Cornerstones

Challenges for Preservation: What problems deserve our effort?

The community has regrettably lost some of its very best architecture, and historically significant places , (Union Depot, American National Bank, Hamilton National Bank, Citico Mounds, etc.) and even whole neighborhoods (Cameron Hill, Battery Place/Bluff View, etc.) and districts (The West Side). Other treasures have survived and been given new life (Walnut Street Bridge, Dome Building, Tivoli Theater, The James Building, Chattanooga Choo-Choo, Craven’s House. Ane more recently, The Loveman’s Building, Central Block Building, St. John’s Hotel, and the Passenger Baggage Building on 13th Street). Others stand listless awaiting their fate (The St. George Hotel, Prehistoric villages on Moccasin Bend, Park Place School building, Old Ross Hotel, etc.).

Cornerstones' role in solutions: How do we intend to confront the problems?

Cornerstones attends to the immediate threats to the survival of historic structures while striving to inspire a general concern for historic preservation.

One of our first tasks is to help in surveying the city’s downtown’s historic structures and neighborhoods. While much of this task has already been accomplished by organizations like Chattanooga Landmarks and the Chattanooga Historic Zoning Commission, the existing surveys have never been coordinated or indexed. Neither are they complete. Cornerstones intends to coordinate and complete existing architectural surveys in an effort to create a computer database accessible via the Internet.

To counter immediate threats to historic structures, Cornerstones has established a revolving fund which allows us to purchase buildings and finance preservation and restoration work. It is termed "revolving" because Cornerstones sells properties after infusing them with cash. Recouped funds are returned to the fund to be deployed again when the need arises. Currently the funds have allowed Cornerstones to purchase two historic structures destined for demolition and to restore their roofs and facades in preparation for resale to appropriate developers.

Another tool is our Façade Easement Program , through which a property owner can donate to Cornerstones a perpetual conservation easement on the façade of their building. The value of the easement, as determined by a certified appraiser, can be treated as a charitable contribution for tax purposes. The easement is attached to the deed into perpetuity and the owner is required to maintain the façade to the same standards as is required by the Secretary of the Interior for properties on the National Register of Historic Places.

To promote appreciation of the community's historical resources, Cornerstones celebrated historic preservation each year with awards at the Scenic City Beautiful Program in November and with the Wine Over Water Festival in the historic Walnut Street Bridge in October. Proceeds from this festival go into the Cornerstones Revolving Fund for restoration projects.