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Part 3: Bluff View Art District turned out to be an oasis from the bustling downtown.
By Michael Verdon — Spring
2004
We spent the rest of the morning doing the tourist trail, including the Chattanooga Choo-Choo (the rehabbed train station, with an impressive 80-foot-high dome and restaurant with singing waiters), lunch at the Big River Grill micro-brewery, and a quick entry and even quicker exit from the upscale shops at Warehouse Row. Bluff View Art District turned out to be an oasis from the bustling downtown. The Hunter Museum of American Art was closed for a $20-million renovation (it’ll open—you guessed it —next spring with a Georgia O’Keeffe exhibit), but Dad and I had coffee and pastries at Rembrandt’s Coffee House on the shaded terrace, which is very civilized compared with the prime tourist spots.
THE REAL CHATTANOOGA
On our third and last day, we found the real Chattanooga across the river in Coolidge Park. It was hopping that Friday night, with junior mountaineers climbing a rock wall, families picnicking, and kids running wild in an outdoor fountain. The loud, ornate carousel—with carved horses, tigers, rabbits, and giraffes—poured out organ tunes. Dad and I listened to Ringgo Gap, a bluegrass band that served up a mountain symphony as smooth as Jim Beam. The guitar player, strumming a 1931 Gibson worth about $25,000, joked that he doubled the value of his pickup whenever he brought his axe along.
Later, after an excellent seafood dinner at the Southside Grill, we headed over to Nightfall, a summer concert series that draws thousands to the downtown. In contrast to Coolidge Park, Market Street had lines of bikers showing off Harleys and Hondas, but the crowd was a nice mix of ages and ethnicities.
Everyone was just out to have fun—something this revitalized city is bound to offer fathers, sons, and all boaters when it officially hangs out the welcome sign come spring.
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