The Lee Brothers Store was at the corner of Whiteside (Broad Street) and Vulcan (26th Street). Click to enlarge.
photo by Harmon Jolley
As a child, I was well-acquainted with scenes along South Broad Street, which was our route into downtown Chattanooga. Along the way, whether traveling by car or Southern Coach city bus, I could see these businesses:
* Automobile Dealers – Andy Trotter Pontiac, Ayers Oldsmobile, Allison GMC, Hailey Chevrolet, and Amos and Andy Buick. South Broad was once the automobile row of Chattanooga.
* Grocers – Home Store, M&J Supermarket, Red Food Store
* Hardware – Chattanooga Hardware, Abe Shavin Hardware
* Manufacturers - Double Cola (with its colorful sign at night), Scholze Tannery, Southern Saddlery, Wheland Foundry
* Restaurants – Krystal (which once served fried chicken and waffles at different hours), Maypole, Old South (owned by our neighbors, the Nicolou family)
* TV station – WDEF, still there today, where one could sometimes see TV personalities such as Harve Bradley, John Gray, Mike King, Mort Lloyd, Betty Mac, Harry Thornton, and various NWA wrestlers in the parking lot.
* And numerous liquor stores – Once, when we were stopped at a traffic light, I was told, “No, we’re not going in to buy you that figurine of the Old Crow that’s in the window, because that isn’t a toy store.”
Between the Chattanooga Creek Bridge and I-24, the buildings along South Broad looked to be very old. Many dated to around 1900. Over the past few decades, several have been torn down after falling into disrepair.
A few still stand as icons of a distant era of south Chattanooga. One building, whose original owner’s name is still evident above its door, still stands on the southwestern corner of 26th and Broad Street – the Lee Brothers Store.
In 1891, Dr. John B. Lee moved to Chattanooga from his home in DeKalb County, Alabama. He established his practice as a physician and druggist at 1117 Whiteside, the prior name of South Broad Street.
With Dr. Lee were his three sons – W. Andrew, Reuben N., and Allen Frank. Lee. Each son soon took part in a family business. Reuben Lee graduated from the Grant University Medical School, which was an ancestor of the University of Chattanooga. Andrew also became a druggist, while Frank appears to have focused on managing the business.
In 1906, the Lee Brothers Store moved to a new building with a stone front at 1101 Whiteside at the corner of Vulcan. Today, this is the aforementioned corner of Broad at 26th Street,
The location of the Lee Brothers Store was in proximity to the growing St. Elmo and South Chattanooga communities. Families lived in homes near employers such as Ross-Meehan Foundry, Chattanooga Pipe and Foundry, Chattanooga Plow, and Wheland Foundry. Numerous retail businesses lined Whiteside Street, including Harven Brothers Furniture, the D.S. Leonard Chili Stand, and Emil Rahm’s Bakery.
The Lee Brothers Store was featured in a February 22, 1907 article in the Chattanooga Star newspaper. It was reported that “this store has a very important part and serves a large and flourishing patronage. The Lee Brothers Store carried “a large and select stock of shoes and notions; drugs, paints and wall paper; furnishings and leather goods, etc., in fact, every thing that can be found in a first class store can be found at Lee Brothers.” One could even transact postal business, for W. A. Lee served as postmaster at the official branch of the U.S. post office at the store.
In 1920, the Lees moved across the street, and the business was renamed to John B. Lee and Sons. The elder Dr. Lee passed away in 1925. By then, Frank Lee was serving as assistant city auditor for Chattanooga.
The former Lee Brothers building had various occupants in the ensuing years. The Penny-Back Store was there in 1925, followed by the Economy Cash Store in the 1930’s and 1940’s. Roscoe Flanagan was its proprietor, and eventually changed the name of his business to Economy Foods. The Home Stores operated a grocery business in the Lee building in the 1950’s until the company was purchased by M&J Supermarkets.
The Lee Pharmacy continued in business until 1985. A Chattanooga News-Free Press article in April 7, 1985 reported that Mr. and Mrs. James Lee were closing one of the city’s oldest pharmacies and donating the property to Boy-Buchanan School. Mr Lee was the grandson of Dr. John B. Lee. At the time of the closing of the drug store, it was one of the few left which still operated a soda fountain.
Today, the Grapevine specialty retail store is located in the building which has survived many years of change in South Chattanooga.
If you have memories of any of the Lee family businesses mentioned in this article, please send me an e-mail at jolleyh@bellsouth.net.