St. John's Hotel when it was known as the Austin Hotel. Click to enlarge all our photos.
The street grid of the original city of Chattanooga was mapped out within the 240 acres between the Tennessee River, Ninth Street (now M. L. King Boulevard), Georgia Avenue, and the western slope of Cameron Hill. The north-south streets such as Market and Chestnut pointed towards Ross’s Landing, and were generally oriented towards magnetic north. As the city expanded, new streets were aligned according to surveys made during the creation of the Ocoee Land District. Those surveys were not oriented towards magnetic north like the original streets were. Some triangular lots were thus created along Georgia Avenue and Market Street. Due to the city’s growth as a transportation hub, even the triangular lots became valuable real estate. At the triangle tip of King and Market Streets, a building still stands that was originally the Ellis Hotel.
Gus and Victor Ellis were two brothers who were entrepreneurs in Chattanooga in the early 1900’s. At that time, Chattanooga was an important hub for passenger train travelers, who arrived at busy train stations in the downtown area. The Ellis brothers decided to open businesses to serve the traveling public. The Ellis Restaurant was one of their business ventures, opened in 1909. Around 1914, the brothers approached famed architect Reuben H. Hunt to design a hotel for them.
The Ellis Hotel opened for business at King and Market Streets in 1915. The hotel had 76 rooms, each with a view to the outside, and heated by steam radiators. Illumination was provided through electric lighting. The lobby had marble columns and tile work The hotel was centrally located to the Union Station and Terminal Station (now the Chattanooga Choo-Choo). As travel by automobile became popular, the business benefited from Market Street being a major thoroughfare.
Starting in 1922, the hotel went through some name changes. From 1922 to 1930, it was named the Austin Hotel, apparently for manager W.H. Austin. During 1931 to 1933, it was again called the Ellis Hotel. From 1934 until the early 1960’s, it was known as the Gilbert-Ellis hotel, after being leased to H. Gilbert of Jacksonville, Florida. The daughters of the Ellis brothers then took over the hotel, remodeled it, and again opened it as the Ellis Hotel. In 1967, the hotel was sold, and renamed the St. John’s Hotel.
Then, two changes in transportation greatly affected the hotel. Interstates 24 and 75 opened, and took traffic away from Market and Main Streets. On May 1, 1971, regularly-scheduled passenger train service ended in Chattanooga. The St. John’s hotel operated for a while as a low-rent apartment complex, but this ended around 1983. With water provided by a leaky roof, trees started to grow through the windows of the former hotel. The Chattanooga Housing Authority took over the decaying property under eminent domain. Several plans were made for the property, including demolition for a parking lot and expansion of Warehouse Row. However, through the visionary work of Cornerstones (a local historic preservation group) and architect Thomas Johnson, the building was saved from the wrecking ball. The building has been restored to its former elegance as the St. John’s Restaurant.
(Harmon Jolley may be reached at
jolleyh@signaldata.net )