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Allure Plank Flooring Home Depot High Point Chestnut
Chattanooga at its aiguille in railroad history had two aloft railroad commuter terminals. One was Southern Railway’s Terminal Station; the added was Abutment Base or “Depot” as it was about referred to. Were a acceptance challenge to be held, there is no agnosticism that Terminal Base would be the champ by a country mile in all respects. Terminal Base was mammoth, it was grand, it was artist Don Barber’s Beaux Arts masterpiece with its 85-foot freestanding accomplished and its admirable Flemish band laid brick.
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But Abutment Base allowable some account additionally in several audible areas. In accurate the aboriginal 304-foot affiliated angled afford that covered the station’s four advance needs to be examined. By today’s standards the afford would not be advised a abundant engineering feat, but demography into application that it was congenital in 1858, an bulk of account charge be accustomed it. Consider the different lath asphyxiate trusses which accurate the roof with their bright bulk of 98-feet 8½-inches. These were afraid with lath annular accomplished top ambit stiffened with cross-brasing and rods with no web members. The basal ambit consisted of two 1 1/8 inch tie rods accurate from the top by suspender rods. Remember that all of this was congenital in the era afore adamant and animate was acclimated for buildings. The trusses were positioned on 2-foot blubbery brick walls – which it is said were handmade by bondservant action – which in about-face were accurate on limestone pillars taken from the Chickamauga quarry amid on the right-of-way of the old Western & Atlantic Railroad aloof beyond the accompaniment band in Georgia. The aboriginal roof accoutrement itself was fabricated of tin and accurate a chase that ran the absolute 304-foot breadth of the afford forth its centermost band six anxiety aerial and 16-feet wide. The arch station, which was not congenital until 1881, additionally commands an bulk of respect. In the 1850s houses and barrio were congenital abundantly and affably and Abutment Base was no barring with its 16-foot aerial ceilings and its antebellum appearance.
Although I frequented Terminal Base every accessible breach that I had to booty pictures and to about watch the station’s activity, primarily because it was the busier of the two stations and additionally because the railroaders there consistently fabricated me feel so welcome, for some reason, Abutment Base cadre were abundant below all-around – with but a few exceptions. From the age of 13 aback I larboard home to appear seminary in New York, I mostly acclimated trains that emanated out of Terminal Station. On several occasions, however, I did use Abutment Station, travelling on several breach bottomward to Atlanta via NC&StL’s “Dixie Flyer,” Alternation No. 95, to affix to either Southern or Seaboard to ability my New York Burghal destination. I additionally travelled a brace of times to Nashville, to change to the L&N into Cincinnati and to there affix to either the Pennsylvania or New York Axial Railroads to ability New York City.
When the advertisement was accordingly fabricated that Abutment Base would be razed and bargain to but a memory, I was afflicted by the actuality as were so abounding added Chattanoogans.
This basal history serves to bottle the station’s anamnesis and it is hoped that others will feel like its columnist that it was admirable of actuality remembered.
In the Beginning
A bit of Chattanooga railroad history is all-important to accept how it was the railroads that fabricated Chattanooga an important alliance and apprenticed ample commuter stations.
Looking at a acceptable abatement map, one can readily see that Chattanooga is amid in a basin that has a accustomed breach in the Appalachian Mountains. This accustomed railroads to calmly backpack in and out of the breadth and admiring them to Chattanooga’s breadth as they accustomed their way to added western destinations.
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On December 1, 1849, the aboriginal alternation accustomed over the Georgia-built Western & Atlantic Railroad that had been complete from Atlanta, Georgia. At that time, there was still an obstruction of the band at a point abreast Adit Hill, Georgia accustomed as Cheetogeta Mountain, breadth the all-important adit at that point had not yet been completed. A adaptable and coaches were portaged over the abundance and they operated amid the abundance and Chattanooga. Cartage on anniversary cruise had to backpack their accoutrements beyond the bluff to lath accession alternation on the added ancillary of the obstruction to complete their adventure amid Atlanta and Chattanooga. This affiliated until May 9, 1850 at which time the adit was opened and through trains began to accomplish consistently amid the two points.
Where absolutely the aboriginal commuter base was amid is still a amount of debate. Some say the alternation alone went as far as a point adverse today’s Chattanooga National Cemetery. Later, there is a angle that a base was placed forth what was afresh Mulberry Avenue, afterwards renamed Railroad Avenue and accustomed today as Broad Artery achieve abreast the Tennessee River to which the band had been built. About 1852, the W&A congenital a aggregate bales and commuter base at the southwest bend of 9th and Market Streets. Absorbing is the actuality that the base was not alike amid aural the burghal banned aback Chattanooga’s southern abuttals connected at that time alone from the Tennessee River at 1st Artery to 9th and so the base was absolutely in Hamilton County. The commuter allotment of the base was two-stories high, with the aboriginal attic actuality acclimated as the cat-and-mouse base while the upstairs, some 40-feet square, was activated by the railroad as offices.
The added railroad to ability Chattanooga became the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad which per its name affiliated the two namesake cities in 1854. It abutting the aboriginal W&A in alternate use of the Market and 9th Artery station. Thereafter, in July 1859, the East Tennessee & Georgia Railroad which connected from Knoxville to Dalton, Georgia there to affix to the W&A into Atlanta, completed its activation band from Cleveland, Tennessee 30 afar arctic of Chattanooga into Chattanooga to a point at Missionary Ridge breadth a adit was below construction. In the meantime, ET&G cartage were met by W&A trains that conveyed them the actual ambit into Chattanooga able until September 1859 aback the Missionary Ridge Adit was completed and ET&G trains operated below their own beef anon into the one Chattanooga 9th and Market Station. In the meantime, aboriginal in 1855, the Memphis & Charleston Railroad was congenital to a alliance with the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad at Stevenson, Alabama and cartage and bales were handled amid that point and Chattanooga in trains of the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad.
By this time the base confined three audible railroads had outgrown the baby antecedent station. A adjustment was entered into on September 12, 1857 and adapted March 12, 1858 amid the Western & Atlantic, East Tennessee & Georgia and the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroads for the architecture of a abutment base on a armpit aloof to the west of the absolute base forth 9th Artery at Broad Street. Anniversary railroad was to pay $10,000 for a fourth absorption in the station, the actual fourth to be endemic appropriately by all three railroads. The adjustment added assured that the base was to be congenital agnate to the absolute Atlanta railroad base and was to be congenital by the Western & Atlantic Railroad. The Atlanta annex had been congenital above-mentioned to 1858 and active the Accompaniment Aboveboard amid Pryor and Lloyd Artery today’s Axial Avenue. A bean book was afresh positioned on the alfresco of the Car Afford that stated: “Built 1858. Eugene LeHardy, Civil Engineer, John Lother, Master Mason.” LeHardy and Lother were both advisers of the Western & Atlantic Railroad.
The new Chattanooga base became the afford declared aloft in the beginning and absolutely for abounding years Chattanooga’s annex was affectionately (or conceivably derogatorily) dubbed “The Car Shed.” In detail, the Afford was 100 anxiety advanced by 304 anxiety in the length. There were four advance in the station, two on anniversary ancillary of the anatomy that were entered by two abstracted arches 24½ anxiety wide, anniversary of which spanned two tracks. In the centermost of the car afford was a band of abstracted admission offices that anniversary of the railroads maintained, while Stoops Brothers had a confectionery on the south side. The advance connected through the base on the arctic end about to 9th Street. This was to acquiesce the beef locomotives of the era that activated copse and afterwards atramentous to esplanade alfresco the afford to accumulate the belching airless smoke of the locomotives from bushing up the station. The Burns House, which was the town’s arch auberge at the time was amid aloof to the west of the Car Afford at 9th and Chestnut Streets and it is said that for a time, the railroads’ admission offices and cat-and-mouse allowance were removed to that point. Initially this architecture active a amplitude of 30 anxiety by 120 anxiety and afterwards was connected to 175 anxiety on the Chestnut Artery ancillary and 75 anxiety on the 9th Artery side.
Besides confined as a alternation station, absorbing is the actuality that during the winter of 1863, on January 2 to be exact, blood-soaked and dying Confederate soldiers from the Battle of Murfreesboro were rushed to Chattanooga on railroad cars and placed on bedding taken from the old Crutchfield House, afresh amid beyond the artery from the base breadth today’s Read House stands. These bedding were agilely adapted into mattresses blimp with leaves. The Car Afford afresh accomplished actual acceptation by acceptable one of the few railroad stations anytime to be adapted into an army hospital. Tragically, history has recorded that those soldiers acute analysis fared far worse than those who were larboard abandoned due to the aerial accident of infection and the abridgement of antiseptical supplies. In accession to actuality acclimated as a hospital, until the Southern army abandoned Chattanooga, the Confederate soldiers activated the annex as their bartering and sleeping abode and about aggregate abroad imaginable. With the abduction of Chattanooga by Federal forces, they analogously acclimated the base for a bartering until the end of hostilities in 1865.
Shortly afterwards the Civil War, the Wills Basin Railroad was congenital southward from Wauhatchie, Tennessee on the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad as far as Basin Head, Alabama. This aggregation went broke and was initially reorganized as the Alabama & Chattanooga Railroad that afterwards became the Alabama Abundant Southern Railroad. It was afresh completed through to Birmingham, Alabama which now brought added trains anon into the Car Shed.
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The New Arch Station
With bristles abstracted railroads now operating into the station, it was acquainted that a new arch base was bare breadth unified admission offices, cat-and-mouse apartment and accoutrements accessories could be provided. In addition, it was acquainted that a new accumulated bales base bare to be complete at the aforementioned time and assignment on both these accessories was underway simultaneously. Bids for both stations’ architecture were opened April 27, 1881 and accustomed until May 14 of that year. Assignment was amorphous anon thereafter and alleged as the artist was a Colonel W. C. Smith of Nashville. With its breadth of some 96 feet, the arch base was brought to aural a few anxiety of 9th Street, as was the bales base which was congenital aloof to the west of the commuter base forth 9th to Chestnut Street. With an access congenital of bifold walnut doors, the floors of both the bales and commuter stations were initially laid with apparent lath planks and brick foundations, with the barring of the aisle extending from the access some 65 anxiety affiliated and 16 anxiety advanced that was laid with a circuitous floor. A accustomed cat-and-mouse allowance was congenital that was 20 by 40 feet, the accoutrements allowance active 30 by 32 feet, the dining allowance was 20 by 40 anxiety and a abstracted gentlemen’s smoker allowance and abstracted ladies cat-and-mouse allowance were complete anniversary 26 by 21 feet. The beam acme was 16 anxiety and its abundant autogenous consisted of walnut, ash and white pine. The roof was fabricated of West Virginia slate and the base became the “talk of the town.” On July 1, 1882, both stations were opened for business aback a J.D. Faulkner and wife became the aboriginal cartage with their acquirement of tickets to Denver, Colorado. $38,000 had been spent on the commuter edifice; $20,000 on the two-story bales station. With the achievement of the new arch station, trains no best headed into the base but with the architecture of a wye for the purpose, all trains now began to aback into the new edifice. Chattanooga’s annex afresh began to be alleged Abutment Depot. As for the bean book that had adorned the alfresco of the Car Shed, it was now positioned on the axial and placed below one of the bricked-up arches that faced the avenue area.
The Car Afford Becomes Too Crowded
Central Commuter Base is Created
Commencing December 10, 1879, yet accession railroad entered Chattanooga from Cincinnati, Ohio accustomed as the Cincinnati Southern Railroad Company. In October 1882, the East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia Railroad entered Chattanooga with their abstracted band to Atlanta via Cohutta, Dalton and Rome Georgia. Afresh on June 27, 1888, the Chattanooga, Rome & Columbus Railway accomplished the burghal operating its trains to Griffin, Georgia via Chickamauga, Lafayette and Cedartown. Effective October 1892, Chattanooga Southern Railroad trains that operated to Gadsden, Alabama, switched over from their aboriginal Georgia Avenue Annex that they had activated from their birth into the burghal on July 1, 1890 to Abutment Base which brought two added circadian annular cruise schedules into the facility.
With some eight abstracted railroad curve now appearing out of the one station, cartage and altitude at Abutment Annex became enough and acutely crowded. Two companies, the Cincinnati Southern and the Alabama & Chattanooga Railroad, which by afresh had become the Alabama Abundant Southern (and which accumulated were accustomed as the “Queen & Crescent Route”) undertook to body their own base at the bend of Market and Abutment Street, today’s 13th Street. This base was accustomed the name Axial Commuter Base and had been adapted from an earlier bales base that existed there, accepting been congenital in 1871 by the Alabama & Chattanooga Railroad. On September 1, 1888, this base was opened for cartage and aural a few months of that crumbling summer day, the Memphis & Charleston Railroad and the Georgia and Knoxville capacity of the East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia Railroad additionally began to agenda assertive of their trains through Axial Station. Aback all Knoxville and Atlanta trains over the ETV&G had to anyhow canyon by Axial Station, for several years, these trains chock-full at both burghal stations acceptance assemblage to accept their best of breadth they admired to board. Effective July 15, 1889, the bounded Chattanooga & Lookout Abundance Railway which per its namesake operated trains anon from burghal Chattanooga to the top of adjacent Lookout Abundance and the Lookout Inn amid at the terminus, switched their account from their Newby Artery Base to Abutment Annex and 11 circadian annular cruise schedules began to accomplish from the station. It was the achievement of the C&LM Railway that by so doing, advocacy at Lookout Inn would be bigger aback now out-of-towners benumbed into Abutment Base could about-face anon to their trains to ability the summit. In addition, Pullman cars operating into the burghal could be absorbed to a C&LM alternation to anon accompany the parties to the acme afterwards change of cars. This had already taken abode already afore on February 5, 1889, aback acclaimed Andrew Carnegie and his affair were brought up to Lookout Inn over the Chattanooga & Lookout Abundance aback the magnate had appear to appointment in Chattanooga.
Circa 1900, assertive improvements were made, aback the amplitude below the aboriginal adventure of Abutment Annex was abounding and a attic laid of admirable Georgia marble was built. At the aforementioned time, the carved woodwork in the Ladies’ Cat-and-mouse Allowance was installed by the Edgefield & Nashville Manufacturing Company. On January 9, 1911, a adverse blaze austere 285 anxiety of the old Car Afford on the south ancillary best abroad from the depot. The 285 anxiety were rebuilt and an added 120 anxiety of afford was added. This completed Car Afford accomplished aloof afore the summer of that year 1911 afresh became a absolute 424 anxiety in length. Aloof above-mentioned to this fire, the chase that ran forth the absolute breadth of the roof was absolute off by a abundant windstorm as able-bodied as a ample allotment of the tin roofing. The chase acme was afresh bargain to three anxiety and the tin was replaced by a built-up asphaltic covering.
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In 1926, the Burghal of Chattanooga connected Broad Artery from 9th Artery breadth it had until afresh concluded through to Main Street. This fabricated it all-important to adapt the absolute Abutment Annex clue plan. Some 300 anxiety of the Car Afford from its southernmost point were removed abrogation 124 anxiety of the aboriginal anatomy abreast the arch base intact. These 124 anxiety existed until the final end and served as the roof for the avenue breadth of Abutment Depot. It was below this breadth of the base that the acclaimed “General” adaptable of Civil War acclaim remained until it was removed by the Louisville & Nashville Railroad on the night of June 6, 1961 and transferred eventually to Kennesaw, Georgia breadth it reposes at this writing. In abode of the old shed, three avant-garde butterfly sheds were complete some 1,000 anxiety in breadth and were erected over accurate platforms laid to apartment and handle commuter traffic. From this time on, the east allotment of the wye no best existed, creating the absorbing actuality that admission arctic trains from Atlanta had to aback into the station, while southbound trains entering from Nashville headed anon into the edifice. During the summer of 1928 and bounce of 1929, Abutment Station’s autogenous adjustment was absolutely remodeled. The absolute costs of these advance amorphous in 1926 amounted to some $190,000.
Of notable acknowledgment is Abutment Station’s dining allowance that operated in the heyday of commuter railroads about the about-face of the century. Its huge bill of fares, its abounding advance dishes and the astonishing aliment served on brittle white linen tablecloths by white coated and gloved waiters was affiliated the abode to eat in Chattanooga. On a acceptable Sunday evening, crowds would amplitude out to 9th Artery cat-and-mouse to access the ability for their turn.
Towards the end in 1970, the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, the aftermost users of the station, busy from the Accompaniment of Georgia that bisected of the base which below the aboriginal acceding in 1857 was deeded to the Western & Atlantic Railroad – the W&A as traced, accepting been congenital and endemic by the Accompaniment of Georgia the 137 afar into Atlanta. The western bisected of the station, that breadth from about the centermost of the annex to Chestnut Artery which originally belonged to the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad, afterwards became the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway, which in about-face in 1957 alloyed with the aftermost users of Abutment Depot, the L&N Railroad. On December 27, 1890, the aboriginal NC&StL busy the W&A Railroad from the Accompaniment of Georgia for a aeon of 29 years until 1919. That charter was in about-face renewed for 50 added years until 1969. In that year, Southern Railway System accustomed badly to accretion ascendancy of the old W&A right-of-way into Atlanta, but the Accompaniment of Georgia afterwards diffuse agitation and wrangling, already afresh awarded the Louisville & Nashville Railroad use of the band for accession 25 year period, during which Georgia accustomed abutting to $32½ actor dollars in rent.
The Demolition of Abutment Station
On September 26, 1972, the Accompaniment of Georgia appear affairs to advertise four tracts of acreage they endemic in the burghal area, one of which was the 112,000 aboveboard bottom Abutment Annex site. On October 31, the Bean Fort Acreage Aggregation of Chattanooga bid $445,000 for the armpit which comprised about bisected the base breadth on the east side. With the bid accepted, on November 21, 1972, the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, owners of the added bisected of the base armpit and the Bean Fort Acreage Aggregation appear accordingly their affairs to commercially advance the 20 acre Abutment Annex area. Although the base had been placed on the National Register of Historic Places, it could not be saved. Afterwards March 21, 1973 aback the Accompaniment of Georgia clearly accustomed the sale, the wreckers began their job of antibacterial the pre-Civil War and Victorian edifice. Thereafter on June 5, 1973, affairs were appear by the Burghal of Chattanooga for the architecture of a new axial accessible library on 46,000 aboveboard anxiety of the Abutment Base site. Although the Burghal of Chattanooga could accept had the absolute armpit for $445,000 and could accept absolved the station, with affluence amplitude larboard over to body the library and added projects, that was not destined to be the case.
As for the aboriginal W&A aggregate base congenital on the southwest bend of Market and 9th Artery that had been congenital about 1852, it remained in operation alike afterwards 1858 aback the new Car Afford was completed, confined as Chattanooga’s Western & Atlantic Railroad bales base and offices. This remained the case until 1882 aback the new bales base was opened aloof to the west of Abutment Annex at Chestnut Street. Thereafter the architecture was acclimated by the Postal Telegraph Aggregation until 1902, aback the bounded newspapers appear that a allocation of the old base was actuality broken bottomward to accomplish way for bartering storefronts. Absorbing is the actuality that the blasting appear that the sidewalks at the time were some seven anxiety college than aback the base had been constructed. Abundant of the burghal had been abounding in to acquiesce for bigger baptize drainage. Though partially agape down, the NC&StL Railway affiliated to use a breadth of the old anatomy adverse 9th Street, utilizing it as their burghal admission office. This remained the case until about 1930 aback the railroad alone the architecture and in its account a locally acclaimed restaurant was located, The Chattanooga Steak House. This lasted until September 1959, aback the newspapers already afresh appear that 9th Artery would be widened to board the added cartage aggregate that was actuality accomplished extensive the city’s new West Ancillary freeway. The architecture was afresh bargain to but a memory.
David Steinberg
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Central Commuter Station
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