The Mystery of progress, people and plaques

By Jennifer Crutchfield

One of the world’s longest pedestrian bridges, the Walnut Street Bridge has been an icon of innovation and controversy for 120 years.  In 1891 the bridge’s opening was marked by a military parade, a procession of proud Chattanoogans and the promise for the bright future that connecting two communities would bring.

Today Chattanooga families are drawn to the historically significant bridge, building their own family’s history through memories made under the intricate truss configurations. Photo courtesy Steve Rogers and sidetrips.com

Mayors have wrestled with the questions and problems that have surrounded the bridge since 1882 when Mayor W.R. King, H. Clay Evans and Harry Griscom traveled to Washington, D.C. to plead for funds to build the first non-military highway bridge across the Tennessee River.

Hill City, Riverview and the communities we call North Chattanooga were separated from Chattanooga, its industry and its workforce by the raging river, a ferry at the North end of Market Street providing the only access between the communities.  Hill City residents donated $25,000 while Hamilton County sold $200,000 in five % bonds to build one of the most historically significant bridges in the country.

Two thousand, three hundred and seventy-six feet of bridge span the Tennessee River and during its construction a special boat was kept handy in case the colorful builder, Colonel John Neely, was on site.  Notorious for his fuming rants the eccentric Confederate veteran was prone to falling off the edge, his rages cooled by the fast-moving water.

An engineer, Edward Everett Betts, slowed construction for a few hours when he was called home.  He and the bridge’s scales were needed to weigh his child, just born at their home!  The “Bull of Basham” was a Conn towing vessel that slowed progress when it swung out of the barge and crashed down a section of the bridge structure.

Many North Chattanooga families enjoy the low stone walls that characterize their neighborhoods.  Few realize that they are made of the remnants of stones too small to use in the bridge piers, ending up in the Barton Avenue neighborhood of a former Union officer who returned to his beloved adopted home as a stone contractor and whose name, Slayton, is still on several Chattanooga streets.

With reverence, celebration and respect children drove the last nails into the Walnut Street Bridge when it opened and one hundred years later Chattanooga leaders went again to the nation’s capital to fight for their bridge.  This time Mayor Gene Roberts and activist/architect Garnet Chapin traveled to Washington, D.C. to sit under the big blue picture of the Earth in Al Gore’s office to plead for their city’s landmark.

Buoyed by the political maneuvering of Senators Marilyn Lloyd and Al Gore and the energies of the Bluff View Furnace Association and the Parks Foundation the Walnut Street Bridge was saved.  It was restored to its former beauty and revitalized by the plaques and people who supported the community and its history.

If Bob Dylan was right and the “vandals took the handles” Chattanooga’s urchins cashed in on the recyclable value of the brass plaques citizens bought to support their community.  Today, all 1776 original plaques are being replaced with zinc-covered plaques with no recyclable value.  For $100 your family can buy a plaque with 32 characters, celebrating your family and your city.

A long, blue bridge beckons children, outdoor enthusiasts, visitors and families, guiding them across the Tennessee River and spanning the century of progress, pride and progressive growth.  Somewhere between the color of the water and the color of the sky the Walnut Street Bridge connects North to South and binds yesterday to today, leading children into a brighter Chattanooga future.

Visit www.walnutstreetbridge.org to order your plaque and add your family to Chattanooga’s history.