Brabson House on E. Fifth Street
photo by Robin Hood
Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Robin Hood has begun production on a new large, format coffee table book, Historic Chattanooga.
Mr. Hood, a former Chattanoogan who now lives at Franklin, Tn., has created seven previous books about Tennessee subjects, including The Tennesseans with Barry Parker and former Governor Lamar Alexander, Neyland: Life of a Stadium, and the 2010 release of Historic Tennessee for Tennessee Preservation Trust.
His most recent book celebrating the 125th anniversary of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga will be released in bookstores this month.
However, for his latest photographic and publishing project, Mr. Hood is returning to his roots and focusing on his hometown of Chattanooga. He is an alumnus of the University of Chattanooga, served as an infantry lieutenant in Vietnam, and was a staff photographer for the Chattanooga News-Free Press from 1971 to 1979, where he won the Pulitzer Prize. In 1980, Mr. Hood left Chattanooga to join Governor Alexander’s staff in Nashville. Mr. Alexander and Mr. Hood collaborated in publishing three books.
Historic Chattanooga will open with an engaging 40-page history section, colorfully illustrated with archival photos, historic maps, paintings, postcards and artifacts. The greater balance of the book will feature Mr. Hood’s color photography of Chattanooga scenes, architecture, people, and events through four seasons.
Eight Chattanooga area corporations and families are being recruited as underwriters for funding the project. Greg Vital, president and CEO of Independent Healthcare Properties, and long-time catalyst for preservation and environmental projects which serve the public interest, is heading-up the effort to secure the needed underwriters. Mr. Vital currently serves as chairman of Tennessee Preservation Trust and is a board member of the Land Trust for Tennessee.
He said, “This book will have a tremendous impact for many Chattanooga organizations, and will become the ultimate calling card for our city. Every book Robin and the Grandin Hood team produce becomes a successful fundraiser and public relations tool for the beneficiary organization.”
One hundred percent of all proceeds from the book will be directed to the Chattanooga History Center, Friends of the Park, and Cornerstones, Inc., Chattanooga’s partner with the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
When released in October 2012, the book will be available at the gift shop of Chattanooga History Center’s new facility, at local National Park gift shops, and at regional bookstores.
The publisher, in the names of the book’s underwriters, is also planning to donate a copy of the book to every elementary and high school library in Hamilton County.
For information, contact Becky Browder at 315-3888 or bbrowder@ihpllc.com or Robin Hood at 615 517-1222 or rhood@grandinhood.com.
Scene on the Tennessee River
photo by Robin Hood