After an old building is remodeled for a new use, it can disguise its former self. For instance, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Tennessee has offices in a building at West Martin Luther King Boulevard and Gateway Avenue. The structure looks like that it has always been an office building. However, from 1964 to 1989, this was home to Zayre's Department Store, important nationally from a retailing history perspective, and locally as a parcel of the Golden Gateway urban renewal project.
In the 1950s, three major public works projects resulted in major changes for Chattanooga. These were led by Mayor Rudy Olgiati, who had a background in public works. One was the railroad relocation effort, which re-routed the main rail lines away from downtown in order to remove traffic jams.
A second project was the Interstate Highway system. The third was a massive urban renewal program, jointly funded by the city and federal governments, and later called "The Golden Gateway" as a result of a naming contest. The project encompassed 403 acres bordered by the Tennessee River, and Chestnut, Carter, and Main Streets. Over 1,000 houses, along with businesses, churches, and schools, were razed. Much of the area was along the slopes of Cameron Hill, which was excavated and graded in order to provide more suitable building sites for development. Millions of cubic yards of dirt from Cameron Hill were used in building the freeways in Chattanooga.
On one of the tracts, where a "shelf" had been carved into Cameron Hill, the Golden Gateway Shopping Center was developed. Zayre's Department Store was the major tenant, with others including the WTVC Channel 9 studios, Shoney's, and a Red Food Store (accessible by escalator). The Zayre's retail chain was founded by Stanley and Summer Fieldberg in 1956. They had studied the retailing concepts of mill outlets, which sold goods in a "self-service" way. The refinements that they instituted are still commonplace among discount retailers today - efficient distribution and control of inventories, attractive displays, central check-out, and ample parking.
Chattanoogans turned out in great numbers to shop at Zayre's on grand opening day, October 16, 1964. Mayor Ralph Kelley and Chattanooga Housing Authority Executive Director Herbert Banks presided at the ribbon-cutting. Mr. Banks said that the opening of Zayre's was only the beginning for the Golden Gateway. Many other parcels would be developed as homes for First Baptist Church, the YMCA, car dealerships, and the Cameron Hill Apartments.
Some of the items advertised by Zayre¡¦s as grand opening specials included:
- Toys - G.I. Joe for $1.97, Skipper for $1.49, and a Johnny Unitas football for $3.97
- Crest toothpaste - 44 cents
- Argus movie projector - $49.88 with free screen
- Norge washer - $164.00
- Tires - $7.97 each. Add $2.50 for whitewall.
- Sport coat for $10.00 and slacks for $5.00
I personally recall going to Zayre's after its opening, and bought a model ski boat. I don't believe that ski boats ever caught on among model builders like automobiles did. I also recall that Zayre's had an outstanding assortment of gumball and other vending machines at their entrance. I only needed one Batman ring to complete my collection at the time that they discontinued them. One other memory of Zayre's: its sloping parking lot resulted in runaway shopping carts.
Zayre's opened a second location in East Ridge in 1973. However, Zayre's continued to face competition from other discount retailers. Ames Department Stores acquired Zayre's, and in 1989, announced that both stores in the Chattanooga area would be closed. I bought my children's first baseball gloves during their clearance sale. After Zayre's departure, Blue Cross/Blue Shield later moved some of their offices into the building. Other tenants left the Golden Gateway Shopping Center over the years, and Blue Cross/Blue Shield now uses the entire complex as office space.
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