Walter Cline
Walter Cline bungalow was the last house at the south end of East Terrace next to the Crumbliss family
Cline back porch with view
Fireplace
View from the inside of river and mountains
Photographer Walter Matson Cline, who built up a lucrative postcard and photography business based in Chattanooga, had a chalet-style bungalow with extraordinary views high atop Cameron Hill.
The Cline house was the last one going south on Prospect Street (Boynton Terrace) just past the two homes where the Crumbliss brothers long lived.
Walter Cline was born in Ohio to Isaac and Sarah Ann Matson Cline on April 21, 1873. He grew up in the town of Cambridge, Ohio. He moved to Chattanooga in 1904 and went to work for photographer Elsworth L. Mudge. He was able to buy the Mudge business by 1910, and he changed the name to Cline Studios.
Walter Cline married Lucy Haley in Chattanooga on Jan. 15, 1914. Their children were Walter Matson Cline, Jr. and Sarah Antoinette. Walter Cline, before his marriage, lived on Missionary Ridge, on Oak Street and at the Theresa Hotel.
The couple began building their bungalow with a view in 1914 after securing the coveted lot and hiring talented architect David V. Stroop. The home was "cleverly and artistically constructed" and was "a model of 20th Century conveniences." It was situated with "a magnificent view over the river, the fields and the mountains." The house featured wide cornices and was in the style of a Swiss chalet. The front porch was 19 feet square to take full advantage of the view. Half of the porch was on the north and half on the west. The living room was done in green and brown. The walls were all ceiled wood with cross pieces. There was a fireplace with a coal grate that could be taken out when burning firewood. The mantle was of textured brick.
The dining room of the Cline home was entered by a wide doorway with tiny bookcases on either side, in the Mission style, with wooded-glass doors. The china cabinet and buffet were built into the room. The buffet included several drawers under the southern windows. Chandeliers were a centerpiece in both the living room and dining room. There was a small hall from the living room leading to a closet as well as a bedroom on the south and a stairway and library on the north. The library also had a fireplace and mantel. The downstairs bedroom as well as the ones upstairs and the kitchen were of white enamel.
The foundation of the house was concrete with stucco on the outside. The roof covering was of composition with edges cut in rolling lines to give the effect of tile. The textured brick came from the Key-James Brick Company. and the ceil-board panels from the Cary Roofing Company. D.J. Murphey supplied the plumbing. The lumber came from the Lookout Planing Mill.
The Clines left Cameron Hill in the mid-1920s and moved to a fine home at 2000 Vance Ave. in Highland Park. Jones C. Beene, bookkeeper for O.B. Andrews, took over the place at the end of Boynton Terrace.
Cline traveled to scenic areas across the South, taking some 75,000 pictures. He furnished the Chattanooga Community Advertising Association with 3,000 photos used for promotional purposes. He savored going to the most rugged, steep mountainside, though sometimes he would tumble down a hillside. Oftentimes he hired men to accompany him to the wilds to carry some of his equipment. He would avidly pursue a particular photo he had in mind.
Once Walter Cline set up camp and waited for a legendary black bear who had been seen nearby. He finally thought he had the bear in sight only to find it was a dangerous group of wild pigs.
Cline got interested in the rare and beautiful wildflowers that he saw in the Smokies and elsewhere, taking many photos of pitcher plant and other rarities.
Walter Cline was preparing a gun for an event on April 12, 1941, when it went off, killing him instantly. He was 68. His wife helped carry on the business.
Walter Cline, Jr. followed his father's line and established the W.M. Cline Company in Chattanooga in 1938. The plant was on Dayton Boulevard in Red Bank. There were Cline branches formed in many cities across the South. Walter Cline, Jr. used his father's early black and white scenes for post cards, then in 1958 he opened a color plant that could print 6,000 postcards per hour. The postcards were of Rock City, Lookout Mountain, the Smokies and other attractions. There was a series on the Dixie Highway from the 1930s.
Walter Cline Jr. and his family moved in with Lucy Cline at the house on Vance Avenue.
Walter Cline, Jr. in 1978 sold the company for $5 million. He died of leukemia in 1984 at the age of 69.
The Cameron Hill bungalow had a number of owners through the years, including Wallace Redner and W.A. Alexander. Morris Mishkind was living there near the end.