John Shearer: Visiting And Examining Broad Street

With the unveiling of a plan for redeveloping Broad Street downtown into more of a park-like setting with narrowed vehicle lanes and more sidewalk space and maybe a tree-covered walkway in the middle, I decided to examine the thoroughfare myself.

So, Friday about late morning, I went down and walked the street between Aquarium Way (old Second Street) and M.L. King Boulevard and looked at the surroundings. To be honest, I pretended I was a professional consultant examining the street, although it was of course strictly for fun and from an untrained layman’s perspective. However, it was from somebody who does love architecture and urban parks and spaces.

In the news that was announced this week, the Florida-based design firm, Dover, Kohl & Partners, is working with River City Co. on the redesign phase of the street. Citizens had a chance to offer suggestions for the redevelopment last fall, and the firm recently issued three plans with varying sidewalk and median/promenade amenities.

People can learn more about them and offer additional feedback and comment at broadstreetcha.com.

With all this in my mind, I arrived about 10:30 on this sunny and slightly cool day. I decided to park in the median area of Broad between Fourth and Fifth streets. I had not even gotten out of my car when someone came up and asked me for money for a biscuit or something like that. I shook my head no, as I usually do, and once again felt quite guilty and realized I showed no sign to this person that I go to church most Sundays.

I wish I had some helpful way to aid such people, even if it is just keeping some homemade cookies in my car. That is in part because someone else during my morning jaunt also looked like he wanted to approach me. Such people living in unfortunate circumstances don’t bother me or keep me from coming downtown, though, and I wish them well.

As I stood there and looked at my surroundings after I did finally exit my Honda Accord, I loved the three multi-colored buildings, including the one housing the Five Guys burger joint, down at the northwest part of the street. They were historic and added a lot of positive vibe to the block.

So did the Jack’s Alley complex across the street with its walkway through it between Sticky Fingers and Panera. But for some reason I have noticed I never want to stop at that passageway but simply want to hustle through it to my destination. Maybe it needs some artwork or something.

The block between Fourth and Fifth streets does have something to catch the eyes – a collection of trees. I counted 15 in the median area, seven on the Cameron Hill side of the street, and 10 on the other side. And I believe they are oaks, perhaps willow oaks, although I am not an expert bark reader in the wintertime.

I am not sure what the plans for the existing trees are, as sometimes landscape and design firms encourage starting anew with fresh plantings, but I personally hope these trees on many of these blocks can be saved and preserved, since they look like they are at least 15 or 20 years old.

I remember some Bradford pear trees had been planted on some of those blocks back about the 1980s, but other than blooming nicely for a few days around March, they have weak limbs and invasively spread in uncut areas. In other words, they have as much lasting appeal on city streets as bell bottom jeans did on teenagers as the 1970s ended. So, they were removed.

As I moved in a southward direction, I crossed over Fifth Street and on my right noticed a small open parking lot. With a nice view up to the old Golden Gateway and the handsome First Baptist Church, I realized maybe this lot should be converted into a park/plaza area with tables and maybe an area for special festivals.

I had the same thought when I saw the long strip of a parking lot on the south side of the bus barns complex between Second and Third streets near where Big River Grille is. But instead of a view up the hill at Cameron Hill, this view would primarily be at the long wall of historic and pretty red brick.

I counted about 11 open areas along Broad Street in the seven blocks I covered. Some of them need other buildings put in them, just like implants and crowns in one’s mouth when teeth are missing. And perhaps one or two need plazas and parks as I mentioned, provided they can be kept safe and put to good use, and maybe one or two of them need an additional parking garage nicely built and designed.

And I would encourage a city-operated parking garage with free parking from Friday late afternoon until Monday morning, as Knoxville has in some of their downtown garages operated by the city.

Anyway, as I continued on Broad Street between Fifth and Sixth streets, I noticed the pretty and historic Mayan Kitchen building on the west side and the cute and also-older Cupcake Kitchen building across the street.

I was quickly beginning to realize that to me, the streetscape of Broad Street could not be independent from the buildings along it and my critique of them. And, of course, some of the plans are connecting them, with perhaps wider sidewalks for maybe more outside seating at restaurants in some of these buildings.

I also envisioned that for maybe even the old First Horizon building and the non-descript building on its south side, with an open parking lot below its covering, a large restaurant would be neat here. It could have indoor seating in the First Horizon lobby entrance, and outdoor seating below the overhanging area of the other building, where the cars now park. Somehow, the First Horizon building on the Broad Street side needs to connect with the street better, and this might be one way.

As I continued on trying to visualize the streetscape and how it might connect to the buildings, I still found myself simply looking only at the buildings and critiquing them. I realize Chattanooga has some wonderful buildings on Broad Street, maybe more than on Market Street, but it also has some duds or uninteresting ones built or greatly remodeled after about 1985 or 1990.

Exceptions to the latter include the nice Morgan Stanley Building by M.L. King Boulevard, the building/parking garage between Second and Third streets with the climbing wall, and the Steam Logistics building that is a revamp of an old automobile dealership garage. Of course, the latter building had nowhere to go but up.

And I loved looking at all the old buildings. That included the neat, mid-century and cantilevered Regions Bank Building and the Millers Building in the 600 block, and the great collection of historic buildings on the west side of the 700 block. They include, of course, the Tivoli Center (old Fowler’s building), the Tivoli Theatre, and the James and Maclellan buildings as they are historically called.

For a historic preservationist, those four buildings that take up an entire block are like the Shangri-La of old brick and mortar in Chattanooga. Is there any block prettier if you are one of those who likes old architecture and would prefer living in Fort Wood or a North Chattanooga bungalow than a new Ooltewah subdivision? Of course, the Tivoli Center is taking on a new look in its interior to connect with the theater better.

The old Chattanooga Bank Building across the street is also nice, and let’s hope it can soon get fixed up. Across Eighth Street from it are the pretty Elkins building and the one adjoining it that had an old painted sign for shoe renewry on an upper brick area.

In the 800 block, I also enjoyed glancing at Pinnacle Bank, which had formerly been the mid-century Pioneer Bank, and the small – and often overlooked -- Brown Associates Building.

And, of course, the Read House in the same block is also a gem. If I lived out of town, I would first try to stay in the Read House. I love sitting in its lobby and upper mezzanine, and maybe the streetscaping can bring the interior of that building out more.

As a little side note of trivia, two popular Chattanooga buildings near each other here, the Tivoli and the Read House, were designed by well-known Chicago firms: Rapp and Rapp, and Holabird and Roche, respectively.

As I turned around to head back down and cover the lower-numbered blocks, I was already realizing in my earlier excitement while getting out of my car that I had not paid for parking. Thankfully, when I got back, I did not have a ticket.

As I continued on and crossed over Fourth Street to go in the direction of the Tennessee Aquarium, I realized it is a wider intersection, and it is the one place on Broad Street that you can’t simply cross without waiting on a light.

I was actually surprised how little traffic was coming up and down Broad Street on this Friday morning in January, and I was even able to do a little jaywalking to go back and forth from the medians to try and take some pictures. Thankfully a policeman was not watching me.

Among the not-yet-mentioned items of interest in the 200 and 300 blocks were a little-known sculpture and some landscaping on the west side in the 300 block near the Creative Discovery Museum. This could be another area made into a park-like plaza if enough parking can be found elsewhere. It will help cover the fact that a passerby is looking at the backside of a building, which is not good for a major road like Broad Street.

And I love the old former Coca-Cola bottling building on the northwest corner of Broad near Aquarium Way/old Second Street and all the different uses it has had. It is the cat of Broad Street buildings with seemingly nine lives of being everything from a couple of bottling plants to a county schools boardroom facility, to eatery space. To me, it is simply a gorgeous old building from the outside.

I also liked how a passageway for buses and maybe other vehicles existed between it and the building with the climbing wall. The passageway seemed more interesting than the pedestrian version at Jack’s Alley.

And the median in the 200 block was also a little different from the other medians of Broad Street, as it had what appeared to be smaller and more ornamental trees like flowering crabapples. Planters for flowers were also there.

So, I was enthused after walking back and forth and seeing amid some already nice settings places where Broad Street can get even better, including with the landscaping and streetscaping planned.

Let’s hope it becomes a street where all feel welcome and safe and that it can add to quality of life for Chattanoogans during work and leisure hours.

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Jcshearer2@comcast.net