Chattanooga

Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, with a population of 176,588 as of 2015 census estimates. It is the seat of Hamilton County. Located in southeastern Tennessee in East Tennessee, on Chickamauga Lake and Nickajack Lake, which are both part of the Tennessee River, Chattanooga lies approximately 120 miles (190 km) to the northwest of Atlanta, Georgia, 120 miles (190 km) to the southwest of Knoxville, Tennessee, about 135 miles (217 km) to the southeast of Nashville, Tennessee, about 120 miles (190 km) to the northeast of Huntsville, Alabama, and about 148 miles (238 km) to the northeast of Birmingham, Alabama. Chattanooga abuts the Georgia border and there are three major interstate highways in its vicinity: I-24, I-75, and I-59.

The city, which has a downtown elevation of approximately 680 feet (210 m), lies at the transition between the ridge-and-valley portion of the Appalachian Mountains and the Cumberland Plateau. The city is therefore surrounded by various mountains and ridges. The official nickname for Chattanooga is the Scenic City, being reinforced by the city's growing national reputation as a haven for numerous outdoor activities. Several unofficial nicknames include River City, Chatt, Nooga, Chattown, and Gig City, demonstrating Chattanooga's claims that it has the fastest internet service in the Western Hemisphere.

Chattanooga is internationally known for the 1941 song, the world's first gold record, "Chattanooga Choo Choo", by Glenn Miller and his orchestra.

Chattanooga is home to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) and Chattanooga State Community College.

A unique distinction for Chattanooga is the fact that the city has its own typeface, Chatype, which was launched in August 2012. This marks the first time that an American city has its own typeface and also the first time a crowd-funded custom-made typeface has been used for any municipality in the world.

Chattanooga has received numerous awards over the decades, including the prestigious All-America City Award in 1962 and being recognized as a Tree City USA community since 1990.

History

The first inhabitants of the Chattanooga area were Native Americans. Sites dating back to the Upper Paleolithic period showed continuous occupation through the Archaic, Woodland, Mississippian/Muskogean/Yuchi (900-1714 ce), and Cherokee (1776–1838). The Chickamauga Mound near the mouth of the Chickamauga Creek is the oldest remaining visible art in Chattanooga.

The Citico town and mound site was the most significant Mississippian/Muscogee landmark in Chattanooga up to 1915. The first part of the name "Chattanooga" derives from the Muskogean word cvto /chắtȯ/ – 'rock'. The latter may be derived from a regional suffix -nuga meaning dwelling or dwelling place.

The earliest Cherokee occupation dates from Dragging Canoe, who in 1776 separated himself and moved downriver from the main tribe to establish Native American resistance during the Cherokee–American wars) to European settlement in the southeastern United States. In 1816 John Ross, who later became Principal Chief, established Ross's Landing. Located along what is now Broad Street, it became one of the centers of Cherokee Nation settlement, which also extended into Georgia and Alabama.

In 1838 the US government forced the Cherokees, along with other Native Americans from southeastern U.S. states, to relocate to the area designated as Indian Territory, in what is now the state of Oklahoma. Their journey west became known as the "Trail of Tears" for their exile and fatalities along the way. The US Army used Ross's Landing as the site of one of three large internment camps, or "emigration depots", where Native Americans were held prior to the journey on the Trail of Tears. One of the internment camps was located in Fort Payne, Alabama and the largest was at Fort Cass, Tennessee.

In 1839, the community of Ross's Landing incorporated as the city of Chattanooga. The city grew quickly, initially benefiting from a location well-suited for river commerce. With the arrival of the railroad in 1850, Chattanooga became a boom town. The city was known as the site "where cotton meets corn," referring to its location along the cultural boundary between the mountain communities of Southern Appalachia to the north and the cotton-growing states to the south.

During the American Civil War, Chattanooga was a center of battle. During the Chickamauga Campaign, Union artillery bombarded Chattanooga as a diversion and occupied it on September 9, 1863. Following the Battle of Chickamauga, the defeated Union Army retreated to safety in Chattanooga. On November 23, 1863, the Battles for Chattanooga began when Union forces led by future United States President and Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant reinforced troops at Chattanooga and advanced to Orchard Knob against Confederate troops besieging the city. The next day, the Battle of Lookout Mountain was fought, driving the Confederates off the mountain. On November 25, Grant's army routed the Confederates in the Battle of Missionary Ridge. These battles were followed the next spring by the Atlanta Campaign, beginning just over the nearby state line in Georgia and moving southeastward. After the war ended, the city became a major railroad hub and industrial and manufacturing center.

The largest flood in Chattanooga's history occurred in 1867, before the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) system was created in 1933 by Congress. The flood crested at 58 feet (18 m) and completely inundated the city. Since the completion of the reservoir system, the highest Chattanooga flood stage has been nearly 37 feet (11 m), which occurred in 1973. Without regulation, the flood would have crested at 52.4 feet (16.0 m). Chattanooga was a major priority in the design of the TVA reservoir system and remains a major operating priority in the 21st century.

In December 1906, Chattanooga was in the national headlines as the United States Supreme Court, in the only criminal trial in its history, ruled that Hamilton County Sheriff Joseph H. Shipp had violated Ed Johnson's civil rights when Shipp allowed a mob to enter the Hamilton County Jail and lynch Johnson on the Walnut Street Bridge in United States v. Shipp. Chattanooga grew with the entry of the United States in the First World War in 1917, as the nearest training camp was in Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. Effects of the Influenza of 1918 on Chattanooga included having movie theaters and pool halls closed. By the 1930s Chattanooga was known as the "Dynamo of Dixie", inspiring the 1941 Glenn Miller big-band swing song "Chattanooga Choo Choo". The late 1950s saw the creation of the Interstate Highway System with President Dwight D. Eisenhower signing legislation into law in June 1956. Due to Mayor P.R. Olgiati's efforts, Chattanooga became the first city in Tennessee to have a completed interstate system in the early 1960s. In February 1958, Chattanooga became one of the smallest cities in the country with three VHF transmitters: WTVM (now WTVC-TV) channel 9 (ABC), WRGP-TV (now WRCB-TV) channel 3 (NBC), and WDEF-TV channel 12 (CBS).

The same mountains that provide Chattanooga's scenic backdrop also served to trap industrial pollutants which caused them to settle over the community, so much that in 1969, the federal government declared that Chattanooga had the dirtiest air in the nation. But environmental crises were not the only problems plaguing the city. Like other early industrial cities, Chattanooga entered the 1980s with serious socioeconomic challenges, including job layoffs due to de-industrialization, deteriorating city infrastructure, racial tensions, and social division. Chattanooga's population declined by more than 10% in the 1980s. However, Chattanooga was the only major U.S. city to lose this proportion of its population in the 1980s and then regain the same proportion in the next two decades.

In late 20th and early 21st centuries, substantial private and governmental resources have been invested in transforming the city's tarnished image. They have worked to revitalize its downtown and riverfront areas, making use of its natural resources. An early cornerstone of this project was a restoration lasting several years, from the mid-to-late 1980s to 1993, of the historic Walnut Street Bridge. An excellent specimen of the Camelback truss bridge, it is the oldest surviving bridge of its kind in the Southeastern United States, having been built in 1891.

Efforts to improve the city include the "21st Century Waterfront Plan" – a $120 million redevelopment of the Chattanooga waterfront and downtown area, which was completed in 2005. The Tennessee Aquarium, which opened in 1992, has become a major waterfront attraction that has helped to spur neighborhood development. Chattanooga has garnered numerous accolades for its transformation of its image. The city has won three national awards for outstanding "livability", and nine Gunther Blue Ribbon Awards for excellence in housing and consolidated planning. In addition to winning various national and regional awards, Chattanooga has been in the national limelight numerous times. Chattanooga was the profile city of the August 2007 edition of US Airways Magazine. In a seminal event for Chattanooga, Volkswagen announced in July 2008 the construction of its first U.S. auto plant in over three decades, the Volkswagen Chattanooga Assembly Plant. In December 2009, Chattanooga was ranked 8th out of America's 100 largest metro areas for the best "Bang For Your Buck" city, according to Forbes magazine, which measured overall affordability, housing rates, and more. Chattanooga launched the first one gigabit a second Internet service in the United States in September 2010, provided through the city-owned utility of EPB. In August 2012, Chattanooga got its own typeface, called Chatype, which marks the first time a municipality has its own typeface in the United States and the first crowd-funded, custom-made typeface in the world.

On July 16, 2015, a shooting occurred at two U.S. military facilities in Chattanooga. Six people—four U.S. Marines, one sailor, and the gunman—were killed and two people were wounded.

Culture and tourism

Museums

As the birthplace of the tow truck, Chattanooga is the home of the International Towing and Recovery Hall of Fame and Museum. Another transportation icon, the passenger train, can be found at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum, called TVRM by locals, which is the largest operating historic railroad in the South. Chattanooga is home to the Hunter Museum of American Art. Other notable museums include the Chattanooga History Center, the National Medal of Honor Museum, the Houston Museum, the Chattanooga African American Museum, and the Creative Discovery Museum.

Arts and literature

Chattanooga has a wide range of performing arts in different venues. Chattanooga's historic Tivoli Theatre, dating from 1921 and one of the first public air-conditioned buildings in the United States, is home to the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera (CSO), which became the first merged symphony and opera company in the United States in 1985. The CSO performs under the baton of Kayoko Dan. The Chattanooga Theatre Centre offers 15 productions each year in three separate theater programs: the Mainstage, the Circle Theater, and the Youth Theater. Another popular performance venue is Memorial Auditorium.

Chattanooga hosts several writing conferences, including the Conference on Southern Literature and the Festival of Writers, both sponsored by the Arts & Education Council of Chattanooga.

Attractions

Chattanooga touts many attractions, including the Tennessee Aquarium, caverns, and new waterfront attractions along and across the Tennessee River. In the downtown area is the Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel, housed in the renovated Terminal Station and exhibiting the largest HO model train layout in the United States. Also downtown are the Creative Discovery Museum, a hands-on children's museum dedicated to science, art, and music; an IMAX 3D Theatre, and the newly expanded Hunter Museum of American Art. The Tennessee Riverwalk, an approximately 13-mile (21 km) long trail running alongside the river, is another attraction for both tourists and residents alike.

Across the river from downtown is the North Shore district, roughly bounded by the Olgiati Bridge to the west and Veterans Bridge to the east. The newly renovated area draws locals and tourists to locally owned independent boutique stores and restaurants, plus attractions along the Chattanooga Riverpark system, including Coolidge Park and Renaissance Park.

The Chattanooga Zoo at Warner Park is located a short distance from the downtown area.

Parks and natural scenic areas provide other attractions. The red-and-black painted "See Rock City" barns along highways in the Southeast are remnants of a now-classic Americana tourism campaign to attract visitors to the Rock City tourist attraction in nearby Lookout Mountain, Georgia. The mountain is also the site of Ruby Falls and Craven's House. The Lookout Mountain Incline Railway is a steep funicular railway that rises from the St. Elmo Historic District to the top of the mountain, where passengers can visit the National Park Service's Point Park and the Battles for Chattanooga Museum. Formerly known as Confederama, the museum includes a diorama that details the Battle of Chattanooga. From the military park, visitors can enjoy panoramic views of Moccasin Bend and the Chattanooga skyline from the mountain's famous "point" or from vantage points along the well-marked trail system.

The Heritage park is a park that lies in East Brainerd. Heritage park has a bocce ball court, a playground complete with swings, and a walking pavement. The park also features an off-leash dog park which is operated by the Friends of East Brainerd, the City of Chattanooga Parks and Recreation Department, McKamey Animal Center and the Goodwill Assistance Dog Academy.

Near Chattanooga, the Raccoon Mountain Reservoir, Raccoon Mountain Caverns, and Reflection Riding Arboretum and Botanical Garden boast a number of outdoor and family fun opportunities. Other arboretums include Bonny Oaks Arboretum, Cherokee Arboretum at Audubon Acres, and Cherokee Trail Arboretum. The Ocoee River, host to a number of events at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, features rafting, kayaking, camping, and hiking. Just outside Chattanooga is the Lake Winnepesaukah amusement park. The Cumberland Trail begins in Signal Mountain, just outside Chattanooga.

• The front of the Tennessee Aquarium

• The Tennessee Aquarium from the back

• Trail of Tears water steps off of Market Street, downtown Chattanooga

• Coolidge Park

• A view of the Walnut Street Bridge and the Tennessee River

• Looking South towards Lookout Mountain

Festivals and events

Chattanooga hosts the well-known Riverbend Festival, an annual nine-day music festival held in June in the downtown area. One of the most popular events is the "Bessie Smith Strut", a one-night showcase of blues and jazz music named for the city's most noted blues singer. The annual "Southern Brewer's Festival" and the "River Roast" festival celebrate such traditional Southern staples as beer and barbecue.

New events, such as GoFest!, the "Between the Bridges" wakeboard competition, Heritage Festival, and Talespin, complement well-established events, such as Riverbend and the Southern Brewer's Festival, and attract their own audiences. Back Row Films is a city-wide celebration of film co-sponsored by the Hunter Museum of American Art, the Arts & Education Council, and UTC.

"Nightfall" is a free weekly concert series in Miller Plaza on Friday nights that features an eclectic mix of rock, blues, jazz, reggae, zydeco, funk, bluegrass, and folk music from Memorial Day until the end of September. The Chattanooga Market features events all year round as part of the "Sunday at the Southside", including an Oktoberfest in mid-October.

The Chattanooga Dulcimer Festival, held each June, features workshops for mountain dulcimer, hammered dulcimer, and auto harp, among others, along with performances by champion performers from across the nation.

Chattanooga is also the center of much bluegrass music. In 1935, as well as from 1993 to 1995, the city hosted the National Folk Festival. Since 2007, the annual 3 Sisters Festival showcases traditional and contemporary bluegrass artists, and has been named on of the country's top 5 bluegrass festivals by Great American Country.

Each January, Chattanooga plays host to Chattacon, a science fiction and fantasy literary convention. The convention is organized by the nonprofit Chattanooga Speculative Fiction Fans, Inc. First held in 1976, the convention drew an estimated 1,000 attendees to the Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel in 2012, as well as an estimated 1,300 attendees in 2013.

• Maggie the Mayfield cow at the Chattanooga Market.

• Riverbend 2013 from Market Street Bridge as people are arriving.

• Opening night of Riverbend 2013

Geography

The city is located at latitude 35°4' North, longitude 85°15' West.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 143.2 square miles (371 km2), of which 135.2 square miles (350 km2) is land and 8.0 square miles (21 km2) (5.56%) is water. In terms of land area, Chattanooga ranks 68th, which is between Las Vegas, Nevada and Philadelphia. The total area of Chattanooga makes the city larger than that of many cities larger in population, such as Baltimore, Maryland, Atlanta, Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Salt Lake City.

The most prominent natural features in and around Chattanooga are the Tennessee River and the surrounding mountains. The city is nestled between the southwestern Ridge-and-valley Appalachians and the foot of Walden's Ridge; the river separates the ridge from the western side of downtown. Several miles east, the city is bisected by Missionary Ridge, which is the site of an important battle in the Civil War.

The Tennessee River is impounded by the TVA's Chickamauga Dam north of the downtown area. Five automobile bridges, one railroad trestle, and one pedestrian bridge, all described below, cross the river.

Road transport is facilitated by Interstate 75 to Atlanta and Knoxville, Interstate 24 to Nashville, and Interstate 59 to Birmingham. Chattanooga and portions of Southeast Tennessee and North Georgia is served by the Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport. CSX transports rail freight to Atlanta and Nashville, and Norfolk Southern conveys rail cargo to Atlanta, Birmingham, Cincinnati, Knoxville, and Memphis.

Neighborhoods

In addition to the restoration of downtown, many of Chattanooga's neighborhoods have experienced a rebirth of their own. Chattanooga has many buildings on the National Register of Historic Places and three neighborhoods: Ferger Place, Fort Wood, and St. Elmo. Additionally, Chattanooga has ten local historic districts: Fort Wood, Ferger Place, Glenwood, Missionary Ridge, Market and Main Streets, Market Street Warehouse, M.L. King Boulevard, St. Elmo, Stone Fort Land Company, and Stringer's Ridge.

• East Brainerd
• Ferger Place
• Fort Wood
• Highland Park
• Lupton City
• Missionary Ridge
• St. Elmo
• Tiftonia
• Tyner

Important suburbs

• Apison, Tennessee
• Chickamauga, Georgia
• Collegedale, Tennessee
• East Brainerd, Tennessee
• East Ridge, Tennessee
• Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia
• Harrison, Tennessee
• Hixson, Tennessee
• Lookout Mountain, Georgia
• Lookout Mountain, Tennessee
• Ooltewah, Tennessee
• Red Bank, Tennessee
• Ridgeside, Tennessee
• Ringgold, Georgia
• Rossville, Georgia
• Sale Creek, Tennessee
• Signal Mountain, Tennessee
• Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee
• Walden, Tennessee

Transportation

Considered to be the gateway to the Deep South, along with the Midwest and the Northeast for motorists from states such as Alabama, Florida, and Georgia, Chattanooga's extensive transportation infrastructure has evolved into an intricate system of interstates, streets, tunnels, railroad lines, bridges, and a commercial airport.

Principal highways

• I-24
• I-59
• I-75
• US-27 North (unsigned I-124)
• State Route 58
• State Route 153

Major surface routes

• Brainerd Road/Lee Highway (US 11)/(US 64)
• Broad Street
• Cummings Highway (US 41)/(US 72)
• Dayton Blvd (US 27)
• East Brainerd Road
• Georgia Avenue
• Hixson Pike
• Main Street (US 76)
• McCallie Avenue
• Ringgold Road
• Rossville Boulevard (US 27)
• Shallowford Road
• Signal Mountain Boulevard (US 127)

Tunnels

• Bachman Tubes, (also unofficially known as The East Ridge Tunnels), which carry Ringgold Road into the neighboring city of East Ridge.
• Missionary Ridge Tunnels (also unofficially known as McCallie or Brainerd Tunnels), which carry McCallie and Bailey Avenues through Missionary Ridge where the route continues as Brainerd Road.
• Stringer's Ridge Tunnel, which carries Cherokee Boulevard through Stringer's Ridge where the route continues as Dayton Boulevard.
• Wilcox Tunnel, which carries Wilcox Boulevard through Missionary Ridge and connects to Shallowford Road.

Public transit

The city is served by a publicly run bus company, the Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority (CARTA). CARTA operates 17 routes, including a free electric shuttle service in the downtown area, and free wireless Internet on certain "smartbuses".

Bicycle-sharing system

The city has its own bicycle transit system (Bike Chattanooga) with 300 bikes and 33 docking stations, all supplied by PBSC Urban Solutions, a Canadian company.

Railroad lines

Though Chattanooga's most famous connection to the railroad industry is Chattanooga Choo Choo, a song made famous by Glenn Miller & His Orchestra, the city serves as a major freight hub with Norfolk Southern (NS) and CSX running trains on their own (and each other's) lines. The Norfolk Southern Railway's main classification yard, DeButts Yard, is just east of downtown; Norfolk Southern's Shipp's Yard and CSX's Wauhatchie Yard are southwest of the city. Norfolk Southern maintains a large railroad repair shop in Chattanooga. The two railroad companies are among the largest individual landowners in the city (the Federal Government is another).

The Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum (TVRM), the largest historic operating railroad in the South, and the Chattooga and Chickamauga Railway also provides railroad service in Chattanooga. The headquarters of the National Model Railroad Association (NMRA) has been in Chattanooga next to the TVRM since 1982, when the NMRA moved from Indianapolis, Indiana.

Using the AAR reporting marks (NS for Norfolk Southern, CSXT for CSX Transportation, TVRM for the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum, TNT for subsidiary Tyner Terminal Railroad, and CCKY for Chattooga and Chickamauga Railway), the rail lines passing through Chattanooga are as follows:

• CSXT – Western & Atlantic Subdivision (Chattanooga to Atlanta, Georgia)
  • Chattanooga Subdivision (Chattanooga to Nashville, Tennessee on former NC&StL trackage)
• NS – Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific, aka the Queen and Crescent Route, (Chattanooga to Cincinnati, Ohio via Lexington, Kentucky)
  • Alabama Division (Chattanooga to Memphis via Huntsville, Alabama)
  • Alabama Great Southern (Chattanooga to New Orleans, Louisiana via Birmingham, Alabama)
  • Georgia Division (Chattanooga to Atlanta)
  • Central Division (Chattanooga to Knoxville, Tennessee)
  • Chattanooga Traction Company
    • North Chattanooga to Signal Mountain
    • Dry Valley Line (Red Bank to Lupton City)
• TVRM – East Chattanooga to Grand Junction (3 miles (4.8 km))
  • East Chattanooga Belt Line Railroad (from near 23rd Street, across to Holtzclaw Avenue and East Chattanooga around North Chamberlain Ave., used by TVRM)
  • TNT - Tyner Terminal Railroad (Enterprise South Industrial Park railroad operations)
• CCKY – formerly the Tennessee Alabama & Georgia line (Chattanooga to Hedges, Georgia, abandoned since 2009)
  • formerly the Central of Georgia line (Chattanooga to Lyerly, Georgia)

The Lookout Mountain Incline Railway, often referred to as the Incline Railway by locals, serves as a tourist attraction. It is also occasionally used for commuting by Lookout Mountain residents, particularly during wintry weather when traveling up and down the mountain could be very dangerous.

Despite the high level of freight rail activity, there is no passenger rail service in the city for either commuters or long-distance travelers.

Bridges

Being bisected by the Tennessee River, Chattanooga has seven bridges that allow people to traverse the river; five of the bridges being automobile bridges, one a rail bridge, and one a pedestrian bridge. These are the following, from west to east:

• P.R. Olgiati Bridge – Named for a former mayor, P.R. Olgiati, this bridge, which was dedicated in 1959, carries U.S. Highway 27 from downtown towards Dayton, Tennessee and points northward.
• Market Street Bridge – Officially called the John Ross Bridge, this bridge is a bascule bridge, which is a type of draw bridge. The bridge was completed in 1917 for the large sum of $1,000,000 for the time. Having stood for decades since its last major overhaul, the Tennessee Department of Transportation declared it unsafe in late 2004. The bridge was closed in 2005 for a long-overdue renovation and was reopened on August 4, 2007.
• Walnut Street Bridge – Also known as "The Walking Bridge", it is one of the centerpieces of Chattanooga's urban renewal and is the second longest pedestrian bridge in the nation. Constructed in 1891, the bridge was declared unsafe and closed to traffic in 1978. It was on the verge of being demolished in the late 1980s when public outcry led to it being restored as a pedestrian-only span that opened in 1993.
• Veterans Memorial Bridge – Completed in 1984, this bridge has helped commuters from Hixson, Lupton City, and other northern areas reach downtown quickly.
• C.B. Robinson Bridge – Opened in 1981, this bridge carries Dupont Parkway from Amnicola Highway to Hixson Pike and Route 153.
• Tenbridge – This truss bridge with a vertical lift carries the Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway over the river and is a popular railfan area. It was constructed in 1920.
• Wilkes T. Thrasher Bridge – Completed in 1955, this route carries Highway 153 over the Chickamauga Dam.

Air travel

The Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport (CHA) offers non-stop service to various domestic destinations via regional and national airlines, including Allegiant Airlines, United Express, American Eagle, Delta Connection, and US Airways Express.

Pop culture

Chattanooga has been referred to in pop culture numerous times over the decades, including in books, documentaries, films, TV shows, and more. In recent years, Chattanooga has appeared in more productions of blockbuster movies and TV shows, as well as independent films and documentaries, therefore bringing Chattanooga on the national stage.

Novels

Some books that have Chattanooga as either a major or minor plot setting are Don't Cry by Beverly Barton, Full Moon by Mick Winters, American Gods by Neil Gaiman, Queen of Wands by John Ringo.

Documentaries

Some documentaries have been filmed in Chattanooga over the decades, mostly related to the railroad industry or the Civil War battles that were fought in Chattanooga. These include the following:

• Up Lookout Mountain on the Electric Incline (1913)
• Battle Fields Around Chattanooga (1913)
• The Blue and the Gray (1935)
• Our Country (2003)
• John Henry: Inside the Sculptors Studio (2008)
• Let There Be Light: The Odyssey of Dark Star (2010)
• Memphis & Charleston Railroad: Marriage of the Waters (2010)
• Born and Bred (2011)
• When Mourning Breaks (2013)

Films

Chattanooga and its environs have been featured in numerous films since the early 1970s, principally due to Chattanooga being the home of the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum (TVRM), which has allowed its equipment to be filmed in various films.

A partial list of movies shot with TVRM equipment follows:

• Fool's Parade (1971) (Southern 4501 as B&O 4501)
• Eleanor & Franklin (1976), starring Jane Alexander and Edward Herrmann
• The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James (1986)
• Fled (1996) (shot on the TVRM mainline)
• Mama Flora's Family (1998)
• October Sky (1999) (Southern 4501 appearing as N&W 4501 with O. Winston Link being the engineer)
• The Adventures of Ociee Nash (2003)
• Warm Springs (2005) (shot in Summerville, Georgia, using TVRM equipment)
• Heaven's Fall (2007)
• Leatherheads (2008), starring George Clooney and Renée Zellweger
• Water for Elephants (2011), starring Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson
• The music video for Josh Turner's 2003 country music hit single Long Black Train was shot on TVRM property as well.

In addition to the above TVRM films, the following films were filmed either in Chattanooga itself or in nearby locales:

• The Man Trail (1915)
• The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia (1981)
• The Big Blue (1988)
• Dutch (1991)
• Christopher Columbus: The Discovery (1992)
• All Over Again (2001)
• Straight into Darkness (2004)
• 42 (2013) (filmed at Engel Stadium)
• Identity Thief (2013) (scene set in St. Louis was filmed on the Market Street Bridge)

The 1941 Glenn Miller song that catapulted Chattanooga to international fame, Chattanooga Choo Choo, has been performed in numerous movies, including the 1941 film Sun Valley Serenade, featuring the Miller Orchestra and a young Milton Berle, "The Glenn Miller Story" starring James Stewart in the 1953 title roll and the 1984 eponymous film Chattanooga Choo Choo.

TV shows

Police POV, COPS, and the MTV show Cuff'd have shown members of the Chattanooga Police Department apprehending suspects. In addition to police reality shows, Chattanooga and nearby areas have been either been featured or mentioned in several TV shows, including the following:

• America's Walking (This Woman's Not Stopping episode, originally broadcast May 20, 2002)
• R&B Divas: Atlanta (Til Divas Do Us Part episode, originally broadcast June 19, 2013)
• American Idol (Top 3 Results Show episode, originally broadcast May 19, 2011)
• Antiques Roadshow (Chattanooga episodes (Hours 1-3), originally broadcast March 30 and April 6 and 13, 2009)
• Bridezillas (Shederyl & Poni episode)
• Fitness Truth (CF Open Chattanooga episode, originally broadcast August 14, 2011)
• $40 a Day (Chattanooga episode, originally broadcast October 29, 2004)
• Evening Magazine
• Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (Sharrock Family episode, originally broadcast May 15, 2011)
• Good Eats (Hook, Line, and Dinner episode, originally broadcast September 8, 1999)
• Mystery Manhunt (2012-)
• Off Limits (Tennessee episode, originally broadcast June 20, 2011)
• Only in America with Larry the Cable Guy (Larry Gets the Horns episode, originally broadcast February 22, 2011)
• 16 and Pregnant (Maci episode, originally broadcast June 11, 2009)
• Teen Mom (Maci Bookout character)
• Tennessee Crossroads (Show 752 episode, originally broadcast June 23, 1994)
• The Andy Griffith Show (Andy the Matchmaker and The Shoplifters episodes, originally broadcast on November 14, 1960 and March 2, 1964, respectively.)
• The Middle (Vacation Days episode, originally broadcast March 5, 2014)
• The Steps (a locally produced web series)
• Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy (Hammond/Howard episode, originally broadcast January 17 and 24, 2005)
• Who Do You Think You Are? (Lionel Richie episode, originally broadcast March 4, 2011)

Miscellaneous film and TV productions

Numerous independent short films have been produced in Chattanooga over the last several years, including the following:

• Outcasts (2003)
• Assurances (2004)
• A Bright Past (2008)
• Last Breath (2009)
• The Campaign for Chattanooga: Death Knell of the Confederacy (2012)
• Ella (2012)

Some TV movies have been filmed in Chattanooga or nearby areas, as well, including the 1986 TV movie A Winner Never Quits. In addition, the 1999 music video Usher Live, starring Chattanooga native Usher, was filmed in Chattanooga.

Sister/Twinning cities

Chattanooga has seven sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International:

• Hamm, Germany (since 1975)
• Wuxi, Jiangsu, China (since 1982)
• Givatayim, Israel (since 1988)
• Nizhny Tagil, Russia (since 1996)
• Gangneung, South Korea (since 2003)
• Wolfsburg, Germany (since 2011)
• Manfredonia, Italy (since 2014)

Chattanooga also has two twinning cities:

• Swindon, United Kingdom (since 2006)
• Ascoli Piceno, Italy (since 2006)

In January 2007, all of the cities above, with the exception of Wolfsburg, had a tree native to each locale planted at Coolidge Park's Peace Grove, which was established to replace a 100-year-old Slippery Elm tree which was damaged in a lightning storm in August 2006. Wolfsburg was added in September 2011. The Peace Grove has eight trees: a Linden Tree, which represents Hamm, a Chinese Elm, which represents Wuxi, a Mediterranean Cedar, which represents Givatayim, a White Birch, which represents Nizhny Tagil, a Ginkgo Tree, which represents Gangneung, an English Elm, which represents Swindon, a European Hornbeam, which represents Ascoli Piceno, and an Oak Tree, which represents Wolfsburg.