It’s a beaut, NOOGA, it’s a beaut. This holiday season we’re unwrapping a few presents you won’t find under a tree or in a store. From artworks to entire buildings and historical artifacts, check out these three city gifts given to Chattanooga through the years.
Sculpture Fields at Montague Park | In 1911, Mary Thayer Montague deeded the City of Chattanooga 49 acres of land that makes up part of the Sculpture Fields at Montague Park in honor of her late husband, Theodore G. Montague, former president of Chattanooga’s First National Bank. The public sculpture park, which is the largest of its kind in the Southeast, opened in 2016 thanks to Kentucky sculptor John Henry.
Anna Safley Houston’s rare glass collection | Known for having nine husbands and 10,000 pieces of glassware, this Chattanooga transplant made legal arrangements before her death in 1951 to give Chattanoogans her prized decorative glass collections, which are now on display at the Houston Museum of Decorative Arts. While the museum can only display 10% of Houston’s rare art glass collection due to the number of items, it’s worth millions of dollars. Fun fact: Her pitcher collection is thought to be the largest in the world.
Hunter Museum of American Art | While the 1.4 acres this museum calls home has seen several expansions through the years, it all started with a donated mansion. George Thomas Hunter, who inherited and ran the Coca-Cola Bottling Company empire, founded the Benwood Foundation, a private charitable fund, in 1944. Following his death in 1950, the Chattanooga Art Association asked the foundation that his Neoclassical-style mansion be donated to create an art museum, which became Chattanooga’s first art museum in 1952.
These extraordinary gifts not only add character and value to our city but also show how generosity can have a lasting impact. Do you know of another major gift given to our city? Let us know.
