The J. Avery Bryan Funeral Home building prior to demolition. Click to enlarge.
In recent days, the former J. Avery Bryan Funeral Home building at 747 McCallie Ave. had its own funeral.
After the property was sold to UTC and the business moved to a new location in another historic facility at 1914 McCallie Ave., workers began demolishing and clearing the site.
To paraphrase what is often spoken at a funeral service or visitation for the elderly, however, the building did manage to have a long and fruitful life. In fact, it was a Chattanooga landmark for parts of three centuries.
Its beginning dated to about 1890, when the address was 447 McCallie Ave. and one of its neighbors of about the same age was the University of Chattanooga’s Old Main building.
The first resident of the home was Rodolphus B. Davenport, the father of the Krystal restaurant co-founder by the same name and the grandfather of the more recent company head, R.B. “Rody” Davenport III.
At the time he moved into the home, the elder Mr. Davenport was apparently not married and was an official with the Davenport Bros. and Jackson wholesale dry goods firm at 614-616 Market St.
Mr. Davenport’s father had been a Confederate Civil War Army officer.
The McCallie Avenue Mr. Davenport would later also become involved in the Davenport Hosiery Mills, which, in 1925, constructed what is now the Chattanooga Times Free Press building on 11th Street.
Mr. Davenport apparently lived in the home approximately a decade and had moved out by the time his restaurateur son was born.
Living in the home in 1904, according to an old city directory, was G.L. Meehan, the general manager of the Ross-Meehan Foundry.
By 1910, the home was occupied by L.B. Wertheimer, who was involved with Gottschalk & Co. furniture and upholstery firm. Mrs. Bertha Wertheimer lived in the home into the 1920s.
A resident not long before the home was converted into the J. Avery Bryan Funeral Home in the 1920s was E.A. Nowlin, who worked as a special representative for Volunteer State Life Insurance Co.
During the first half of the 20th century, the sounds of teenagers could be heard in that area, as both Baylor School and later Girls Preparatory School were located behind the home off Palmetto Street.
Shortly before opening his own funeral homes in North Georgia and on McCallie Avenue, James Avery Bryan had been a bookkeeper with the J.H. Wann and Sons Funeral Home and lived with his mother at 1610 E. 14th St., one city directory said.
During the early years of the funeral home on McCallie Avenue, Mr. Bryan and his wife, Myra, lived in Chickamauga. But by the early 1930s, they were residing in the Chattanooga funeral home, as was common at funeral homes during that time period.
During the early 1940s, they were living in Apartment A of the building closer to Palmetto Street and also operated a funeral home at 213 Chickamauga Ave. in Rossville in addition to the others.
The 1957 city directory lists the Bryan’s residence as both the funeral home and 44 Bellacoola Drive in Soddy.
During the 1960s, J. Avery Bryan Funeral Home continued also to have chapels in Chickamauga and LaFayette.
Mr. Bryan died in August 1974, and his wife sold the LaFayette and Chickamauga funeral homes but continued to operate the one on McCallie Avenue for a number of years.
Now, the funeral home has moved and the building has been demolished.
But it has left behind memories of many prominent Chattanoogans who went through its doors -- both vertically and horizontally.
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The former J. Avery Bryan Funeral Home building became a pile of rubble after demolition. Click to enlarge.