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Chattanooga, Tennessee
City
City of Chattanooga
From top, left to right: Chattanooga skyline, Chattanooga Bank Building, Brainerd Jr High, Old Post Office, Hamilton County Courthouse Terminal Station
Flag Seal
Nickname(s): Scenic City (official); Chatt, Chattown, Gig City, Nooga, and River City
Location of Chattanooga in Hamilton County, Tennessee
Chattanooga Location in the United States and Tennessee Show map of Tennessee Chattanooga Chattanooga (the US) Show map of the US
Coordinates: 35°2′44″N 85°16′2″W / 35.04556°N 85.26722°W / 35.04556; -85.26722Coordinates: 35°2′44″N 85°16′2″W / 35.04556°N 85.26722°W / 35.04556; -85.26722[1]
Country	United States
State	Tennessee
County	Hamilton
Incorporated	1839[2]
Government
• Type	Mayor-council
• Mayor	Andy Berke (D)
Area
• City	144.6 sq mi (374.4 km2)
• Land	137.1 sq mi (355.2 km2)
• Water	7.4 sq mi (19.2 km2)
Elevation	676 ft (206 m)
Population (2010)[3]
• City	167,674
• Estimate (2016)[4]	177,571
• Density	1,295/sq mi (499.9/km2)
• Metro	547,776
Demonym(s)	Chattanoogan
Time zone	UTC-5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code(s)	37341, 37343, 37350, 37351, 37363, 37377, 37379, 37402, 37403, 37404, 37405, 37406, 37407, 37408, 37409, 37410, 37411, 37412, 37415, 37416, 37419, and 37421[5]
Area code(s)	423
FIPS code	47-14000[6]
GNIS feature ID	1307240[7]
Website	www.chattanooga.gov

Chattanooga is a city located along the Tennessee River near the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee. With an estimated population of 179,139 in 2017,^[8] it is the fourth-largest city in Tennessee and one of the two principal cities of East Tennessee, along with Knoxville. Served by multiple railroads and Interstate highways, Chattanooga is a transit hub. Chattanooga lies 118 miles (190 km) northwest of Atlanta, Georgia, 112 miles (180 km) southwest of Knoxville, Tennessee, 134 miles (216 km) southeast of Nashville, Tennessee, 102 miles (164 km) northeast of Huntsville, Alabama, and 147 miles (237 km) northeast of Birmingham, Alabama.

The city, with a downtown elevation of approximately 680 feet (210 m), lies at the transition between the ridge-and-valley portion of the Appalachian Mountains and the Cumberland Plateau. Surrounded by mountains and ridges, the official nickname for Chattanooga is "Scenic City", reinforced by the city's reputation for outdoor activities. Unofficial nicknames include "River City", "Chatt", "Nooga", "Chattown", and "Gig City", referencing Chattanooga's claims that it has the fastest internet service in the Western Hemisphere.^[9][10]

Chattanooga is internationally known for the 1941 song "Chattanooga Choo Choo" by Glenn Miller and his orchestra. Chattanooga is home to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) and Chattanooga State Community College.

The city has its own typeface, Chatype, which was launched in August 2012. According to the Nooga.com website, this marks the first time that an American city has its own custom-made typeface and also the first time a crowd-funded custom-made typeface has been used for any municipality in the world.^[11]

History

The first inhabitants of the Chattanooga area were Native Americans. Sites dating back to the Upper Paleolithic period showed continuous occupation through the Archaic, Woodland, Mississippian/Muskogean/Yuchi (900–1714 ce), and Cherokee (1776–1838). The Chickamauga Mound near the mouth of the Chickamauga Creek is the oldest remaining visible art in Chattanooga.

The Citico town and mound site was the most significant Mississippian/Muscogee landmark in Chattanooga up to 1915. The first part of the name "Chattanooga" derives from the Muskogean word cvto /chắtȯ/ – 'rock'.^[12] The latter may be derived from a regional suffix -nuga meaning dwelling or dwelling place.

The earliest Cherokee occupation dates from Dragging Canoe, who in 1776 separated himself and moved downriver from the main tribe to establish Native American resistance during the Cherokee–American wars) to European settlement in the southeastern United States. In 1816 John Ross, who later became Principal Chief, established Ross's Landing. Located along what is now Broad Street, it became one of the centers of Cherokee Nation settlement, which also extended into Georgia and Alabama.^[13]

In 1838 the US government forced the Cherokees, along with other Native Americans from southeastern U.S. states, to relocate to the area designated as Indian Territory, in what is now the state of Oklahoma. Their journey west became known as the "Trail of Tears" for their exile and fatalities along the way. The US Army used Ross's Landing as the site of one of three large internment camps, or "emigration depots", where Native Americans were held before the journey on the Trail of Tears. One of the internment camps was located in Fort Payne, Alabama and the largest was at Fort Cass, Tennessee.^[14]

In 1839, the community of Ross's Landing incorporated as the city of Chattanooga. The city grew quickly, initially benefiting from a location well-suited for river commerce. With the arrival of the railroad in 1850, Chattanooga became a boom town. The city was known as the site "where cotton meets corn," referring to its location along the cultural boundary between the mountain communities of Southern Appalachia to the north and the cotton-growing states to the south.^[13]

During the American Civil War, Chattanooga was a center of battle. During the Chickamauga Campaign, Union artillery bombarded Chattanooga as a diversion and occupied it on September 9, 1863. Following the Battle of Chickamauga, the defeated Union Army retreated to safety in Chattanooga. On November 23, 1863, the Battles for Chattanooga began when Union forces led by future United States President and Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant reinforced troops at Chattanooga and advanced to Orchard Knob against Confederate troops besieging the city. The next day, the Battle of Lookout Mountain was fought, driving the Confederates off the mountain. On November 25, Grant's army routed the Confederates in the Battle of Missionary Ridge. These battles were followed the next spring by the Atlanta Campaign, beginning just over the nearby state line in Georgia and moving southeastward. After the war ended, the city became a major railroad hub and industrial and manufacturing center.^[15]

The largest flood in Chattanooga's history occurred in 1867, before the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) system was created in 1933 by Congress. The flood crested at 58 feet (18 m) and completely inundated the city. Since the completion of the reservoir system, the highest Chattanooga flood stage has been nearly 37 feet (11 m), which occurred in 1973. Without regulation, the flood would have crested at 52.4 feet (16.0 m).^[16] Chattanooga was a major priority in the design of the TVA reservoir system and remains a major operating priority in the 21st century.^[16]

Market Street in 1907

In December 1906, Chattanooga was in the national headlines as the United States Supreme Court, in the only criminal trial in its history, ruled that Hamilton County Sheriff Joseph H. Shipp had violated Ed Johnson's civil rights when Shipp allowed a mob to enter the Hamilton County Jail and lynch Johnson on the Walnut Street Bridge in United States v. Shipp. Chattanooga grew with the entry of the United States in the First World War in 1917, as the nearest training camp was in Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. Effects of the Influenza of 1918 on Chattanooga included having movie theaters and pool halls closed.^[17] By the 1930s Chattanooga was known as the "Dynamo of Dixie", inspiring the 1941 Glenn Miller big-band swing song "Chattanooga Choo Choo".^[18] The late 1950s saw the creation of the Interstate Highway System with President Dwight D. Eisenhower signing legislation into law in June 1956. Due to Mayor P.R. Olgiati's efforts, Chattanooga became the first city in Tennessee to have a completed interstate system in the early 1960s.^{[19][20][21][22]} In February 1958, Chattanooga became one of the smallest cities in the country with three VHF television stations: WROM-TV (now WTVC-TV) channel 9 (ABC), WRGP-TV (now WRCB-TV) channel 3 (NBC), and WDEF-TV channel 12 (CBS).^[23]

The same mountains that provide Chattanooga's scenic backdrop also served to trap industrial pollutants which caused them to settle over the community, so much that in 1969, the federal government declared that Chattanooga had the dirtiest air in the nation.^[24] But environmental crises were not the only problems plaguing the city. Like other early industrial cities, Chattanooga entered the 1980s with serious socioeconomic challenges, including job layoffs due to de-industrialization, deteriorating city infrastructure, racial tensions, and social division. Chattanooga's population declined by more than 10% in the 1980s. However, Chattanooga was the only major U.S. city to lose this proportion of its population in the 1980s and then regain the same proportion in the next two decades.^[25] In 2017, Chattanooga's 2017 population growth rate was best among Tennessee's 4 biggest cities.^[26]

Chattanooga launched the first one gigabit a second Internet service in the United States in September 2010, provided through the city-owned utility of EPB.^[27]

Downtown Chattanooga, viewed from Lookout Mountain

In August 2012, Chattanooga got its own typeface, called Chatype, which marks the first time a municipality has its own typeface in the United States and the first crowd-funded, custom-made typeface in the world.^[11][28][29]

On July 16, 2015, a shooting occurred at two U.S. military facilities in Chattanooga. Six people—four U.S. Marines, one sailor, and the gunman—were killed and two people were wounded.^[30]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 144.6 square miles (374.4 km²), of which 137.1 square miles (355.2 km²) are land and 7.4 square miles (19.2 km²), or 5.12%, are water.^[31] In terms of land area, Chattanooga ranks 68th, which is between Las Vegas, Nevada and Philadelphia.^[31] The total area of Chattanooga makes the city larger than that of many cities larger in population, such as Baltimore, Maryland, Atlanta, Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Salt Lake City.

The most prominent natural features in and around Chattanooga are the Tennessee River and the surrounding mountains. The city is nestled between the southwestern Ridge-and-valley Appalachians and the foot of Walden's Ridge; the river separates the ridge from the western side of downtown. Several miles east, the city is bisected by Missionary Ridge, which is the site of an important battle in the Civil War.

The Tennessee River is impounded by the TVA's Chickamauga Dam north of the downtown area. Five automobile bridges, one railroad trestle, and one pedestrian bridge, all described below, cross the river.

Road transport is facilitated by Interstate 75 to Atlanta and Knoxville, Interstate 24 to Nashville, and Interstate 59 to Birmingham. Chattanooga and portions of Southeast Tennessee and North Georgia are served by the Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport. CSX transports rail freight to Atlanta and Nashville, and Norfolk Southern conveys rail cargo to Atlanta, Birmingham, Cincinnati, Knoxville, and Memphis.

Cityscape

Chattanooga from Nikki's Drive Inn Restaurant

Downtown Chattanooga showcases a wide variety of entertainment, dining, cultural and architectural attractions. Since the completion of the Tennessee Aquarium in 1992, the downtown area has experienced a wide array of development projects, including the Creative Discovery Museum and the reopening of the historic Walnut Street Bridge (Chattanooga).

The downtown footprint is structured by interstate highway I-24 on the south to Frazier Avenue in the Northshore, as well as US highway 27 in the west to Central Avenue in the east.^[32]

The modern downtown skyline is dominated by the Tennessee Aquarium, the Republic Centre^[33] (tallest building in Chattanooga^[34]), John C. Portman Jr.’s the Westin (Gold Building)^[35], the James Building (Chattanooga’s first skyscraper)^[36], and The Block^[37], a state of the art climbing gym steps away from the aquarium boosting an 11,000 square foot public art piece with 5,000 square feet of functional climbing space.

Chattanooga also holds claim to a number of buildings with historical significance, such as The Read House Hotel, Chattanooga, TN, the longest continuously operating hotel in the Southeast United States^[38], the Chattanooga Choo-Choo Hotel, a converted railroad terminal, the Maclellan Building^[39], the Dome Building^[40], once the home to the Chattanooga Times, and the historic Tivoli Theatre (Chattanooga, Tennessee).

Other major features of Downtown Chattanooga’s diverse cityscape are four main bridges over the Tennessee River. These include the Walnut Street Bridge, the Market Street Bridge (Chattanooga), the Olgiati Bridge, and the Veterans Memorial Bridge (Chattanooga). These bridges have made Chattanooga the walkable city it is today by connecting the Riverfront and Northshore to the Tennessee Riverwalk and Bluff View Art District. Downtown Chattanooga also features a multitude of parks such as Coolidge Park, Renaissance Park, Miller Park, Miller Plaza and Main Terrain Art Park.

As you move further south from the Riverfront and into City Center, you come to Chattanooga’s historic Martin Luther King District which runs parallel to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s urban campus. The MLK district also features the largest mural in Chattanooga. ^[41]The 40,000 square foot mural was created by Philadelphia-based muralist Meg Saligman and seven other local artists.^[42]

Another unmissable aspect of Chattanooga’s cityscape and skyline is the BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee headquarters^[43] situated on top of Cameron Hill^[44] which is the second-largest LEED Gold-certified corporate campus in the nation. ^[45]The 950,000 square foot structure stands as one of the largest development projects in Downtown Chattanooga’s history.^[46]

Downtown revitalization

In late 20th and early 21st centuries, substantial private and governmental resources have been invested in transforming the city's tarnished image. With work to revitalize its downtown especially the Riverfront, making use of its natural resources,^[47][48] an early cornerstone of this project was a restoration lasting several years, from the mid-to-late 1980s to 1993, of the historic Walnut Street Bridge. An excellent specimen of the Camelback truss bridge, it is the oldest surviving bridge of its kind in the Southeastern United States, having been built in 1891.

Efforts to improve the city include the "21st Century Waterfront Plan" – a $120 million redevelopment of the Chattanooga waterfront area, which was completed in 2005. The Tennessee Aquarium, which opened in 1992, has become a major waterfront attraction that has helped to spur neighborhood development.^[49] Since the opening of the Aquarium, Downtown Chattanooga has experienced over $5 billion dollars of private investment.^[50] Nearly $1 billion of those private dollars have been invested in Downtown Chattanooga since 2014.^[51]

Chattanooga has garnered numerous accolades for its transformation of its image. The city has won three national awards for outstanding "livability", and nine Gunther Blue Ribbon Awards for excellence in housing and consolidated planning.^[52] In addition to winning various national and regional awards, Chattanooga has been in the national limelight numerous times. Chattanooga was the profile city of the August 2007 edition of US Airways Magazine.^[53] In December 2009, Chattanooga was ranked 8th out of America's 100 largest metro areas for the best "Bang For Your Buck" city, according to Forbes magazine, which measured overall affordability, housing rates, and more.^[54]

Neighborhoods

Chattanooga has many buildings on the National Register of Historic Places as well as three neighborhoods: Ferger Place, Fort Wood, and St. Elmo. Additionally, Chattanooga has several local historic districts: Battery Place, Fort Wood, Ferger Place, Glenwood, Missionary Ridge, M.L. King, St. Elmo, and Stringer's Ridge. Four of these are formally managed as local historic districts by the city.^[55]

Important suburbs

Climate

Chattanooga, like much of Tennessee, has a four-season humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa). Winter days are usually mild but most years have at least one day (average 3.2) where the high remains at or below freezing. Snowfall is highly variable from year to year. In the 10 year period of 2009-2018, the average annual snowfall was 4.2", and measurable snowfall was recorded in 80% of the winter seasons with a total of 29 events, of which 10 were greater than 1" and 3 greater than 6"; the 1971–2000 average annual snowfall was 3.9 inches (9.9 cm).^[56] 11 inches (28 cm) was recorded between January 9–10, 2011.^[56] Summers are hot and humid, with a July daily mean of 80.0 °F (26.7 °C) and 52 days annually with 90 °F (32 °C) or greater temperatures.^[57]

Average annual precipitation is over 52 inches (1,300 mm). On average, November through March represents an extended relatively wet period, because of Chattanooga's frequent placement (in the winter season) in a zone of conflict between warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico and cold, dry air from Canada, amplified by jet-stream energy and abundant Gulf moisture. July presents a secondary maximum in precipitation, due to frequent thunderstorm activity. Despite the mountains that surround the city, Chattanooga can and has been threatened by tornadoes.^[58] These tornadoes include the 2011 Super Outbreak, which impacted the city and nearby locations, including Apison and Cherokee Valley just over the nearby state line in Catoosa County, Georgia, where fifteen people died, eight in Apison and seven in Cherokee Valley.^[59][60][61]

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 167,674 people, 70,749 households, and 40,384 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,222.5 people per square mile (472.5/km²). There were 79,607 housing units at an average density of 588.8 per square mile (226.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 58.0% White, 34.9% Black, 2.0% Asian, 0.4% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 2.8% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. Persons of Hispanic or Latino origin (regardless of race) constituted 5.5% of the total population. Non-Hispanic Whites were 55.9% of the population in 2010, down from 67.3% in 1980.^[67][68] There were 70,749 households out of which 26.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36% were married couples living together, 17.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42% were non-families. 33.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 26% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the city, the population was spread out with 21.3% under the age of 18, 11.5% from 18 to 24, 27% from 25 to 44, 25.5% from 45 to 64, and 14.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.1 years. 46.1% of the population was male and 53.9% of the population was female.

The median income for a household in the city was $35,817, and the median income for a family was $43,314. Males had a median income of $36,109 versus $31,077 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,756. About 14% of families and 16.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27% of those under age 18 and 13.8% of those age 65 or over.

Chattanooga's Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Hamilton, Marion, and Sequatchie counties in Tennessee and Catoosa, Dade, and Walker counties in Georgia, grew from 476,531 people, as of the 2000 census, to 529,222 people, as of the 2010 census, an 11% increase during the 2000s.^[69]

Religion

The single largest religious group in Chattanooga is Christianity. According to 2010 statistics, the Southern Baptist Convention is the largest denomination with 225 congregations and 122,300 members followed by the United Methodist Church with 31,500 members and 83 churches. The third-largest group of Christians identify as non-denominational. The third-largest organized denomination is the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee) with 82 churches and 17,900 members. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Knoxville has 12 congregations and 14,300 members. The second-largest religion is Islam, with 2,200 adherents.^[70]

Economy

Child labor at Richmond Spinning Mill in Chattanooga, 1910. Photo by Lewis Hine.

Chattanooga's economy includes a diversified and growing mix of manufacturing and service industries.

Notable Chattanooga businesses include Access America Transport, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, CBL & Associates, The Chattanooga Bakery, Chattem, the world's first Coca-Cola bottling plant, Coker Tire, U.S. Xpress Inc., Covenant Transport, Double Cola, CraftWorks Restaurants & Breweries, Luken Communications, Miller & Martin, the National Model Railroad Association, Reliance Partners, Republic Parking System, Rock/Creek, Tricycle Inc., and Unum. The city also hosts large branch offices of Cigna, AT&T, T-Mobile USA, and UBS. McKee Foods Corporation, the maker of nationally known Little Debbie brand snack cakes, is a privately held, family-run company headquartered in nearby Collegedale, Tennessee.

Notable companies that have manufacturing or distribution facilities in the city include Alstom, Amazon.com, BASF, DuPont, Invista, Komatsu, Rock-Tenn, Plantronics, Domtar, Norfolk Southern, Ferrara Candy Company (manufacturer of Brach's candies), Alco Chemical, Colonial Pipeline, and Buzzi Unicem.^[71] The William Wrigley Jr. Company has a prominent presence in Chattanooga, the sole site of production of Altoids breath mint products since 2005.^[72][73] There is also a Vulcan Materials quarry in the vicinity of the city.

In a seminal event for Chattanooga, Volkswagen announced in July 2008 the construction of its first U.S. auto plant in over three decades, the Volkswagen Chattanooga Assembly Plant.^[74] In May 2011, Volkswagen Group of America inaugurated its Chattanooga Assembly Plant.^[75] The $1 billion plant, opened in May 2011, serves as the group's North American manufacturing headquarters. The plant, which currently employs some 2,700 people and will increase by another 2,000 people within the next few years and manufactures the Passat (since April 2011) and the Atlas (from late 2016), will have a first-in-the-South full research and development center in downtown Chattanooga, employing some 200 engineers.^[76][77][78] The plant is the first one in the United States for Volkswagen since the 1988 closure of the Volkswagen Westmoreland Assembly Plant near New Stanton, Pennsylvania.^[79]

In addition to corporate business interests, there are many retail shops in Chattanooga, including two shopping malls: Hamilton Place Mall in East Brainerd and Northgate Mall in Hixson. Eastgate Mall in Brainerd used to be a shopping mall, but has changed into a multi-use office building. The P.F. Chang's restaurant at Hamilton Place Mall has had a unique theme since the restaurant opened in November 2006: water, based on the fundamental role the Tennessee River plays in Chattanooga and the fact that the CEO of P.F. Chang's since 2000, Richard Federico, is a 1976 alumnus of the University of Tennessee and has family in Chattanooga.^[80] In December 2001, Chattanooga was the site of the first two Dairy Queen Grill and Chill restaurants in the United States.^[81][82][83]

Tourism and Hospitality has been a growing part of Chattanooga's economy, with 2014 being the first year for Hamilton County to surpass $1 billion in revenue.

Startups have been an increasing trend, due in part to EPB's fiber optic grid. Notable venture firms based in the city are Blank Slate Ventures, Chattanooga Renaissance Fund, Lamp Post Group, SwiftWing Ventures, and The Jump Fund. The city is served by several incubators, notably Co.Lab, the Business Development Center, and Lamp Post Group. The Business Development Center is among the nation's largest incubators, both in square footage and in the number of startups that it supports.^[84] Co-working spaces have picked up downtown, including Society of Work and Chattanooga Workspace. Unique in the city is the startup accelerator Gigtank, which utilizes the city's gigabit capacities and focuses on 3D printing, healthcare, and smartgrid technologies. Notable startups include Quickcue (acquired by OpenTable in 2013), Reliance Partners, PriceWaiter, Bellhops Moving Help, Variable Inc. (NODE), Ambition, Workhound, Feetz, and TransCard. Chattanooga went from zero investable capital in 2009 to over $50 million in 2014.

Utilities

Chickamauga Lock and Dam on the Tennessee River at Chattanooga

Electric power for most of the city and surrounding area is provided by the city-run Electric Power Board (EPB). EPB also provides high-speed Internet service, TV, and telephone service to business and residential customers throughout Hamilton County, as well as parts of Bledsoe County, Bradley County, Catoosa County, Dade County, Marion County, Rhea County, Sequatchie County, and Walker County, via the nation's largest municipally owned fiber optic system.^[85][86][87]TVA operates the nearby Sequoyah Nuclear Power Plant, Chickamauga Dam, and the Raccoon Mountain Pumped-Storage Plant, all of which provide electricity to the greater Chattanooga area. TVA's corporate power generation and distribution organization is headquartered in downtown Chattanooga.

Natural gas and water are provided by the privately run Chattanooga Gas Company and Tennessee-American Water Company, respectively. In 2005, then-Mayor Ron Littlefield stated his desire for the city to purchase the Tennessee-American Water Company, which was sold in a public offering in 2007.^[88][89] Former Mayor Jon Kinsey's attempts to have the city buy control of Tennessee-American Water were defeated in court.

EPB Fiber Optics is the dominant cable and internet service provider for most areas of the city.^[90] The incumbent telephone company is AT&T Inc. However, competing phone companies, such as EPB, cellular phones, and VoIP are making inroads. A major interstate fiber optics line operated by AT&T traverses the city, making its way from Atlanta to Cincinnati. There are more choices among TV, Internet, and phone service providers for Chattanooga residents than in most other cities its size because of the intense competition between AT&T, Comcast, and EPB.^[91]

EPB's gigabit public fiber optic network

Beginning in 2009 and continuing through March 2011, when Haletown, Tennessee received service from EPB's fiber optic network, EPB began to establish its exclusive fiber optic network to its 600 sq mi (1,600 km²) service area, which covers the greater Chattanooga Metropolitan Statistical Area.^[92] In September 2010, EPB became the first municipally owned utilities company in the United States to offer internet access directly to the public at speeds up to ten gigabit (10,000 megabits) per second by utilizing its fiber optic network.^[93][94] The network has been emulated by at least six other cities in Tennessee and studied by other cities in the US and even internationally.^[95][96]Jay Weatherill, South Australia's Premier, visited Chattanooga in January 2012 and "looked at the current gigabit network that was supporting critical city safety functions such as police and fire communications infrastructure, equipment and applications. He also inspected wastewater management, storm water management, traffic control and medical diagnostics applications [and] first-hand operations of a smart lighting and camera system that allows the police to control public lighting and see what is happening in heavy crime areas. [The article says the] use of broadband to carry the video and control signaling has contributed to making Chattanooga's Coolidge Park a safer place to visit."^[97]

In 2011 the expansion of EPB's network became a subject of major controversy in Tennessee.^[98] The success of its network, credited with the expansion of Volkswagen's Chattanooga plant and the establishment of Amazon.com facilities in Chattanooga and Cleveland, led to a number of legal challenges by AT&T and Comcast insisting that public funds not be used to fund expansion of public networks in competition with private ones.^[99][100] However, according to EPB itself, federal agencies, electricity industry trade sources, and other press sources, the investment in the fully fiber optic network is justified by electrical system benefits alone, including early fault detection and decreases in standby power.^{[101][102][103][104][105][106]}

Banking

As of 2014, there are 27 banks operating in the Chattanooga metropolitan area, lending to financial strength.^[107] Among the heavy hitters are regional banks First Tennessee, SunTrust Banks, and Regions Financial Corporation, but the area also has offices from UBS, Chase, and Bank of America. In part to the strength and growing economic development, Chase recently shifted its East Tennessee headquarters from Knoxville to Chattanooga.^[108]

Within the first four months of 2015, Chattanooga became a very hot market for bank mergers with the merging of 3 locally owned banks, and 1 in nearby Cleveland, Tennessee. CapitalMark, formed in 2007, will be acquired by the Nashville-based Pinnacle Financial Partners for $187 million to have the fourth largest market share in the Chattanooga metro area.^[109] First Security Group, Inc, the largest Chattanooga-based bank, formed in 2000, will be acquired by the Atlanta-based Atlantic Capital Bancshares, Inc., for $160 million. Cornerstone, started in 1985, will merge with the Knoxville-based SmartBank in a stock deal. Cleveland's Southern Heritage Bank was acquired in 2014 by First Citizens National Bank in Dyersburg, Tennessee, for $32.2 million. All these mergers only leave one Chattanooga-based, independent bank, First Volunteer Bank. Others in the area locally based include Dunlap, Tennessee-based Citizens Tri-County Bank, Ooltewah-based Community Trust and Banking Co., Dayton, Tennessee-based Community National Bank, Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia-based Capital Bank, LaFayette, Georgia-based Bank of LaFayette, and Cleveland-based Bank of Cleveland.^[110]

Culture and tourism

Museums

Contemporary extension of the Hunter Museum of American Art

As the birthplace of the tow truck, Chattanooga is the home of the International Towing and Recovery Hall of Fame and Museum.^[111] Another transportation icon, the passenger train, can be found at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum, called TVRM by locals, which is the largest operating historic railroad in the South. Chattanooga is home to the Hunter Museum of American Art. Other notable museums include the Chattanooga History Center, the National Medal of Honor Museum, the Houston Museum, the Chattanooga African American Museum, and the Creative Discovery Museum.^{[112][113][114][115][116]}

Arts and literature

Chattanooga has a wide range of performing arts in different venues. Chattanooga's historic Tivoli Theatre, dating from 1921 and one of the first public air-conditioned buildings in the United States, is home to the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera (CSO), which became the first merged symphony and opera company in the United States in 1985. The CSO performs under the baton of Kayoko Dan.^[117] The Chattanooga Theatre Centre offers 15 productions each year in three separate theater programs: the Mainstage, the Circle Theater, and the Youth Theater.^[118][119] Another popular performance venue is Memorial Auditorium.

Chattanooga hosts several writing conferences, including the Conference on Southern Literature and the Festival of Writers, both sponsored by the Arts & Education Council of Chattanooga.^{[120][121][122]}

Attractions

Chattanooga touts many attractions, including the Tennessee Aquarium, caverns, and new waterfront attractions along and across the Tennessee River. In the downtown area is the Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel, housed in the renovated Terminal Station. Also downtown are the Creative Discovery Museum, a hands-on children's museum dedicated to science, art, and music; an IMAX 3D Theatre, and the newly expanded Hunter Museum of American Art. The Tennessee Riverwalk, an approximately 13-mile-long (21 km) trail running alongside the river, is another attraction for both tourists and residents alike.

Across the river from downtown is the North Shore district, roughly bounded by the Olgiati Bridge to the west and Veterans Bridge to the east. The newly renovated area draws locals and tourists to locally owned independent boutique stores and restaurants, plus attractions along the Chattanooga Riverpark system, including Coolidge Park and Renaissance Park.^[123][124]

The Chattanooga Zoo at Warner Park is located a short distance from the downtown area.

Parks and natural scenic areas provide other attractions. The red-and-black painted "See Rock City" barns along highways in the Southeast are remnants of a now-classic Americana tourism campaign to attract visitors to the Rock City tourist attraction in nearby Lookout Mountain, Georgia. The mountain is also the site of Ruby Falls and Craven's House.^[125] The Lookout Mountain Incline Railway is a steep funicular railway that rises from the St. Elmo Historic District to the top of the mountain, where passengers can visit the National Park Service's Point Park and the Battles for Chattanooga Museum.^[126] Formerly known as Confederama, the museum includes a diorama that details the Battle of Chattanooga. From the military park, visitors can enjoy panoramic views of Moccasin Bend and the Chattanooga skyline from the mountain's famous "point" or from vantage points along the well-marked trail system.^[127]

The Heritage park is a park that lies in East Brainerd. Heritage park has a bocce ball court, a playground complete with swings, and a walking pavement. The park also features an off-leash dog park which is operated by the Friends of East Brainerd, the City of Chattanooga Parks and Recreation Department, McKamey Animal Center and the Goodwill Assistance Dog Academy.

Near Chattanooga, the Raccoon Mountain Reservoir, Raccoon Mountain Caverns, and Reflection Riding Arboretum and Botanical Garden boast a number of outdoor and family fun opportunities. Other arboretums include Bonny Oaks Arboretum, Cherokee Arboretum at Audubon Acres, and Cherokee Trail Arboretum. The Ocoee River, host to a number of events at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, features rafting, kayaking, camping, and hiking. Just outside Chattanooga is the Lake Winnepesaukah amusement park. The Cumberland Trail begins in Signal Mountain, just outside Chattanooga.

• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  The front of the Tennessee Aquarium
  

  
  

  
  


• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  The Tennessee Aquarium from the back
  

  
  

  
  


• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  Trail of Tears water steps off of Market Street, downtown Chattanooga
  

  
  

  
  


• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  Coolidge Park
  

  
  

  
  


• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  A view of the Walnut Street Bridge and the Tennessee River
  

  
  

  
  


• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  Looking South towards Lookout Mountain
  

  
  

  
  

Festivals and events

Chattanooga hosts the well-known Riverbend Festival, an annual nine-day music festival held in June in the downtown area. One of the most popular events is the "Bessie Smith Strut", a one-night showcase of blues and jazz music named for the city's most noted blues singer. The annual "Southern Brewer's Festival" and the "River Roast" festival celebrate such traditional Southern staples as beer and barbecue.

New events, such as GoFest!, the "Between the Bridges" wakeboard competition, Heritage Festival, and Talespin, complement well-established events, such as Riverbend and the Southern Brewer's Festival, and attract their own audiences.^[128][129] Back Row Films is a citywide celebration of film co-sponsored by the Hunter Museum of American Art, the Arts & Education Council, and UTC.^[130]

"Nightfall" is a free weekly concert series in Miller Plaza on Friday nights that features an eclectic mix of rock, blues, jazz, reggae, zydeco, funk, bluegrass, and folk music from Memorial Day until the end of September.^[131] The Chattanooga Market features events all year round as part of the "Sunday at the Southside", including an Oktoberfest in mid-October.

The Chattanooga Dulcimer Festival, held each June, features workshops for mountain dulcimer, hammered dulcimer, and auto harp, among others, along with performances by champion performers from across the nation.^[132]

Chattanooga is also the center of much bluegrass music. In 1935, as well as from 1993 to 1995, the city hosted the National Folk Festival. Since 2007, the annual 3 Sisters Festival showcases traditional and contemporary bluegrass artists, and has been named one of the country's top 5 bluegrass festivals by Great American Country.^[133]

Each January, Chattanooga plays host to Chattacon, a science fiction and fantasy literary convention.^[134] The convention is organized by the nonprofit Chattanooga Speculative Fiction Fans, Inc. First held in 1976, the convention drew an estimated 1,000 attendees to the Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel in 2012, as well as an estimated 1,300 attendees in 2013.^[135][136]

Sports

Chattanooga has a large, growing, and diversified sports scene for a city of its size, including college sports, minor league baseball, semi-professional teams, professional cycling exemplified by the Volkswagen USA Cycling Professional Road & Time Trial National Championships, the Ironman Triathlon, and a large nationally renowned regatta the first weekend of November.

Organized sports

Chattanooga was the home of the NCAA Division I Football Championship game, which was held at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, from 1997 to 2009.

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) Mocs compete in NCAA Division I and the Southern Conference. UTC's athletic programs include football at the FCS level, women's soccer, volleyball, and cross country in the fall; men's and women's basketball, Wrestling, and indoor track & field in the winter; and softball and outdoor track & field in the spring. Men's and women's golf and men's and women's tennis play in the fall and spring.

The Chattanooga Lookouts, a Class AA Southern League baseball team affiliated with the Minnesota Twins, boast a loyal following and respectable participation in season-end playoffs.^[137] Games take center stage at the downtown riverfront AT&T Field with tickets starting at $5.

Chattanooga is home to several semi-professional football teams, including the Tennessee Crush and the Chattanooga Steam. The Tennessee Crush plays its games at Finley Stadium in downtown Chattanooga. The Chattanooga Steam plays at Lookout Valley High School near Lookout Mountain.

The city's semi-professional soccer team, Chattanooga FC, plays in the National Premier Soccer League and has led the league in attendance three of the four years of its existence.^{[citation needed]} Chattanooga FC has also gone to the national finals three times since its inception, and drew a record 18,227 fans for their 2015 NPSL title match.^[138] The club has also found success in the U.S. Open Cup defeating the professional USL's Wilmington Hammerheads to reach the tournament's third round in 2014 and 2015.

Chattanooga is also home to several rugby teams: the Chattanooga Rugby Football Club, Nooga Red, Nooga Black, men's Old Boys, a women's rugby team, men's and women's teams at UTC, and an all-city high school team.^[139] The Chattanooga Rugby Football Club, which was established in 1978 and the 2011 and 2013 DII Mid South champions, is affiliated with USA Rugby and USA Rugby South. The club fields two teams, Nooga Red, which competes in Division II, and Nooga Black, which competes in Division III.^[140] There is also a men's Old Boys team, a Chattanooga women's rugby team, as well as collegiate men's and women's teams representing the Mocs at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. A citywide high school rugby team, the Wolfpack, was established in 2012 and is open to any high school player living in the Chattanooga area.^[139] All seven teams play their home matches at Montague Park.

Overlooking the grandstand and finish area at the 2008 Head of the Hooch

Outdoor sports

Rowing

The Head of the Hooch rowing regatta takes place along the Tennessee River in downtown Chattanooga during the first weekend of November. The head race originally took place on the Chattahoochee River in Atlanta before moving to Chattanooga in 2005, hence the name Head of the Hooch. With 1,965 boats in 2011 and nearly 2,000 boats in 2012, this competition ranks as the 2nd largest regatta in the United States,^[141] with numerous college and youth teams, such as UNC Men's Crew, Vanderbilt Rowing Club, James Madison University Crew, University of Tennessee Women's Rowing, Orlando Rowing Club, Nashville Rowing Club, Newport Rowing Club, and Chattanooga Rowing, competing.^{[142][143][144]} There are also multiple local rowing clubs, such as the Lookout Rowing Club for adults and the Chattanooga Junior Rowing Club for high school students. The weekend of the Head of the Hooch also sees hot-air balloon rides and other activities.

Cycling

In 2013, the Volkswagen USA Cycling Professional Road & Time Trial National Championships were held in Chattanooga. The schedule for the 3-day event on May 25–27 featured a handcycling time trail and various other cycling time trials and road races, including a men's road race that took the cyclists through the heart of downtown Chattanooga and up Lookout Mountain for a total race distance of 102.5 miles (165.0 km).^[145]American professional cyclist Freddie Rodriguez won the national road race championship title for the fourth time in his career.^[146] The Championships' debut in Chattanooga marked the first time in the event's 29-year history that women were allowed to compete for professional national titles.^[147] Chattanooga will also host the Championships in 2014 and 2015.^[148]

Running

Due to its location at the junction of the Cumberland Plateau and the southern Appalachians, Chattanooga has become a haven for outdoor sports, and has even been named Outside Magazine's "Best Town Ever" twice^[149] such as hunting, fishing, trail running, road running, adventure racing, rock climbing, mountain biking, and road biking. The internationally known^[150]StumpJump 50k has been hosted on nearby Signal Mountain since 2002.

Triathlons

In August 2013, further cementing Chattanooga's growing status as a nationally recognized outdoor haven,^[151][152] the Chattanooga Sports Committee, an organization established in 1992 to help the city host major sporting events, announced that the Ironman Triathlon would be coming to the city in a 5-year deal.^[153][154] The city became one of only 11 cities in the United States to host the grueling competition showcasing Chattanooga's natural beauty, which consists of a 2.4-mile (3.9 km) swim, a 112-mile (180 km) bike race (which is broken down into two 56-mile (90 km) loops), and a 26.2-mile (42.2 km) run (which is broken down into two 13.1-mile (21.1 km) loops). The event has a $40,000 prize purse and chances to qualify for the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii.^[155] On November 4, 2014 it was announced that Chattanooga would host The Ironman 70.3 event, also known as the Half Ironman, in addition to the standard Ironman Triathlon. This event consists of a 1.2-mile (1.9 km) swim, 56-mile (90 km) bike ride, and 13.1-mile (21.1 km) run, and has a prize pot of $30,000. On September 29, 2015, The Chattanooga Convention and Visitors Bureau announced that Ironman had chosen Chattanooga, Tennessee to host the 2017 Ironman 70.3 World Championships.^[156]

Awards

Chattanooga has been a member of the League of American Bicyclists' Bronze level since October 2003, the only city in Tennessee to be a member of the organization before Knoxville and Nashville joined in 2010 and 2012, respectively.^[157] The city boasts a number of outdoor clubs: Scenic City Velo, SORBA-Chattanooga, the Wilderness Trail Running Association, and the Chattanooga Track Club. The city also funds Outdoor Chattanooga, an organization focused on promoting outdoor recreation. In September 2004, the city appointed its first-ever executive director of Outdoor Chattanooga to implement the organization's mission, which includes promoting bicycling for transportation, recreation, and active living.^[158] For paddlers, Chattanooga offers the Tennessee River Blueway, a 50-mile (80 km) recreational section of the Tennessee River that flows through Chattanooga and the Tennessee River Gorge. The Tennessee Aquarium has a high speed catamaran, the River Gorge Explorer, to allow up to 70 people to explore the Tennessee River Gorge.^[159] The Explorer departs from the Chattanooga Pier.^[160] Since 2008, Chattanooga has hosted the Skyhoundz World Canine Disc Championship, the crowning event of the largest disc dog competition series in the world.

Media and communications

The city of Chattanooga is served by numerous local, regional, and national media outlets which reach approximately one million people in four states: Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, and North Carolina.

Newspapers

The Chattanooga Times Free Press headquarters

The Chattanooga Times Free Press, the area's only daily newspaper, is published every morning. It was formed in 1999 from the merger of two papers that had been bitter rivals for half a century, the Times and the News-Free Press. The Times was owned and published by Adolph Ochs, who later bought The New York Times. The Times was the morning paper and had a generally more liberal editorial page. The News-Free Press, whose name was the result of an earlier merger, was an afternoon daily and its editorials were more conservative than those in the Times. On August 27, 1966, the News-Free Press became the first newspaper in the nation to dissolve a joint operating agreement.^[161][162] In 1999, the Free Press, which had changed its name from News-Free Press in 1993, was bought by an Arkansas company, WEHCO Media, publisher of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, which then bought The Times from the Ochs heirs.^[163] The Times Free Press is the only newspaper in the United States to have 2 editorial pages, each reflecting opposite ends of the political spectrum. The Times' editorial page, which is liberal, is on the left page and the Free Press' editorial page, which is conservative, is on the right page.^[164]

The Chattanooga Pulse is a free weekly alternative newspaper, published every Wednesday, that focuses primarily on arts, music, film and culture.^[165] It was formed in 2003 by Zachary Cooper and Michael Kull, running independently until 2008, when the paper was purchased by Brewer Media Group, which also owns and operates five radio stations in the city.

Enigma is a free monthly pop culture and entertainment magazine.^[166] Founded as a weekly newspaper in 1995 by David Weinthal, Enigma lays claim to being Chattanooga's oldest alternative newspaper, even though it had ceased physical publication from 2013 until resuming as a monthly magazine in 2015.

The Chattanooga News Chronicle is an African-American weekly newspaper.^[167]

Online media

The Chattanoogan and its website "Chattanoogan.com", established in 1999, is an online media outlet that concentrates on news from Chattanooga, North Georgia, and Southeast Tennessee. The publisher is John Wilson, previously a staff writer for the Chattanooga Free Press. The Chattanoogan is the oldest online newspaper in Chattanooga.^[168][169]

Nooga.com, purchased in November 2010 by local entrepreneur Barry Large, relaunched in 2011 as a local news website offering "quality daily content focusing on local business, politics, and entertainment in the Chattanooga area."^[170]

Radio

Chattanooga is served by the following AM and FM radio stations:

AM

FM

Television

Chattanooga's television stations include:

• 
  WRCB channel 3, NBC affiliate –^[198] (DT 13 / cable 4)


• 
  WOOT-LP channel 6, independent (formerly UPN) (silent)


• 
  WTVC channel 9, ABC/Fox affiliate –^[199] (DT35 / cable 10)


• 
  WDEF channel 12, CBS affiliate –^[200] (DT47 / cable 13)


• 
  WNGH channel 18, GPB affiliate –^[201] (DT 33 / cable 12)


• 
  WELF channel 23, TBN affiliate –^[202] (DT 16 / cable 9)


• W26BE channel 26, 3ABN affiliate –^[203] (cable 295)


• 
  WYHB-LP channel 39, America One affiliate –^[204] (DT 44 / Not on Cable in Chattanooga)


• 
  WTCI channel 45, PBS member station^[205] (DT29 / cable 5)


• 
  WFLI-TV channel 53, The CW Television Network affiliate^[206] (Formerly UPN and The WB) (DT 42 / cable 6)


• 
  WDSI channel 61, This TV affiliate –^[207] (DT 40 / cable 11)

Law and government

Flag of Chattanooga from 1923-2012

The current mayor is Andy Berke, a former state senator, who won the March 2013 election.^[208]

The city operates under a charter granted by the state legislature in 1852; the charter has been subsequently amended. The city operates under a strong mayor system, which changed from a commission form of government with members voted at-large. In 1989 U.S. District Judge R. Allan Edgar ruled that the commission-style government violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by diluting the minority black vote.^[209] As a result of Brown v. Board of Commissioners, Chattanooga abandoned the at-large voting system that it had used for the commission form of government, established single-member districts to represent both majority and minority elements of the population, eliminated voting privileges for non-resident property owners, and created the city's current mayor-council form of government. The current strong mayor system started in 1991 after a 1990 citywide election that used the district system.^[209]

The city's legislative branch is represented by members from nine districts, elected from single-member districts in partisan elections. The current council members are Chip Henderson (District 1), Jerry Mitchell (District 2), Ken Smith (District 3), Larry Grohn (District 4), Russell Gilbert (District 5), Carol Berz (District 6), Chris Anderson (District 7), Anthony Byrd (District 8), and Yusuf Hakeem (District 9).^[210]

Chattanooga's delegation to the Tennessee House of Representatives includes Gerald McCormick (R), who represents District 26, Richard Floyd (R), who represents District 27, JoAnne Favors (D), who represents District 28, Mike Carter (R), who represents District 29, Vince Dean (R), who represents District 30, and Jim Cobb (R), who represents District 31.^{[211][212][213][214][215][216]} In the Tennessee Senate, Chattanooga is divided between Districts 10 and 11 with Todd Gardenhire (R) and Bo Watson (R) representing each district respectively.^[217][218]

Chattanooga is represented in the United States House of Representatives by Chuck Fleischmann (R), who represents the 3rd District.^[219] In the United States Senate, both Bob Corker (R) and Lamar Alexander (R) have district offices in Chattanooga.^[220][221]

Chattanooga, as the county seat of Hamilton County, is home to Chattanooga's City Courts and Hamilton County's Courts.

Chattanooga is the location of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee's Southern Division, which is housed in the Joel W. Solomon Federal Courthouse. The Southern Division has jurisdiction over Bledsoe, Bradley, Hamilton, Marion, McMinn, Meigs, Polk, Rhea, and Sequatchie counties.

The Chattanooga Police Department dates from 1852. Starting in 1883, it hired black police officers, making Chattanooga one of the first major Southern cities to have them. But after the state legislature imposed segregation, black police officers were dropped from the force. They were hired again on a permanent basis beginning on August 11, 1948, years before other major cities in the Southeast, such as Birmingham, Alabama and Jackson, Mississippi, integrated their police departments. The first seven black officers in 1948, Thaddeus Arnold, Singer Askins, W.B. Baulridge, C.E. Black, Morris Glenn, Arthur Heard, and Thomas Patterson, were initially restricted to walking beats in black neighborhoods. In 1960, black police officers were authorized to patrol all neighborhoods and arrest white citizens.^{[222][223][224]}

Education

Primary and secondary education

Most of Chattanooga's primary and secondary education is funded by the government. The public schools in Chattanooga, as well as Hamilton County, have fallen under the purview of the Hamilton County Schools since the 1997 merger of the urban Chattanooga City Schools system and the mostly rural Hamilton County Schools system.^[225][226] The Howard School, was the first public school in the area, established in 1865 after the Civil War.^[227] Tyner High School (now Tyner Academy), was the first secondary school built east of Missionary Ridge in 1907. It is now the home of Tyner Middle Academy. The Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences, the STEM School Of Chattanooga and the Chattanooga High School Center for Creative Arts are additional public magnet schools.

The city is home to several well-known private and parochial secondary schools, including Baylor School, Boyd-Buchanan School, Chattanooga Christian School, Girls Preparatory School, McCallie School, and Notre Dame High School. The Siskin Children's Institute in Chattanooga is a specialized institution in the field of early childhood special education.^[228]

Higher education

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's Founders Hall in June 2007

A wide variety of higher education institutions can be found in Chattanooga and nearby. The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is the second largest campus of the University of Tennessee System, with a student population of over 11,669 as of 2015–16 school year.^[229]Chattanooga State Community College is a two-year community college with a total undergraduate enrollment of roughly 11,000 students. Tennessee Temple University was a Baptist college located in the Highland Park neighborhood that is no longer operating as of 2015. Chattanooga is also home to a branch of the University of Tennessee College of Medicine, which provides medical education to third- and fourth-year medical students, residents, and other medical professionals in southeast Tennessee through an affiliation with Erlanger Health System. Covenant College, a private liberal arts college operated by the Presbyterian Church in America, is located in the nearby suburb of Lookout Mountain, Georgia, and has a student population of about 1,000. Southern Adventist University is located in the suburb of Collegedale, Tennessee, and enrolls roughly 3,000 students. Virginia College School of Business and Health offers a variety of programs leading to diplomas, associate degrees, and bachelor's degrees.

Public library

The Chattanooga Public Library opened in 1905.^[230] Since 1976, the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Bicentennial Library system had been jointly operated by the city and county governments; due to Chattanooga terminating a 1966 agreement with Hamilton County to distribute sales tax revenue equally, the city has taken over full funding responsibilities as of 2011.^[231][232] The city was given a Carnegie library in 1904, and the two-story purpose-built marble structure survives to this day at Eighth Street and Georgia Avenue as commercial office space. In 1939, the library moved to Douglas Street and McCallie Avenue and shared the new building with the John Storrs Fletcher Library of the University of Chattanooga. This building is now called Fletcher Hall and houses classrooms and offices for the university. In 1976, the city library moved to its third and current location at the corner of Tenth and Broad streets.

Health care

Chattanooga has three hospital systems: Erlanger Health System, Parkridge Hospital System, and Memorial Hospital System.

Founded in 1889, Erlanger is the seventh largest public healthcare system in the United States^[233] with more than half a million patient visits a year.^[234]Erlanger Hospital is a non-profit academic teaching center affiliated with the University of Tennessee's College of Medicine.^[235] Erlanger is also the area's primary trauma center, a Level-One Trauma Center for adults, and the only provider of tertiary care for the residents of southeastern Tennessee, north Georgia, northeastern Alabama, and western North Carolina.^[235] In 2008, Erlanger was named one of the nation's "100 Top teaching hospitals for cardiovascular care" by Thomson Reuters.^[236] Erlanger has been operated by the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Hospital Authority since 1976.^[237]

Parkridge Hospital is located east of downtown in the Glenwood district and is run by Tri-Star Healthcare. Tri-Star also operates Parkridge East Medical Center in nearby East Ridge.

Memorial Hospital, which is operated by Denver-based Catholic Health Initiatives, is located downtown. In 2004, Memorial was named one of the "100 Top Teaching Hospitals" by Thomson Reuters.^[238]

Transportation

Considered to be the gateway to the Deep South, along with the Midwest and the Northeast for motorists from states such as Alabama, Florida, and Georgia, Chattanooga's extensive transportation infrastructure has evolved into an intricate system of interstates, streets, tunnels, railroad lines, bridges, and a commercial airport.

Principal highways

• 
  I-24
  


• 
  I-59
  


• 
  I-75
  


• 
  US 27 (unsigned I-124)


• 
  SR 58
  


• 
  SR 153
  

Major surface routes

• 
  SR 317 (Bonny Oaks Drive)


• 
  US 11 (Lee Highway) / US 64 (Brainerd Road)


• Broad Street


• 
  US 41 / US 72 (Cummings Highway)


• 
  US 27 (Dayton Boulevard)


• East Brainerd Road


• Georgia Avenue


• Gunbarrel Road


• Hickory Valley Road


• Hixson Pike


• 
  US 76 (Main Street)


• McCallie Avenue


• Ringgold Road


• 
  US 27 (Rossville Boulevard)


• Shallowford Road


• 
  US 127 (Signal Mountain Boulevard)

Tunnels

• 
  Bachman Tubes, (also unofficially known as The East Ridge Tunnels), which carry Ringgold Road into the neighboring city of East Ridge.


• Missionary Ridge Tunnels (also unofficially known as McCallie or Brainerd Tunnels), which carry McCallie and Bailey Avenues through Missionary Ridge where the route continues as Brainerd Road.


• Stringer's Ridge Tunnel, which carries Cherokee Boulevard through Stringer's Ridge where the route continues as Dayton Boulevard.


• Wilcox Tunnel, which carries Wilcox Boulevard through Missionary Ridge and connects to Shallowford Road.

Public transit

The city is served by a publicly run bus company, the Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority (CARTA). CARTA operates 17 routes, including a free electric shuttle service in the downtown area, and free wireless Internet on certain "smartbuses".^[239]

Bicycle-sharing system

The city has its own bicycle transit system (Bike Chattanooga)^[240] with 300 bikes and 33 docking stations, all supplied by PBSC Urban Solutions, a Canadian company.^[241]

Railroad lines

Chattanooga Choo Choo

Chattanooga Choo Choo

Though Chattanooga's most famous connection to the railroad industry is Chattanooga Choo Choo, a song made famous by Glenn Miller & His Orchestra, the city serves as a major freight hub with Norfolk Southern (NS) and CSX running trains on their own (and each other's) lines. The Norfolk Southern Railway's main classification yard, DeButts Yard, is just east of downtown; Norfolk Southern's Shipp's Yard and CSX's Wauhatchie Yard are southwest of the city. Norfolk Southern maintains a large railroad repair shop in Chattanooga.^[242] The two railroad companies are among the largest individual landowners in the city (the Federal Government is another).^[243]

The Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum (TVRM), the largest historic operating railroad in the South, and the Chattooga and Chickamauga Railway also provide railroad service in Chattanooga. The headquarters of the National Model Railroad Association (NMRA) were located in Chattanooga next to the TVRM from 1982 to 2013, when the NMRA moved to Soddy Daisy, a nearby suburb.^[244] (The NMRA had moved from Indianapolis, Indiana to Chattanooga.^[244])

Using the AAR reporting marks (NS for Norfolk Southern, CSXT for CSX Transportation, TVRM for the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum, TNT for subsidiary Tyner Terminal Railroad, and CCKY for Chattooga and Chickamauga Railway), the rail lines passing through Chattanooga are as follows:

• CSXT – Western & Atlantic Subdivision (Chattanooga to Atlanta)
  
  • Chattanooga Subdivision (Chattanooga to Nashville on former NC&StL trackage)
  
  


• NS – Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific, aka the Queen and Crescent Route, (Chattanooga to Cincinnati, Ohio via Lexington, Kentucky)
  
  
  
  • Alabama Division (Chattanooga to Memphis via Huntsville, Alabama)
  
  
  • 
    Alabama Great Southern (Chattanooga to New Orleans, Louisiana via Birmingham, Alabama)
  
  
  • Georgia Division (Chattanooga to Atlanta)
  
  
  • Central Division (Chattanooga to Knoxville)
  
  
  • Chattanooga Traction Company
    
    
    
    • North Chattanooga to Signal Mountain
    
    
    • Dry Valley Line (Red Bank to Lupton City)
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  


• TVRM – East Chattanooga to Grand Junction (3 miles (4.8 km))
  
  
  
  • East Chattanooga Belt Line Railroad (from near 23rd Street, across to Holtzclaw Avenue and East Chattanooga around North Chamberlain Ave., used by TVRM)
  
  
  • TNT - Tyner Terminal Railroad (Enterprise South Industrial Park railroad operations)
  
  
  
  


• CCKY – formerly the Tennessee Alabama & Georgia line (Chattanooga to Hedges, Georgia, abandoned since 2009)
  
  • formerly the Central of Georgia line (Chattanooga to Lyerly, Georgia)
  
  

The Lookout Mountain Incline Railway, often referred to as the Incline Railway by locals, serves as a tourist attraction. It is also occasionally used for commuting by Lookout Mountain residents, particularly during wintry weather when traveling up and down the mountain could be very dangerous.

Despite the high level of freight rail activity, there is no passenger rail service in the city for either commuters or long-distance travelers.

Bridges

Bridges in Chattanooga (In the foreground is the Walnut Street Bridge, immediately behind is the Market Street Bridge, and then in the background is the P.R. Olgiati Bridge.)

Being bisected by the Tennessee River, Chattanooga has seven bridges that allow people to traverse the river; five of the bridges being automobile bridges, one a rail bridge, and one a pedestrian bridge. These are the following, from west to east:

Market Street Bridge facing the North Shore

• 
  P.R. Olgiati Bridge – Named for a former mayor, P.R. Olgiati, this bridge, which was dedicated in 1959, carries U.S. Highway 27 from downtown towards Dayton, Tennessee and points northward.^[15]
  


• 
  Market Street Bridge – Officially called the John Ross Bridge, this bridge is a bascule bridge, which is a type of draw bridge. The bridge was completed in 1917 for the large sum of $1,000,000 for the time. Having stood for decades since its last major overhaul, the Tennessee Department of Transportation declared it unsafe in late 2004. The bridge was closed in 2005 for a long-overdue renovation and was reopened on August 4, 2007.^[245]
  


• 
  Walnut Street Bridge – Also known as "The Walking Bridge", it is one of the centerpieces of Chattanooga's urban renewal and is the second longest pedestrian bridge in the nation. Constructed in 1891, the bridge was declared unsafe and closed to traffic in 1978. It was on the verge of being demolished in the late 1980s when public outcry led to it being restored as a pedestrian-only span that opened in 1993.^[15][246]
  


• 
  Veterans Memorial Bridge – Completed in 1984, this bridge has helped commuters from Hixson, Lupton City, and other northern areas reach downtown quickly.^[15]
  


• 
  C.B. Robinson Bridge – Opened in 1981, this bridge carries Dupont Parkway from Amnicola Highway to Hixson Pike and Route 153.^[15]
  


• 
  Tenbridge – This truss bridge with a vertical lift carries the Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway over the river and is a popular railfan area. It was constructed in 1920.^[247]
  


• 
  Wilkes T. Thrasher Bridge – Completed in 1955, this route carries Highway 153 over the Chickamauga Dam.^[15]
  

Air travel

The Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport (CHA) offers non-stop service to various domestic destinations via regional and national airlines, including Allegiant Airlines, United Express, American Eagle, Delta Connection, and US Airways Express.^[248]

Notable people

Pop culture

Chattanooga has been referred to in pop culture numerous times over the decades, including in books, documentaries, films, TV shows, and more. In recent years, Chattanooga has appeared in more productions of blockbuster movies and TV shows, as well as independent films and documentaries.^[249][250]

Novels

Books that have Chattanooga as either a major or minor plot setting are Don't Cry by Beverly Barton, American Gods by Neil Gaiman, Queen of Wands by John Ringo,^[251] and Four and Twenty Blackbirds by Cherie Priest.^[252]

Documentaries

Documentaries have been filmed in Chattanooga over the decades, mostly related to the railroad industry or the Civil War battles that were fought in Chattanooga. These include the following:^[253]

• 
  Up Lookout Mountain on the Electric Incline (1913)^[254]
  


• 
  Battle Fields Around Chattanooga (1913)^[255]
  


• 
  The Blue and the Gray (1935)^[256]
  


• 
  Our Country (2003)^[257]
  


• 
  John Henry: Inside the Sculptors Studio (2008)^[258]
  


• 
  Let There Be Light: The Odyssey of Dark Star (2010)^[259]
  


• 
  Memphis & Charleston Railroad: Marriage of the Waters (2010)^[260]
  


• 
  Born and Bred (2011)^[261]
  


• 
  When Mourning Breaks (2013)^[262]
  

Films

Chattanooga and its environs have been featured in numerous films since the early 1970s, principally due to Chattanooga being the home of the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum (TVRM), which has allowed its equipment to be filmed in various films.

A partial list of movies shot with TVRM equipment follows:^[263]

The 1941 Glenn Miller song that catapulted Chattanooga to international fame, Chattanooga Choo Choo, has been performed in numerous movies, including the 1941 film Sun Valley Serenade, featuring the Miller Orchestra and a young Milton Berle, "The Glenn Miller Story" starring James Stewart in the 1953 title roll, and the 1984 eponymous film Chattanooga Choo Choo.^[285]

Sporting and entertainment events

A number of pro wrestling events, as well as other events, such as circuses, concerts, ice shows, monster truck rallies, and rodeos, have been held in Chattanooga since the late 1980s, all at UTC's McKenzie Arena, also known as The Roundhouse because of its round shape and the impact of the railroad industry on Chattanooga.^[286] The events include the following:^[253]

TV shows

Police POV, COPS, and the MTV show Cuff'd have shown members of the Chattanooga Police Department apprehending suspects.^[295] In addition to police reality shows, Chattanooga and nearby areas have been either been featured or mentioned in several TV shows, including the following:^[253]

Miscellaneous film and TV productions

Numerous independent short films have been produced in Chattanooga over the last several years, including the following:^[253]

• 
  Outcasts (2003)^[320]
  


• 
  Assurances (2004)^[321]
  


• 
  A Bright Past (2008)^[322]
  


• 
  Last Breath (2009)^[323]
  


• 
  The Campaign for Chattanooga: Death Knell of the Confederacy (2012)^[324]
  


• 
  Ella (2012)^[325][326]
  

Some TV movies have been filmed in Chattanooga or nearby areas, as well, including the 1986 TV movie A Winner Never Quits.^[327] In addition, the 1999 music video Usher Live, starring Chattanooga native Usher, was filmed in Chattanooga.^[328]

Sister/Twinning cities

Chattanooga has seven sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International: ^[329]

• 
  Hamm, Germany (since 1975)^[330]
  


• 
  Wuxi, Jiangsu, China (since 1982)^[331]
  


• 
  Givatayim, Israel (since 1988)^[332]
  


• 
  Nizhny Tagil, Russia (since 1996)^[333]
  


• 
  Gangneung, South Korea (since 2003)^[334]
  


• 
  Wolfsburg, Germany (since 2011)^[335]
  


• 
  Manfredonia, Italy (since 2014)^[336]
  

Chattanooga also has two twinning cities:

• 
  Swindon, United Kingdom (since 2006)^[337]
  


• 
  Ascoli Piceno, Italy (since 2006)^[338]
  

In January 2007, all of the cities above, with the exception of Wolfsburg, had a tree native to each locale planted at Coolidge Park's Peace Grove, which was established to replace a 100-year-old Slippery Elm tree which was damaged in a lightning storm in August 2006.^[339][340] Wolfsburg was added in September 2011.^[341] The Peace Grove has eight trees: a Linden Tree, which represents Hamm; a Chinese Elm, which represents Wuxi; a Mediterranean Cedar, which represents Givatayim; a White Birch, which represents Nizhny Tagil; a Ginkgo Tree, which represents Gangneung; an English Elm, which represents Swindon; a European Hornbeam, which represents Ascoli Piceno; and an Oak Tree, which represents Wolfsburg.

See also

• Benwood Foundation


• Chattanooga, Rome and Columbus Railroad


• List of people from Chattanooga, Tennessee


• Lyndhurst Foundation


• The Steele Home Orphanage


• Underground Chattanooga

Notes

References

Further reading

• Armstrong, Zella. The History of Hamilton County and Chattanooga, Tennessee. (2 vol 1931; reprint The Overmountain Press, 1992)
  


• Crutchfield, Jennifer. Chattanooga Landmarks: Exploring the History of the Scenic City (The History Press, 2010)


• Desmond, Jerry R. Chattanooga (Arcadia Publishing, 1996)


• Downey, Fairfax. Storming of the Gateway: Chattanooga, 1863 (D. McKay Company, 1960)


• Ezzell, Tim. Chattanooga, 1865-1900: A City Set Down in Dixie (University of Tennessee Press; 2014) 212 pages; focuses on economic and political development


• Govan, Gilbert E., and James W. Livingood. "Chattanooga Under Military Occupation, 1863-1865." Journal of Southern History (1951) 17#1 pp: 23-47. in JSTOR
  


• Hubbard, Rita L. African Americans of Chattanooga: A History of Unsung Heroes (The History Press, 2007)


• Livingood, James Weston. Chattanooga: An Illustrated History (Windsor Publications, 1981)


• Scott, Michelle R. Blues Empress in Black Chattanooga: Bessie Smith and the Emerging Urban South (University of Illinois Press, 2008)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Wikisource has the text of the 1879 American Cyclopædia article Chattanooga.

• Official website


• Chattanooga Convention and Visitor's Bureau


• Chamber of Commerce


• City charter


• Chattanooga Sports & Events Committee


• Chattanooga Times Free Press


• 
  Chattanooga travel guide from Wikivoyage


• 
   "Chattanooga". Encyclopædia Britannica. 6 (11th ed.). 1911. pp. 7–8.
  


• 
  Chattanooga at Curlie
  


• Hamilton County Map Maker