Revitalization in Chattanooga

I have an anonymous contributor from the Chattanooga region who sends me interesting articles from time to time from the Chattanooga Times Free-Press.

This piece, "Growth on the Boulevard," discusses the revitalization of a neighborhood near downtown that appears to have been similar to U Street NW in terms of being an entertainment destination for African-Americans and H Street NE for the shopping experience, also "back in the day."

And the article has a very direct description of the decline of the commercial district:

The boulevard has been battered by a host of changes and problems that weakened its commercial appeal.

In the 1950s, authorities began cracking down on gambling operations along the street after U.S. Sen. Estes Kefauver, D-Tenn., took on the issue here and across the nation. At the same time, the street became one-way out of downtown, while McCallie Avenue was converted to one-way into downtown. Those changes were designed to improve traffic flow in and out of the city.

Racial integration in the 1960s and 1970s also provided new opportunities for blacks to live, work and play elsewhere. Many did just that. By the 1970s, M.L. King lost most of its businesses and part of its commercial core shifted to drug dealing, Mr. Cameron said. ...

One downtown development on M.L. King Boulevard was erected in 1973 by then South Central Bell Telephone Co., now AT&T. But Mr. Mapp said the white, windowless facility doesn't fit with the rest of the boulevard or its historic tradition as a black entertainment district.

and positive changes. From the article:

A decade ago, the $4.5 million Bessie Smith Hall opened in the 200 block of M.L. King Jr. Boulevard with a cabaret-style concert hall at one end of the building and the Chattanooga African-American Museum at the other. The hall is named for Bessie Smith, the "Empress of the Blues," who began her singing career on Ninth Street in the early 1900s. She became a successful female blues singer in the 1920s and 1930s. Mr. Overton said more than 35,000 people a year visit the Bessie Smith facility.

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, through its UC Foundation, brought a major change to the area. The UTC Place Apartments added housing for more than 3,000 students between M.L. King Boulevard and McCallie Avenue.

In 2000, UTC also opened a Community Outreach Partnership Center to study the area and aid in development. "We're hoping that as the boulevard develops new businesses, that will create services and job opportunities for our students," said Dr. Barbara Medley, an associate professor of sociology and director of UTC's outreach program.
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There are some interesting pieces online too about a local festival, Riverbend, such as "Riverbend catalyst," and this about the use of a survey tool that measures the economic impact of festivals, "Riverbend serving as test for festival technology."

Today's paper has a piece about an event at the Bessie Smith Hall, "Extended Strut draws 35,000." And they have a running webpage on the Riverbend festival.

This story, "Tourists get taste of Georgia," about the Georgia Visitor Center, also is intriguing, if you work with tourism, as I do.

Keep sending those articles! They are good reminders...