Broad and Market Streets
Introduction
When surveyors labored to plan the village streets of Ross’s
Landing in the summer of 1838, they developed a grid between the
Tennessee River, Ninth Street, Georgia Avenue and Cameron Hill.
They planned wide thoroughfares, a legacy for which Chattanooga
must be forever grateful. One (Market Street) was commonly called
"The Road;" next to it, on the west, was Mulberry Street,
which featured a wide, meandering gully capable, it was claimed,
of "engulfing Pharaoh and his host." Residences and
commercial places soon dotted the area, but there remained plenty
of room for gardens, woodland, swampy areas and "winter lakes"
where wild ducks gathered.
In the decade of the 1850’s, business activity shifted
from the river area to Ninth Street (now M.L. King Boulevard)
with the coming of the railroads and the opening of the Crutchfield
House opposite the depot. To accommodate the new form of carrier,
the city permitted tracks to be places on Mulberry Avenue to the
river and renamed it Railroad Avenue.
When Federal troops occupied the city during the Civil War,
Market Street and Railroad Avenue underwent radical transformation.
The once-beautiful garden town grew suddenly old and weary; defense
works sprang up; houses and fences were razed, trees cut; unsightly
warehouses lined Market Street; horse corrals seemed to be everywhere;
and rail cars stood in great chains on the tracks of Railroad
Avenue.
A new start was finally made around 1892. Railroad Avenue was
cleared of trains, rechristened Broad Street and the gully was
filled. In time, low areas received fill-dirt as a kind of amateur
flood control program; new and more substantial structures lined
the streets where the passing parade of horse-drawn street cars,
electric trolleys and automobiles produced tremendous change.
Today, the Ross’s Landing area is once again bringing life
to Chattanooga’s birthplace with the opening of the Tennessee
Aquarium.
Ross’s Landing
Tennessee Aquarium
Visitor’s Center
Ross’s Landing was a thriving trading center in Indian
Country for many years.
Established in 1816 by John and Lewis Ross, sons of an early Scottish
settler who married into the Cherokee tribe (the major Indian
nation of the area), Ross’s Landing primarily consisted of
a landing, warehouse and ferry service. As the southern landing
point of a ford to cross the Tennessee River, Ross’s Landing
was an important supply route for the religious missions to the
Cherokees and later to the entire Cherokee nation.
Near this site was located a stockade where Indians were held
prior to their removal to the west in 1838, during the tragic
episode in American history known as the "Trail of Tears."
Afterward, white settlers changed the name of the area to Chattanooga,
a name they considered unusual and which would therefore attract
attention.
During the Civil War, a military bridge was located on this
site which continued in use until it was swept away by the 1867
flood. After this flood, the only means to cross the river was
by ferry until the nearby Walnut Street Bridge was constructed
in 1891. Currently Ross’s Landing is used as a city park
containing boating, picnicking and parking facilities.
Directly across the Riverfront Parkway, the $45 million Tennessee
Aquarium rises majestically above the $10 million Ross’s
Landing Park and Plaza, where Chattanooga’s history is told
in 35 chronological time bands—from the present to the beginning
of time. Adjacent to the aquarium is the new visitors center.
Sports Barn (Car Barns)
200-300 Market Street. During the late 19th and early 20th
centuries, the chief form of mass transportation was the street
car, first pulled by horses from 1875 to 1889, then powered by
overhead electric lines from 1889 to the 1940’s. This group
of buildings was used for mass transportation purposes continuously
from 1887 to 1978; the barn on the south side of Third Street,
built in 1887, was used to stable horses and mules; and the buildings
to the north of Third Street, built in 1907, were used for office
space and to house streetcars. Later these barns were used by
the city bus system until it moved to larger facilities in 1978.
Old Newton Chevrolet Building
329 Market Street. This 1920’s structure is one of the
few remaining elegant automobile showrooms from that era. A blend
of Classical and Spanish detailing, it retains its original wrought-iron
lanterns, as well as the "L’s" on the terra-cotta
panels which stood for Lincoln, the first cars sold in the building.
McConnell Block
Corner of Market and East Seventh Street. This building, built
in 1892, has one of the most ornate facades of any downtown Chattanooga
building. Victorian Italianate features, such as ornate windows,
a heavy cornice and oversized brackets, make this one of Chattanooga’s
most distinguished downtown commercial buildings. Once known as
Central Block, the building was called "the first pretentious
building to go up on Market Street." A building of the same
style, the McConnell Building, constructed in 1884, is adjacent
to this on East Seventh Street.
Miller’s Building (Blue Cross-Blue Shield)
Built in the 1890’s, the Miller’s Building was designed
by R.H. Hunt as a department store. After being hidden by a circa-1960’s
"modern covering," the exterior was restored and the
interior converted to offices by Blue Cross-Blue Shield in 1896.
First Tennessee Bank Building
Main Office, West Seventh Street at Market Street. When built
around 1910, this building was the city’s first tall, steel-framed
tower, and for many years, it was the city’s tallest building.
In recent years, the metal sheathing has been added; however,
the majority if the original façade remains intact underneath
this covering.
Chattanooga Bank Building
Market at West Eighth Street. This massive office building
constructed in 1928, reflects a mixture of Classical and Art Deco
detailing. Notice the eagles at the third-floor level facing Eighth
Street. Eagles, a motif used in many Art Deco designs, symbolized
the strength of the country. This was an especially popular motif
on government buildings during the Great Depression. The lobby
has retained many beautiful details, including unusual brass elevator
doors.
Fischer-Evans Clock
801 Market Street. This graceful cast-iron timepiece has been
keeping downtown Chattanooga on time since 1883. Built by Fischer-Evans
Jewelers, this elderly landmark is one of only two 19th century
pieces of street furniture remaining in downtown Chattanooga.
Hardie & Caudle
809 Market Street. Built in 1923, this store has a well maintained
Art Deco style storefront. The terra-cotta tile designs, the window
decorations and the unique letter style reflects the highly geometric
styles of that decade.
Burchay’s Furs
817 Market Street. This unusual and impressive 1890’s
stone building has been a focal point of this block since its
construction. Although the first floor has been altered, the Romanesque
upper floors feature beautifully carved stonework. Notice the
lion’s head protruding from under the roof leaves.
Raddison Read House
Broad Street and M.L. King Boulevard. This corner has been
the location of famous Chattanooga hotels since the 1850’s
when the Crutchfield House was constructed on this site. Its history
has long been associated with the history of the railroad industry
in Chattanooga. The site was selected because the railroad industry
promised to construct a station across the street once a hotel
was built. Thus in 1857, the Western and Atlantic Union Station
was constructed on the site now occupied by the Krystal Building.
Even though Union Station was believed to be the oldest structure
in the downtown area and was listed in the National Register of
Historic places, it was demolished in 1973.
Prior to the Civil War, the Crutchfield House was the political,
social and economic heart of Chattanooga. Here, Jefferson Davis
and William Crutchfield almost fought a dual over state’s
rights in 1861. During the Civil War, the Crutchfield House was
used as headquarters and as a hospital. The building later burned
and was replaced by the first Read House which opened in 1872.
The present building was constructed in 1926 in a Georgian Revival
style and features many elaborate and ornate interior spaces.
In its more than 100 years of continued service, the Read House
has played host to numerous famous people, including Winston Churchill,
William McKinley, Eleanor Roosevelt and Margaret Truman.
Milton Building
10-18 West Eighth Street. This Richardsonian Romanesque building
was built between 1892-’93. Look carefully above the doors
and the name of the building is still visible. This style is named
after its creator, Henry Hobson Richardson, often regarded as
one of America’s three greatest architects.
James Building
735 Broad Street. Chattanooga developer Charles E. James constructed
this building in 1907 as the first modern office structure in
Chattanooga. It is often called Chattanooga’s first skyscraper.
It reflect the Neoclassical concept in commercial architecture
which involves leaving the main portion of large buildings relatively
unadorned. This building and the Maclellan Building were both
designed by R.H. Hunt, one of Chattanooga’s most significant
early architects.
Maclellan Building
721 Broad Street. One of the most unusual office buildings
in Chattanooga, the Maclellan was built in 1924 as the Provident
Life and Accident Building. It is lavishly decorated with classical
details. Notice the unusual roof and the elaborate entrance areas
featuring Ionic columns and eagles.
St. George Hotel
1447-51 Market Street.
Tivoli Theatre
709 Broad Street. At the time of its construction in 1921,
the Tivoli was considered "the finest little theater in the
South." It was built for $750,000 as an exact, but smaller
replica of the Cincinnati Riveria. It was designed by the renowned
Chicago architectural firm of Rapp and Rapp, famous for its theater
designs. Later, when one of the first five Carrier air conditioners
was installed here, the Tivoli became the first public building
in the South to have air conditioning. The magnificent interior
is virtually the same as during the 1920’s and ‘30’s.
Saved from destruction in the mid-‘60’s by a local initiative,
the Tivoli was purchased by the city of Chattanooga in 1976 for
use as a cultural center. In 1987, the Tivoli underwent a $7 million
renovation that included enlarging the stage and adding new dressing
rooms and support space. Meticulous attention was given to restoring
the ornate interior and, today, the Tivoli once again merits the
title "Jewel Box of the South."
Tivoli Center
701 Broad Street. This Richardsonian Romanesque building was
built in the early 1890’s. The four front bays each have
rough stone arches resting on short columns. Note the decorative
features between floors. Formerly the home of Fowler Brothers
Furniture, Tivoli Center underwent extensive restoration in 1986
and reopened as an office building.
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