existing mill complexes in the whole United States, a series of beautiful historic buildings, to build this ugly wannabe thing -- and they used riverbank space to do it!



This is the entrance to the pedestrian bridge, from the Georgia side. I keep fantasizing that I'm in Paris, about to cross the Pont Neuf over the Seine, and a row of book stalls is waiting on the other side. In fact, that's the Russell County Courthouse in the distance. And there are stories there, too -- just different ones from those found between the covers of those books in Paris.




The view upriver off the pedestrian bridge.


... and downriver.



From the Phenix City side, looking over into Georgia.



This spot is really more beautiful than my photo indicates.



... headed south on the Phenix City Riverwalk.










I'm about to agree with Mike Howard, that Phenix City IS prettier than Columbus!




Re-entering Georgia -- photo taken from the Dillingham Bridge.

Another one off the Dillingham Bridge. I'll be happy to see the water clear back up.



The Phenix City Amphitheatre.