08.10.2023

Today’s Forecast

84º | Thunderstorms | 70% chance of rain | Sunrise 6:56 a.m. | Sunset 8:35 p.m.

🚂 Meet me at The Chattanooga Choo Choo

Iconic landmarks in Chattanooga

If one thing’s for sure, it’s that Chattanooga loves its bridges. | Photo by @stevenbeardenphoto

We’ve all been there: Someone’s trying to give you directions by describing 10 lefts, 20 rights, and a jumble of cardinal directions. Isn’t it easier to just point out a landmark?

That’s exactly what we’re doing. We have some of the most recognizable Chattanooga landmarks — from the Walnut Street Bridge to Lookout Mountain. Not only are these local icons easy to remember, but they’ll also get you where you need to go easily.

Walnut Street Bridge
Address: 1 Walnut St.
Nearby: Coolidge Park, Maclellan Island, Hunter Museum of American Art

It’s one of the longest pedestrian bridges in the world. The Walnut Street Bridge, built in 1890, connects downtown and North Chattanooga. It’s the state’s oldest non-military highway bridge still in use today.

NOOGAtoday | Aquarium — See the aquarium’s glass peaks light up with different colors when the sun sets.
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Photo by @stevenbeardenphoto

The Tennessee Aquarium
Address: 1 Broad St.
Nearby: Ross’s Landing, Chattanooga Green, Puckett’s Grocery & Restaurant, National Medal of Honor Heritage Center

The aquarium’s two iconic buildings have glass peaks that stand out in the city’s skyline. Since its opening in 1992, the private, not-for-profit organization has played a significant role in the city’s economic development.

Lookout Mountain
Address: 1720 S. Scenic Hwy.
Nearby: Ruby Falls, Rock City, The Incline Railway

If you ever get confused about what mountain is which, remember Lookout Mountain has a distinctive point and slope. The landmark has endless historical significance, including a major Civil War battle. Fun fact: Johnny Cash even crooned about the mountain.

NOOGAtoday | Chattanooga Choo Choo sign — Tyler Perry’s “Six Triple Eight” was almost solely filmed inside the Chattanooga Choo Choo.
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Photo by NOOGAtoday

The Chattanooga Choo Choo/Terminal Station
Address: 92 Choo Choo Ave.
Nearby: Songbirds Guitar & Pop Culture Museum, Chattanooga Whiskey, TailGate Brewery

Terminal Station was the first train station to connect the north to the south, but as the years went on and railway services began to decline, the station was destined to be demolished in the early 1970s.

The station was saved by local businessmen who were inspired by the song “The Chattanooga Choo Choo.” It was then redeveloped and renamed The Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel in 1973. Fun fact: The hotel is currently undergoing another renovation + rebranding.

6 more iconic landmarks

Events

Today, Aug. 10

Ballet Esprit Celebrates the Landscape | Thursday, Aug. 10 | 6-7 p.m. | Hunter Museum of American Art, 10 Bluff View Ave., Chattanooga | Price of admission | See Ballet Esprit perform an exhibition-inspired dance.

Friday, Aug. 11

Nightfall | Friday, Aug. 11| 7 p.m. | Miller Plaza, 850 Market St., Chattanooga | Free+ | Bring your blankets and lawn chairs to enjoy food trucks, artist vendors, and live music performed by Oweda + The Banditos.
S’mores and Storytelling | Friday, Aug. 11 | 7:30-8:45 p.m. | Audubon Acres, 900 N. Sanctuary Rd., Chattanooga | $7-$10 | Enjoy a night around the campfire with s’mores and storytelling from Latta Johnston.

Saturday, Aug. 12

Family Fun Day | Saturday, Aug. 12 | 9 a.m.-12 p.m. | Chattanooga Green, 100 Chestnut St., Chattanooga | Free+, RSVP | Kick off the school year with a children’s entrepreneur market, kite building, arts + crafts, and music.
Cherokee Iconography: A Language unto Itself | Saturday, Aug. 12 | 11 a.m.-12 p.m. | The Passage Site (between Market Street + Riverfront Parkway), Chattanooga | Free | Learn about Cherokee iconography + history during this ranger-led program.
Planting a Fall Garden | Saturday, Aug. 12 | 2-3:30 p.m. | The Chattery, 1800 Rossville Ave., Chattanooga | $25 | Discuss tips and tricks for preparing your fall garden + draw a planting plan to take home.
Marvel’s Defenders of the Diamond | Saturday, Aug. 12 | 7:15-11 p.m. | AT&T Field, 201 Power Alley, Chattanooga | $8-$14 | Avengers Assemble — Come see your Lookouts take on the Blue Wahoos for the Marvel’s Defenders of the Diamond game.*

Tuesday, Sept. 19

10th Annual 3686 Festival | Tuesday, Sept. 19-Thursday, Sept. 21 | 12-9 p.m. | Wildhorse Saloon, 120 2nd Ave. North, Nashville | $399-$549 | This multi-day entrepreneur festival will feature talks from leading entrepreneurial, tech + venture capital thought leaders, plus investor connections, networking sessions, meetups, and more.*

Events calendar here

Click here to have your event featured.

Edu

The keynote speaker at this conference makes it a can’t-miss

GV-NOOGA-AVL.east tennessee state university equity and inclusion conference.8.10.23.jpg

The artwork for this year’s conference theme “Beyond ‘Checking a Box': Building and Sustaining Campus-Wide Engagement for Belonging” was created by pop-artist + speaker Jason Flack. | Photo provided by East Tennessee State University

East Tennessee State University announced its keynote speaker for their Equity and Inclusion Conference, Sept. 28-30 — and we just got more excited about attending.

ETSU will welcome journalist + Princeton University professor Dr. Imani Perry, a well-known scholar of law, race, and African American culture, and the critically-acclaimed author of “South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation.”

Several speakers from across the country will join Perry to discuss Appalachian identity, culture, race, ethnicity + more.

News Notes

Civic

Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp recently announced two leadership changes within his administration. David Roddy will serve as the county’s first chief operating officer + Lee Brouner will be appointed as the first-ever chief financial officer.

Health

The Hamilton County Health Department has relaunched its Step ONE Teaching Garden Grants Program for schools and local organizations. The program addresses issues of childhood nutrition within the community. Applications are open until Thursday, Sept. 7 + are also available in Spanish.

Announced

The Chattanooga Regional Homeless Coalition announced it is searching for a new executive director. Deputy Directory Mackenzie Kelly will serve as interim while the organization conducts a national search to fill the position. (Chattanoogan.com)

UTC

UTC will offer Spanish-language campus tours for the first time in its history starting this month. The first session will be on Friday, Aug. 25 at 5 p.m. — students + families can get picked up by bus from La Paz (809 S. Willow St.) at 4 p.m. Register online. (University of Tennessee Chattanooga)

Cause

Millennium Bank is accepting donations for the Samaritan Center’s annual Stock the Locker drive. Items such as backpacks, school supplies, and clothing can be dropped off at the bank’s locations in Chattanooga + the surrounding area from now through Thursday, Aug. 17.

Community

To celebrate its 25th anniversary in November, Crabtree Farms wants your help creating a tile mosaic for its Evelyn Center on Saturday, Aug. 12. From 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., you can paint tiles for free with the folks from ArtsBuild + Jessie Bean of Bean and Bailey Ceramics.

Awards

Chattanooga Christian School teacher Clay Huffaker received the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History’s “Tennessee History Teacher of the Year” award. The award recognizes one K-12 teacher from each state to highlight “the crucial importance of history education.”

Outdoors

Hiking enthusiasts, this one’s for you. Black Creek Chattanooga is building a new series of trails, four miles of which will be open to the public later this year. Check out the trail map and plan your visit — you might just find your new favorite outdoor spot.*

Arts

Attention Broadway lovers — Subscriptions to Broadway at the Memorial Auditorium are now on sale for the ‘23-’24 season. Choose from 6-, 5-, 4-, and 3-show packages while locking in the lowest price of the season. Pro tip: Secure your spot at “Hamilton” in next year’s season by becoming a subscriber.*

Arts

🎨 Calling all local creatives

Help redesign the district banners in downtown Chattanooga. | Photo provided by River City Co.

If you have walked along the streets in Chattanooga’s downtown, you have probably noticed the banners that hang from various street poles displaying the different city districts.

As part of River City Co.'s Downtown District Banner Program, the banners are meant to beautify and promote the area as well as highlight its revitalization and progress.

Now, the company is seeking a request for qualifications from local artists or designers to be a part of redesigning the banners.

Important dates

Submissions will be open until Friday, Sept. 8
Top artists will be selected on Friday, Sept. 15
One artist will be selected for the project on Friday, Sept. 29

Note: The artist selected will receive $1,500 for their artwork.

Additional support

River City Co. is also seeking community support through donations for the replacement of the banners + will match dollar for dollar (up to $20,000) toward donations for the program.

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The Wrap

Today’s edition by:
Kristen Templeton

From the editor

A few weekends ago, I was able to judge the FiveStar Food Competition at The Chattanooga Market. The secret ingredient for all of the dishes was mushrooms from Gowin Valley Farms. I’m visiting the farm soon to meet the growers + get an idea of the mushroom harvesting process.

Have any questions about mushrooms you want answered? Send them my way and I’ll make sure to ask.

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Iconic landmarks in Chattanooga

River City Co. seeks local artists for District Banner Program

Important dates

Additional support