As the Chief John Ross (Market Street) Bridge gets ready to reopen, a glance at its original opening in 1917 reveals plenty of excitement, particularly by those who drove automobiles.

At the time that the bridge opened on Nov. 17, 1917, the world was actually in turmoil. The United States had entered World War I several months before, and that crisis was receiving plenty of attention. One of those stationed at Fort Oglethorpe at the time was a captain named Dwight Eisenhower, who would later become president.

Also, the Bolshevik Revolution that would lead to the establishment of a Communist government in Russia had started only days before.

Even in Chattanooga, the bridge itself had created a little dissension. Just as the opening of the Tennessee Aquarium in 1992 brought some naysayers, a few people in 1917 also thought the Market Street Bridge was too expensive and unnecessary. Some even feared the anti-bridge group might stage a protest at the opening, although this never occurred.

But for most Chattanoogans, the opening brought excitement and pleasure. It was a nice escape from the complexities of the world at the time.

The bridge is closely tied with the development of the automobile. As more and more Americans began driving automobiles after the turn of the 20th century, a push was under way to begin building paved highways connecting the various towns and cities.

Chattanooga’s civic leaders were involved in the process and realized that a good bridge across the Tennessee River for automobile traffic was very much a key in linking the Scenic City with towns north and south.

The Walnut Street Bridge had opened in 1891 and would carry automobiles for decades, but it was originally built for trolleys, horse carriages and pedestrians.

Besides being praised as a solution to the growing automobile traffic and as a way to help Chattanooga economically by linking the city with other communities, the bridge was also praised for its architectural design and engineering.

The original concrete part of the bridge was designed by B.H. Davis of New York, with later work by J.E. Greiner of Baltimore.

The bascule, or drawbridge, was designed by Scherzer Rolling Lift Bridge Co. of Chicago.

Longtime Chattanoogan Gilbert Stein Sr. used to praise the bridge’s design as unique and unusual.

The bascule was designed so that its weighted ends could help raise the drawbridge when it was opened.

When the bridge opened on that Saturday of 1917, a special noon luncheon was held at the Hotel Patten. Afterward, the dignitaries, a band from Fort Oglethorpe and about 60 automobiles gathered at 11th and Market streets outside the hotel to begin a procession down to the south end of the bridge.

All automobile owners were invited to the ceremony and were encouraged to be among the first to drive across the bridge.

It was a special day in Chattanooga, and many Chattanoogans were dressed up for the occasion.

So was the bridge, which was handsomely decorated with American flags. A 50-foot-long city of Chattanooga flag was also placed over the south end of the bascule.

Chattanoogan Walter Cline Sr. captured the day’s events in moving pictures.

Trying to capture the significance of the moment in words was County Judge Will Cummings, whose position was somewhat like that of a county mayor.

He first tried to address the concerns of the naysayers.

“There were some who thought one bridge was sufficient across the Tennessee River,” he said to the crowd, which was numbered at about 1,500. “I first took this view of the matter, but our growing city and the growing suburb which is just north, together with the increased population and traffic that must join the north and south of this county together, demanded additional facilities.”

He then looked into the future and said he hoped that as the years passed, the bridge would serve the useful and convenient purposes of the city.

The next noise heard was that of automobile engines starting.

After the drawbridge was lowered, dignitaries were the first to be allowed across the bridge in their automobiles, and others followed.

And automobiles continued to drive across it the rest of the day, the newspaper at the time said.

In fact, they never seemed to stop driving across it. By the 1950s, it was the most heavily traveled bridge in the state of Tennessee.

Later, the Olgiati, C.B. Robinson and Veterans bridges alleviated some of the traffic.

But the Market Street Bridge is about to become a functional part of the city again – 90 years after opening.

And she looks better than ever!

John Shearer
Jcshearer2@comcast.net