Chattanooga, Tennessee#Primary and secondary education

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The first inhabitants of the Chattanooga area were Native Americans. Sites dating back to the Upper Paleolithic period (c. 10,000 BCE) show continuous human occupation through the Archaic, Woodland, Mississippian/Muskogean/Yuchi (900–1714 CE), and Cherokee (1776–1838) periods. The Chickamauga Mound near the mouth of the Chickamauga Creek is the oldest ({{circa|750 CE}}) remaining visible art in Chattanooga.{{cite web |last1=kunesh |first1=tom |title=Chickamauga Mound |url=http://www.moccasinbend.net/cita/chickamaugamound/index.html |publisher=Chattanooga InterTribal Association |access-date=March 15, 2019}}

The Citico town and mound site was the most significant Mississippian/Muscogee landmark in Chattanooga up to 1915. The first part of the name "Chattanooga" derives from the Muskogean word cvto /chắtȯ/ – 'rock'.A Dictionary of Creek/Muskogee, Margaret McKane Mauldin The latter may be derived from a regional suffix -nuga meaning dwelling or dwelling place. It is also believed to be derived from the Creek Indian word Chat-to-to-noog-gee, meaning 'rock rising to a point', which is speculated to be a reference to Lookout Mountain.{{cite news|last=Omarzu|first=Tim|date=May 31, 2016|title=Chattanooga may mean 'rock rising to a point' — after Lookout Mountain

|url=https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/fyi/2015/story/2016/may/31/chattanoogmay-merock-rising-point-after-loo/368527/|work=Chattanooga Times Free Press|access-date=October 28, 2020}}

The earliest Cherokee occupation of the area dates from 1776, when Dragging Canoe separated himself from the main tribe to establish resistance to European settlement during the Cherokee–American wars. In 1816 John Ross, who later became Principal Chief, established Ross's Landing. Located along what is now Broad Street, it became one of the centers of Cherokee Nation settlement, which also extended into Georgia and Alabama.

In 1838, the U.S. government forced the Cherokees, along with other Native Americans, to relocate to the area designated as Indian Territory, in what is now the state of Oklahoma. Their journey west became known as the "Trail of Tears" for their exile and fatalities along the way. The U.S. Army used Ross's Landing as the site of one of three large internment camps, or "emigration depots", where Native Americans were held before the journey on the Trail of Tears.Vicki Rozema, [https://books.google.com/books?id=Y7zgcpmg8vcC&dq=trail+of+tears,+emigration+depots&pg=PA20 Voices from the Trail of Tears]. Voices from the Trail of Tears, 2003. Retrieved August 19, 2009.

In 1839, the community of Ross's Landing incorporated as the city of Chattanooga. The city grew quickly, initially benefiting from a location well-suited for river commerce. With the arrival of the railroad in 1850, Chattanooga became a boom town. The city was known as the site "where cotton meets corn," referring to its location along the cultural boundary between the mountain communities of southern Appalachia and the cotton-growing states to the south.Timothy Ezzell, [http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=226 Chattanooga]. Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, 2009. Retrieved: January 17, 2013.

File:Chattanooga Campaign Battles November 24-25.pdf

{{Main|Chattanooga in the American Civil War}}

During the American Civil War, Chattanooga was a center of battle. Chattanooga served as a hub connecting fifty percent of the Confederacy's arsenals, those being located in Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, and Macon. Chattanooga's railroads were vital to the Confederacy's transportation of raw material to processing plants for producing small arms munitions.{{Cite news|last=Hughes|first=Micheal Anderson|date=1991|title=The Struggle for Chattanooga, 1862-1863|pages=10|via=ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global}} During the Chickamauga Campaign, Union artillery bombarded Chattanooga as a diversion and occupied it on September 9, 1863. Following the Battle of Chickamauga, the defeated Union Army retreated to safety in Chattanooga. On November 23, 1863, the Battles for Chattanooga began when Union forces led by Major General Ulysses S. Grant reinforced troops at Chattanooga and advanced to Orchard Knob against Confederate troops besieging the city. The next day, the Battle of Lookout Mountain was fought, driving the Confederates off the mountain. On November 25, Grant's army routed the Confederates in the Battle of Missionary Ridge. In regard to victories won by the Union, Chattanooga marks one of three defining moments that turned the Civil War in their favor. The Battle of Gettysburg brought the streak of victories obtained by the Confederacy to an end, while the Siege of Vicksburg split the Confederacy itself in half, while Chattanooga served as the doorway to the Deep South.{{Cite journal|last=Russo|first=Valeria A.|date=2000|title=Gateway to Civil War history: [RUN OF PAPER Edition]|journal=Patriot Ledger|via=ProQuest Central}} These battles were followed the next spring by the Atlanta Campaign, beginning just over the nearby state line in Georgia and moving southeastward. After the war ended, the city became a major railroad hub and industrial and manufacturing center.

The largest flood in Chattanooga's history occurred in 1867, before the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) system was created in 1933 by Congress. The flood crested at {{convert|58|ft}} and completely inundated the city. Since the completion of the reservoir system, the highest Chattanooga flood stage has been nearly {{convert|37|ft}}, which occurred in 1973. Without regulation, the flood would have crested at {{convert|52.4|ft}}.{{cite web |url=http://www.tva.gov/river/flood/prone.htm |title=Flood-Prone Areas |access-date=February 6, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150831223148/http://www.tva.gov/river/flood/prone.htm |archive-date=August 31, 2015 }} Flood-Prone Areas. Tennessee Valley Authority. Chattanooga was a major priority in the design of the TVA reservoir system and remains a major operating priority in the 21st century.

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In December 1906, Chattanooga was in the national headlines in United States v. Shipp, as the United States Supreme Court, in the only criminal trial in its history, ruled that Hamilton County Sheriff Joseph H. Shipp had violated Ed Johnson's civil rights when Shipp allowed a mob to enter the Hamilton County jail and lynch Johnson on the Walnut Street Bridge.{{cite news

|title=The lynching that Black Chattanooga never forgot takes center stage downtown

|first=Chris

|last=Moody

|date=March 11, 2021

|newspaper=Washington Post

|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/the-lynching-that-black-chattanooga-never-forgot-takes-center-stage-downtown/2021/03/11/67405b4e-7c27-11eb-85cd-9b7fa90c8873_story.html}}

Chattanooga grew with the entry of the United States in the First World War in 1917; the nearest training camp was in Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. The Influenza pandemic of 1918 closed local movie theaters and pool halls.{{cite web|url=http://ngeorgia.com/tenn/chattanooga2.html|title=Chattanooga, Tennessee (Reconstruction to World War II)|publisher=NGeorgia.com|access-date=August 29, 2012|archive-date=August 24, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120824043151/http://www.ngeorgia.com/tenn/chattanooga2.html|url-status=dead}} By the 1930s, Chattanooga was known as the "Dynamo of Dixie", inspiring the 1941 Glenn Miller big-band swing song "Chattanooga Choo Choo".{{cite web |url=http://www.greenpageschattanooga.com/2011/08/chattanooga-dirtiest-city-in-american.html |title=Chattanooga, Dirtiest City in American | Chattanooga Green City |publisher=The GreenPages Chattanooga |access-date=April 25, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510013812/http://www.greenpageschattanooga.com/2011/08/chattanooga-dirtiest-city-in-american.html |archive-date=May 10, 2013 |url-status=dead }} Through Mayor P.R. Olgiati's efforts, Chattanooga became the first city in Tennessee to have a completed interstate highway system in the latter 1960s.{{cite web|url=http://www.chattanooga.gov/about-chattanooga/history-of-mayors/1951-1963-peter-rudolph-qrudyq-olgiati|title=Peter Rudolph "Rudy" Olgiati|website=Chattanooga.gov|publisher=City of Chattanooga|access-date=November 28, 2019}}{{cite web|url=http://www.chattanoogan.com/2004/7/9/52682/Where-Do-Our-Interstate-Highways-Terminate.aspx|title=Where Do Our Interstate Highways Terminate?|work=chattanoogan.com|date=July 9, 2004 |access-date=July 17, 2015}}{{cite web|url=http://www.chattanoogaradiotv.com/general/why-did-they-name-it-the-ol-johnny-bridge/|title=Why did they name it the "Ol' Johnny Bridge?"|work=chattanoogaradiotv.com|date=October 24, 2013 |access-date=July 17, 2015}} In February 1958, Chattanooga became one of the smallest cities in the country with three VHF television stations: WROM-TV (now WTVC-TV) channel 9 (ABC), WRGP-TV (now WRCB-TV) channel 3 (NBC), and WDEF-TV channel 12 (CBS).{{cite web|url=http://www.gtvhof.com/chapterseven.htm|title=Chapter Seven|work=gtvhof.com|access-date=July 17, 2015}}

The same mountains that provide Chattanooga's scenic backdrop also trap industrial pollutants, which settle over the city. In 1969, the federal government declared that Chattanooga had the dirtiest air in the nation.{{cite web|url=http://citiwire.net/columns/healing-the-urban-heart-chattanoogas-next-great-challenge/|title=Healing the Urban Heart: Chattanooga's Next Great Challenge|last=Brandes Gratz|first=Roberta|date=July 7, 2011|publisher=The CitiStates Group|access-date=June 28, 2012|archive-date=March 15, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130315142823/http://citiwire.net/columns/healing-the-urban-heart-chattanoogas-next-great-challenge/|url-status=dead}} Like other early industrial cities, Chattanooga entered the 1970s with serious socioeconomic challenges, including job layoffs because of de-industrialization, deteriorating city infrastructure, racial tensions, and social division. Chattanooga's population increased by nearly 50,000 in the 1970s. However, this was mostly because the city annexed nearby residential areas.{{cite news|last=Hightower|first=Cliff|date=August 28, 2009|title=City reveals second phase of annexation|url=https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/news/story/2009/aug/28/city-reveals-second-phase-of-annexation/232465/|work=Chattanooga Times Free Press|location=Chattanooga, Tennessee|access-date=December 21, 2018|archive-date=December 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181221182934/https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/news/story/2009/aug/28/city-reveals-second-phase-of-annexation/232465/|url-status=dead}} By the mid-1980s, local leaders launched Vision 2000, an effort to revitalize and reinvent Chattanooga's culture and economy. Chattanooga's population declined by more than 10% in the 1980s, but regained it over the next two decades, the only major U.S. city to do so in that period.{{cite web |date=July 7, 2009 |url=http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/07/city-populations-grow-shift/ |title=City populations grow, shift |publisher=Chattanooga Times Free Press |access-date=November 13, 2011 |archive-date=August 10, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810060414/http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/07/city-populations-grow-shift/ |url-status=dead }}

The civil rights movement of Chattanooga began in 1960 when teenage students of Howard High School, inspired by activists in Nashville and Greensboro, began to organize a similar sit-in protest. Class President Paul Walker, Lehman Pierce and as many as 200 other black students organized peaceful sit-ins at four businesses along one block in downtown Chattanooga.{{Cite web |last=Arbuckle |first=Alex |date=February 19, 2017 |title=Newly uncovered photos capture the tense atmosphere outside a 1960 Tennessee sit-in |url=https://mashable.com/feature/chattanooga-sit-ins |access-date=April 24, 2023 |website=Mashable |language=en}} White youth mobs responded with agitation, inflammatory language and violence. By the third day, Mayor Rudy Olgiatti instructed the fire department to utilize water hoses on crowds becoming the first city to utilize this tactic against protesters. Three months later the city would agree to desegregate the downtown businesses.{{Cite web |title=February 1960 |url=https://chattanoogahistory.com/february1960.php |access-date=April 24, 2023 |website=SAM HALL {{!}} chattanoogahistory.com}}

Unlike many southern cities the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. did not lead to riots in Chattanooga. Mayor Kelley and Police Commissioner Turner met with young people to defuse the situation and bought the protesters lunch. The frustrated youths voiced their complaints about racial injustice in Chattanooga, but were convinced to peacefully disperse.{{Cite web |date=March 30, 2018 |title=John Shearer: Remembering How Chattanooga Reacted In 1968 To M.L. King Jr.'s Death |url=https://www.chattanoogan.com/2018/3/30/365990/John-Shearer-Remembering-How.aspx |access-date=April 24, 2023 |website=www.chattanoogan.com |language=en}}

In 1971, John Franklin Sr. became the first African-American elected official of Chattanooga.{{Cite web |date=June 21, 2018 |title=Chattanooga history maker John Franklin dies {{!}} Chattanooga Times Free Press |url=https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2018/jun/21/chattanooga-icon-john-p-franklin-sr-dies/ |access-date=April 24, 2023 |website=www.timesfreepress.com |language=en}} However racial tensions related to poverty and education continued to simmer. In the same year, a cancelled concert refusing to give ticket refunds sparked a four-day riot of black youth. An all-night curfew was called and close to 2,000 National Guard troops arrived in the city, setting up a post at City Hall.{{Cite web |date=May 28, 2021 |title=John Shearer: Remembering The 1971 Racial Crisis That Followed The Wilson Pickett Concert, Part 1 |url=https://www.chattanoogan.com/2021/5/28/429125/John-Shearer-Remembering-The-1971.aspx |access-date=April 24, 2023 |website=www.chattanoogan.com |language=en}} The unrest led to 1 death and 300 arrests.{{Cite news |last=Times |first=James T. Wooten Special to The New York |date=May 25, 1971 |title=Negro Is Killed on Fourth Night of Violence in Chattanooga After 2,000 National Guardsmen Move |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/05/25/archives/negro-is-killed-on-fourth-night-of-violence-in-chattanooga-after.html |access-date=April 24, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}

File:1980mural downtown.jpg

On April 19, 1980, three Ku Klux Klan members rode down historic 9th street and opened fire on five black women: Viola Ellison, Lela Mae Evans, Katherine O. Johnson, Opal Lee Jackson and Fannie Crumsey. All of the women survived.{{Cite web |date=February 19, 2020 |title=The Case Of A KKK Shooting In 1980 Chattanooga |url=https://www.wutc.org/news/2020-02-19/the-case-of-a-kkk-shooting-in-1980-chattanooga |access-date=April 24, 2023 |website=WUTC |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Zechman |first=Bliss |date=February 20, 2020 |title=86-year-old survivor of 1980 Chattanooga KKK attack shares her story in front of hundreds |url=https://newschannel9.com/news/local/86-year-old-survivor-of-1980-chattanooga-kkk-attack-shares-her-story-in-front-of-hundreds |access-date=April 24, 2023 |website=WTVC |language=en}} When an all-white jury acquitted the three Klan members for their crime, Chattanooga erupted into four nights of rioting.{{Citation |title=Alton Park Residents Riot in Chattanooga after All-White Jury Acquits Klansmen in Shooting 7/23/80 | date=December 20, 2022 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxOqSWhCyK4 |access-date=April 24, 2023 |language=en}} Not deterred by the jury verdict, the five women went on to be plaintiffs in a historic civil lawsuit against the Klan. In 1982, the federal courts ordered the Klan to pay the women $535,000 on account of the attack. This case created the legal strategy for dismantling the Klan across the country in the following years.{{Cite web |date=February 15, 2020 |title=Cook: Local Klansmen shot these women. Do you know what they did next? {{!}} Chattanooga Times Free Press |url=https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2020/feb/15/local-klansmen-shot-these-women-do-you-know-w/ |access-date=April 24, 2023 |website=www.timesfreepress.com |language=en}}

In 1987, the city's at-large voting process was challenged on the basis that it marginalized the voting power of Black voters.{{Cite web |title=Brown v. Board of Com'rs of Chattanooga, Tenn., 722 F. Supp. 380 (E.D. Tenn. 1989) |url=https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/722/380/2592781/ |access-date=May 16, 2023 |website=Justia Law |language=en}} The issue was initially presented by Lorenzo Ervin, Annie Thomas and Maxine Cousin to the ACLU in Atlanta. Following the case of Brown v. Board of Commissioners of Chattanooga, the city terminated the at-large voting system.{{Cite web |date=October 13, 2011 |title=Brown v. Board of Commissioners shifted form of government to boost minorities {{!}} Chattanooga Times Free Press |url=https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2011/oct/13/court-case-dramatically-shifts-form-of/ |access-date=May 16, 2023 |website=www.timesfreepress.com |language=en}}

File:Downtown chattanooga.JPG]]

File:Typeface sample Chatype.png

Chattanooga launched the first government-provided one-gigabit-per-second Internet service in the United States in September 2010, provided through the city-owned utility EPB.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/13/technology/13broadband.html?_r=2&sq=chattanooga&st=cse&adxnnl=1&scp=1&adxnnlx=1285153403-FFzkcK6fh2uW7gJerggOzA|title=Fastest Net Service in U.S. Coming to Chattanooga|last=Lohr|first=Steve|date=September 12, 2010|work=The New York Times|access-date=December 7, 2011}}

In August 2012, Chattanooga developed its own typeface, called Chatype, which marks the first time a municipality has its own typeface in the United States and the first crowd-funded, custom-made typeface in the world.{{cite web|url=http://www.nooga.com/157144/chatype-used-everywhere-from-library-to-new-downtown-banners/|title=Chatype used everywhere from library to new downtown banners|last=Morrison|first=Chloe|date=September 6, 2012|publisher=Nooga.com|access-date=March 12, 2013|archive-date=April 2, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130402152308/http://www.nooga.com/157144/chatype-used-everywhere-from-library-to-new-downtown-banners|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/mar/25/chattanooga-from-a-to-z/|title=Chattanooga Now 2012|last=Denton|first=Lisa|date=March 25, 2012|work=Chattanooga Times Free Press|access-date=March 12, 2013}}

On July 16, 2015, five people — four U.S. Marines and one sailor — were murdered and two more were wounded in shootings at two U.S. military facilities in Chattanooga. The perpetrator was Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez, an Islamic terrorist.{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/chattanooga-shootings-gunman-id-d-as-muhammad-youssef-abdulazeez-1.3154905|title=Chattanooga shootings: Gunman ID'd as Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez|date=July 16, 2015|publisher=CBC News|access-date=July 16, 2015}}

On November 21, 2016, a school bus carrying students from Woodmore Elementary School crashed in the Brainerd neighborhood, killing 6 and injuring 23.{{Cite news| url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/21/us/tennessee-chattanooga-school-bus-accident/index.html|title=6 dead in Tennessee school bus crash| last1=Sterling| first1=Joe| last2=Simon| first2=Darran| work=CNN| publisher=Cable News Network|date=November 21, 2016|access-date=November 22, 2016}} In March 2018, the driver, an employee of Durham School Services, was convicted of six counts of criminally negligent homicide, 11 counts of reckless aggravated assault, seven counts of assault, reckless endangerment, reckless driving and illegally using his phone while driving.{{Cite news|url=https://www.wbir.com/article/news/crime/bus-driver-found-guilty-of-criminally-negligent-homicide-in-crash-that-killed-6-kids/51-524203588|title=Bus driver found guilty of criminally negligent homicide in crash that killed 6 kids|work=WBIR-TV|access-date=June 16, 2018|language=en-US}} The crash reignited the debate about whether seat belts should be required in school buses.{{cite news|last=Pak|first=Nataly|date=May 23, 2018|title=NTSB changes tune about seat belts on school buses after deadly crashes|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/ntsb-recommends-seat-belts-school-buses-deadly-crashes/story?id=55367225|work=ABC News|location=New York City|access-date=December 2, 2019}}

On June 5, 2022, there was a mass shooting in Chattanooga that left three dead and injured 11.{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/three-people-dead-14-shot-nightclub-chattanooga-tennessee-rcna32028|title=Three people dead, 14 shot outside nightclub in Chattanooga, Tennessee|date=June 5, 2022|publisher=nbcnews.com|access-date=June 5, 2022}}

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of {{convert|374.4|km2|order=flip}}, of which {{convert|355.2|km2|order=flip}} are land and {{convert|19.2|km2|order=flip}}, or 5.12%, are water.{{cite web|url=https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/G001/1600000US4714000|title=Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Census Summary File 1 (G001): Chattanooga city, Tennessee|work=American Factfinder|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|access-date=January 26, 2018|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213095141/https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/G001/1600000US4714000|archive-date=February 13, 2020|url-status=dead}} The most prominent natural features in and around Chattanooga are the Tennessee River and the surrounding mountains. The Tennessee River is impounded by the Chickamauga Dam north of the downtown area. The city is nestled between the southwestern Ridge-and-valley Appalachians and the foot of Walden's Ridge; the river separates the ridge from the western side of downtown. Several miles east, the city is bisected by Missionary Ridge. The downtown area sits at an elevation of approximately {{convert|676|ft|m}}, one of the lowest elevations in East Tennessee.{{cite web |url=https://en-gb.topographic-map.com/maps/lsuz/Tennessee/ |title=Tennessee topographic map, elevation, relief |author= |date= |website=topographic-map.com |publisher= |access-date=January 22, 2022}}

{{wide image|Chattanooga Skyline.JPG|1200px|Downtown Chattanooga|alt=Chattanooga from Nikki's Drive Inn Restaurant}}

Downtown Chattanooga has a wide variety of entertainment, dining, cultural and architectural attractions, including the Tennessee Aquarium, opened in 1992; the Creative Discovery Museum, opened in 1995; and the historic Walnut Street Bridge, reopened in 1993. The downtown footprint is bounded by interstate highway I-24 on the south to Frazier Avenue in the Northshore, as well as US highway 27 in the west to Central Avenue in the east.{{Cite web |url=https://www.downtownchattanooga.org/dc/districts |title=Downtown Chattanooga | Districts |access-date=August 17, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180817193507/http://www.downtownchattanooga.org/dc/districts |archive-date=August 17, 2018 |url-status=dead }}

The modern downtown skyline is dominated by the Aquarium, the Republic Centre{{Cite web|url=https://www.berryhunt.com/3.5/republic-center|title=Republic Centre|website=www.berryhunt.com}} (tallest building in ChattanoogaList of tallest buildings in Tennessee{{Circular reference|date=March 2019}}), John C. Portman Jr.'s the Westin (Gold Building),{{Cite web|url=https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/chawi-the-westin-chattanooga/|title=The Westin Chattanooga|website=Marriott International}} the James Building (Chattanooga's first skyscraper),{{Cite web |url=https://www.urbanstoryventures.com/properties-1/ |title=Properties |access-date=August 17, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180817193435/https://www.urbanstoryventures.com/properties-1/ |archive-date=August 17, 2018 |url-status=dead }} and The Block,{{Cite web|url=https://theblockchattanooga.com/|title=The Block | Chattanooga, TN|website=theblockchattanooga.com|access-date=March 4, 2021|archive-date=April 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414193250/https://www.theblockchattanooga.com/|url-status=dead}} a climbing gym with 5,000 square feet of functional climbing space. Chattanooga has buildings with historical significance, such as The Read House Hotel (the longest continuously operating hotel in the Southeastern United States),{{Cite web|url=https://wdef.com/2018/05/15/uncovering-history-read-house/|title=Uncovering the History of the Read House|date=May 15, 2018}} the Chattanooga Choo-Choo Hotel (a converted railroad terminal), the Maclellan Building,{{Cite web|url=https://www.chattanoogan.com/2008/9/19/135481/History-of-the-Maclellan-Building.aspx|title=History of the Maclellan Building|website=www.chattanoogan.com|date=September 19, 2008 }} the Dome Building (once the home to the Chattanooga Times), and the Tivoli Theatre. The BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee headquarters,{{Cite web |url=https://www.bcbst.com/about/news_center/cameron-hill/ |title=Cameron Hill |access-date=August 17, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180817193413/https://www.bcbst.com/about/news_center/cameron-hill/ |archive-date=August 17, 2018 |url-status=dead }} atop Cameron Hill,{{Cite web |url=https://www.bcbst.com/about/news_center/cameron-hill/history.shtml |title=A Brief History of Cameron Hill |access-date=August 17, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180817225427/https://www.bcbst.com/about/news_center/cameron-hill/history.shtml |archive-date=August 17, 2018 |url-status=dead }} is the second-largest LEED Gold-certified corporate campus in the nation.{{Cite web |url=https://www.bcbst.com/why-bcbst/about-us/corporate-responsibility/green-initiatives/index.page |title=Green Initiatives | BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee |access-date=August 17, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180817225523/https://www.bcbst.com/why-bcbst/about-us/corporate-responsibility/green-initiatives/index.page |archive-date=August 17, 2018 |url-status=dead }}

Downtown Chattanooga has four main bridges over the Tennessee River: the Walnut Street Bridge, the Market Street Bridge, the Olgiati Bridge, and the Veterans Memorial Bridge. These bridges allow pedestrians to connect the Riverfront and Northshore to the Tennessee Riverwalk and Bluff View Art District. Downtown Chattanooga parks include Coolidge Park, Renaissance Park, Miller Park, Miller Plaza and Main Terrain Art Park. The Martin Luther King District runs parallel to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's campus and features the largest mural in Chattanooga.{{Cite web|url=https://www.megsaligman.com/mlk-mural|title=We Will Not Be Satisfied Until|website=Meg Saligman|access-date=March 4, 2021|archive-date=April 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413193804/https://www.megsaligman.com/mlk-mural|url-status=dead}} The 40,000-square-foot mural was created by Philadelphia-based muralist Meg Saligman and seven other local artists.{{Cite web|url=https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2015/jun/27/artists-paint-largest-mural-chattanoogmlking/311798/|title=Artists to paint largest mural in Chattanooga on M.L. King|website=timesfreepress.com|date=June 27, 2015 }}

In late 20th and early 21st centuries, substantial private and governmental resources have been invested in transforming the city's tarnished image. In 1993, restoration of the Walnut Street Bridge was completed. An excellent specimen of the Camelback truss bridge, it is the oldest surviving bridge of its kind in the Southeastern United States, having been built in 1891. Efforts to improve the city include the "21st Century Waterfront Plan" – a $120 million redevelopment of the Chattanooga waterfront area, which was completed in 2005. The Tennessee Aquarium, which opened in 1992, has become a major waterfront attraction that has helped to spur neighborhood development.{{cite web|url=https://www.rivercitycompany.com/pdfs/media/waterfront_exec_summary.pdf|title=waterfront_exec_summary.pdf (application/pdf Object)|publisher=rivercitycompany.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081029013817/http://www.rivercitycompany.com/pdfs/media/waterfront_exec_summary.pdf|archive-date=October 29, 2008|url-status=dead|access-date=October 2, 2008}} Since the opening of the aquarium, downtown Chattanooga has received over $5 billion of private investment,{{Cite news|url=https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2017/apr/23/aquarium-attraction25-years-tennessee-aquariu/424265/|title=In 25 years, Tennessee Aquarium helps reshape Chattanooga downtown [photos]|date=April 23, 2017|work=timesfreepress.com|access-date=July 20, 2018}} including nearly $1 billion from 2014 to 2018.{{Cite news|url=https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/business/aroundregion/story/2018/feb/22/downtown-top-tax-generator-city-countycentral/464306/|title=Downtown is top tax generator for Chattanooga, Hamilton County|date=February 22, 2018|work=timesfreepress.com|access-date=July 20, 2018}}

The city has won three national awards for outstanding "livability", and nine Gunther Blue Ribbon Awards for excellence in housing and consolidated planning.{{cite web|url=https://www.chattanooga.gov/General_Government/62_305.htm|title=City of Chattanooga|publisher=Chattanooga.gov|access-date=November 13, 2011|archive-date=November 3, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111103083848/http://www.chattanooga.gov/General_Government/62_305.htm|url-status=dead}} Public art experts chose Passageways 2.0 City Thread from among 50 outstanding public art projects created in 2018 through the Public Art Network Year in Review program, a national program that recognizes compelling public art.{{Cite web|url=https://www.chattanoogatrend.com/topics/entry/passageways-2.0-city-thread-receives-national-award|title=Passageways 2.0 City Thread Receives National Award|website=www.chattanoogatrend.com|access-date=July 25, 2019|archive-date=July 25, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190725204308/http://www.chattanoogatrend.com/topics/entry/passageways-2.0-city-thread-receives-national-award|url-status=dead}} In addition to winning various national and regional awards, Chattanooga has been in the national limelight numerous times. Chattanooga was the profile city of the August 2007 edition of US Airways Magazine.{{cite web|url=https://www.chattanoogachamber.com/PDF_Files/USAirwaysProfileChattanooga.pdf|title=Profile: Chattanooga|publisher=Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071211192410/http://www.chattanoogachamber.com/PDF_Files/USAirwaysProfileChattanooga.pdf|archive-date=December 11, 2007|url-status=dead|access-date=December 7, 2011}} Chattanooga-based businesses have been recognized for their investment in solar energy.{{Cite web|url=https://www.chattanoogatrend.com/topics/entry/chattanooga-goes-solar|title=Chattanooga Goes Solar|website=www.chattanoogatrend.com|access-date=March 4, 2021|archive-date=April 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413194017/https://www.chattanoogatrend.com/topics/entry/chattanooga-goes-solar|url-status=dead}} In December 2009, Chattanooga was ranked 8th out of America's 100 largest metro areas for the best "Bang For Your Buck" city, according to Forbes magazine, which measured overall affordability, housing rates, and more.{{cite web |work=Forbes |date=December 2009 |url=https://www.forbes.com/2009/11/30/cities-affordable-cheap-lifestyle-real-estate-housing-foreclosures_chart.html |title=America's Best Bang-For-The-Buck Cities |last=Levy |first=Francesca |access-date=March 4, 2022}}

Chattanooga has many buildings and three neighborhoods on the National Register of Historic Places: Ferger Place, Fort Wood, and St. Elmo. Additionally, Chattanooga has several local historic districts: Battery Place, Glenwood, Missionary Ridge, M.L. King, and Stringer's Ridge. Four of these are formally managed as local historic districts by the city.{{cite web|url=https://www.chattanooga.gov/economic-community-development/land-development-office/historic-planning-and-design-review|title=City of Chattanooga Historic Planning & Zoning|website=www.chattanooga.gov|access-date=August 25, 2018|archive-date=August 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180825212602/http://www.chattanooga.gov/economic-community-development/land-development-office/historic-planning-and-design-review|url-status=dead}}

{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}

• East Brainerd
• Ferger Place
• Fort Wood
• Highland Park
• Lupton City
• Missionary Ridge
• St. Elmo
• Lookout Valley
• Tyner

{{Div col end}}

{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}

• Apison, Tennessee
• Chickamauga, Georgia
• Collegedale, Tennessee
• East Brainerd, Tennessee
• East Ridge, Tennessee
• Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia
• Harrison, Tennessee
• Hixson, Tennessee
• LaFayette, Georgia
• Lookout Mountain, Georgia
• Lookout Mountain, Tennessee
• Ooltewah, Tennessee
• Red Bank, Tennessee
• Ridgeside, Tennessee
• Ringgold, Georgia
• Rossville, Georgia
• Sale Creek, Tennessee
• Signal Mountain, Tennessee
• Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee
• Trenton, Georgia
• Walden, Tennessee

{{Div col end}}

Chattanooga, like much of Tennessee, has a four-season humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa). Winter days are usually mild, but most years have at least one day (average 3.2) where the high remains at or below freezing. Snowfall is highly variable from year to year. {{convert|11|in|cm}} were recorded between January 9–10, 2011.{{cite web|url=https://cdo.ncdc.noaa.gov/climatenormals/clim20/tn/401656.pdf|title=Climatography of the United States No. 20: 1971–2000|publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130722175820/http://cdo.ncdc.noaa.gov/climatenormals/clim20/tn/401656.pdf|archive-date=July 22, 2013|url-status=dead|access-date=September 19, 2010}} The average snowiest month is February which corresponds with the annual peak in nor'easter activity. Summers are hot and humid, with a July daily mean of {{convert|80.0|°F|1}} and 52 days annually with {{convert|90|°F|0}} or greater temperatures. Chattanooga is the sixth fastest warming city in the United States due to climate change.{{cite web |author= |title=Tennessee Extreme Heat – Tennessee's Climate Threats |url=https://statesatrisk.org/tennessee/extreme-heat |website=States At Risk |publisher=Climate Central |access-date=May 25, 2020 |archive-date=May 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200524031643/https://statesatrisk.org/tennessee/extreme-heat |url-status=dead }}

Average annual precipitation is over {{convert|52|in|mm}}. On average, November through March represents an extended relatively wet period, because of Chattanooga's frequent placement (in the winter season) in a zone of conflict between warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico and cold, dry air from Canada, amplified by jet-stream energy and abundant Gulf moisture. July presents a secondary maximum in precipitation, due to frequent thunderstorm activity. Despite the mountains that surround the city, Chattanooga has been affected by tornadoes.{{cite web|url=https://www.usa.com/chattanooga-tn-natural-disasters-extremes.htm|title=Chattanooga Natural Disaster and Weather Extremes for Chattanooga|author=|publisher=USA.com|access-date=February 18, 2013|archive-date=February 12, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130212030248/http://www.usa.com/chattanooga-tn-natural-disasters-extremes.htm|url-status=dead}} These tornadoes include the 2011 Super Outbreak, which impacted the city and nearby locations, including Apison and Cherokee Valley in Catoosa County, Georgia, where fifteen people died, eight in Apison and seven in Cherokee Valley.{{cite web|url=https://www.srh.noaa.gov/mrx/?n=td_hamilton_tn|title=Documented Tornadoes in Hamilton County TN|publisher=Srh.noaa.gov|access-date=April 25, 2013|archive-date=May 12, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512122435/http://www.srh.noaa.gov/mrx/?n=td_hamilton_tn|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=https://www.chattanoogan.com/2011/4/29/200086/Funeral-Services-Set-For-Some-Of-Apison.aspx|title=Funeral Services Set For Some Of Apison Tornado Victims|author=|date=April 29, 2011|publisher=Chattanoogan.com|access-date=February 18, 2013}}{{cite web|url=https://www.wrcbtv.com/story/19618797/memorial-honors-april-27th-tornado-victims|title=Memorial honors April 27th tornado victims|last=Barbour|first=Matt|date=September 23, 2012|publisher=WRCB.com|access-date=February 18, 2013}} An EF3 tornado struck southeastern portions of Chattanooga on the night of April 12, 2020, and caused significant damage and three fatalities.{{cite news|author=Matthew Cappucci|author2=Andrew Freeman|author3=Jason Samenow|title=13 Dead as Tornadoes, Storms Tear Through Southern States|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2020/04/13/tornado-severe-weather-east-coast/|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=April 13, 2020|access-date=April 13, 2020}}

Chattanooga uses the Eastern Time Zone. Counties directly to its west (in both Tennessee and Alabama) use the Central Time Zone.

{{US Census population

|1870= 6093

|1880= 12892

|1890= 29100

|1900= 30154

|1910= 44604

|1920= 57895

|1930= 119798

|1940= 128613

|1950= 131041

|1960= 130009

|1970= 119923

|1980= 169514

|1990= 152466

|2000= 155554

|2010= 167674

|2020= 181099

| estyear = 2023

| estimate = 187030

| estref = {{cite web|url=https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/tables/2020-2023/cities/totals/SUB-IP-EST2023-POP-45.xlsx |date=May 16, 2024|title=City and Town Population Totals: 2020-2023|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=May 16, 2024}}

|footnote=Sources:{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=March 4, 2012|title=Census of Population and Housing: Decennial Censuses}}{{cite web|url=https://api.census.gov/data/2020/dec/pl?get=P1_001N,NAME&for=place:*&in=state:47&key=5ccd0821c15d9f4520e2dcc0f8d92b2ec9336108|title=Census Population API|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=October 15, 2022}}

}}

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 181,099 people, 79,565 households, and 41,059 families residing in the city.

As of the census of 2010, there were 167,674 people, 70,749 households, and 40,384 families residing in the city. The population density was {{convert|1,222.5|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 79,607 housing units at an average density of {{convert|588.8|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|units |units|}}. The racial makeup of the city was 58.0% White, 34.9% Black, 2.0% Asian, 0.4% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 2.8% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. Persons of Hispanic or Latino origin (regardless of race) constituted 5.5% of the total population. Non-Hispanic Whites were 55.9% of the population in 2010, down from 67.3% in 1980.{{cite web|url=https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_DP_DPDP1&src=pt|title=2010 Demographic Profile Data (DP-1) for Chattanooga city, Tennessee|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|access-date=December 3, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220182653/https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_DP_DPDP1&src=pt|archive-date=December 20, 2016|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/47/4714000.html|title=Chattanooga (city), Tennessee|work=State & County QuickFacts|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140218083651/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/47/4714000.html|archive-date=February 18, 2014|url-status=dead|access-date=March 4, 2014}} There were 70,749 households, out of which 26.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36% were married couples living together, 17.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42% were non-families. 33.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 26% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 21.3% under the age of 18, 11.5% from 18 to 24, 27% from 25 to 44, 25.5% from 45 to 64, and 14.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.1 years. 46.1% of the population was male and 53.9% of the population was female.

The median income for a household in the city was $35,817, and the median income for a family was $43,314. Males had a median income of $36,109 versus $31,077 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,756. About 14% of families and 16.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27% of those under age 18 and 13.8% of those age 65 or over.

Chattanooga's Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Hamilton, Marion, and Sequatchie counties in Tennessee and Catoosa, Dade, and Walker counties in Georgia, grew from 476,531 people, as of the 2000 census, to 529,222 people, as of the 2010 census, an 11% increase during the 2000s.{{cite web|url=https://archive.knoxmpc.org/locldata/popdata/tn_msa_pop.pdf|title=Population data|website=archive.knoxmpc.org}}

The single largest religious group in Chattanooga is Christianity. According to 2010 statistics, the Southern Baptist Convention was the largest denomination with 225 congregations and 122,300 members; followed by the United Methodist Church with 31,500 members and 83 churches. The third-largest group of Christians identified as non-denominational congregations; and the fourth-largest organized denomination was the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee) with 82 churches and 17,900 members. The 5th largest Christian religious group, according to 2010 statistics, was the Roman Catholic Diocese of Knoxville, which had 12 congregations and 14,300 members. Islam has 2,200 adherents in Chattanooga.{{cite web|url=https://www.thearda.com/rcms2010/r/m/16860/rcms2010_16860_metro_name_2010.asp|title=Chattanooga, TN-GA, Metropolitan Statistical Area: Religious Traditions, 2010|date=2010|publisher=The Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA)|access-date=April 12, 2016|archive-date=April 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413193615/https://www.thearda.com/rcms2010/r/m/16860/rcms2010_16860_metro_name_2010.asp|url-status=dead}}

File:Chattanooga-millworkers-1910.jpg.]]

Chattanooga's economy includes a diversified and growing mix of manufacturing and service industries.

Notable Chattanooga businesses include Access America Transport, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, CBL & Associates, The Chattanooga Bakery, Sanofi, the world's first Coca-Cola bottling plant, Coker Tire, U.S. Xpress Inc., Covenant Logistics, Double Cola, CraftWorks Restaurants & Breweries, Luken Communications, Miller & Martin, the National Model Railroad Association, PepsiCo, Reliance Partners, Republic Parking System, Tricycle Inc., and Unum. The city also hosts large branch offices of Cigna, AT&T, T-Mobile USA, and UBS. McKee Foods Corporation, the maker of nationally known Little Debbie brand snack cakes, is a privately held, family-run company headquartered in nearby Collegedale, Tennessee.

Notable companies that have manufacturing or distribution facilities in the city include Amazon.com, BASF, DuPont, Invista, Komatsu, PepsiCo, Rock-Tenn, Plantronics, Domtar, Norfolk Southern, Ferrara Candy Company (manufacturer of Brach's candies), Alco Chemical, Colonial Pipeline, and Buzzi Unicem.[Chattanooga candy companies gear up for sugar season https://m.timesfreepress.com/news/2013/oct/31/scenic-city-candy-companies-gear-up-for-sugar/ {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20140811230707/http://m.timesfreepress.com/news/2013/oct/31/scenic-city-candy-companies-gear-up-for-sugar/ |date=August 11, 2014 }}] The William Wrigley Jr. Company has a prominent presence in Chattanooga, the sole site of production of Altoids breath mint products since 2005.{{cite news|url=https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/apr/12/life-savers-100-wrigley-chattanooga/?print|title=Life Savers at 100: Wrigley cites Chattanooga plant during celebration|last=Pare|first=Mike|date=April 12, 2012|newspaper=Chattanooga Times Free Press|access-date=June 27, 2012}}{{cite web|url=https://www.preparedfoods.com/articles/altoids-made-in-america|title=Altoids: Made in America|date=September 7, 2005|publisher=Prepared Foods Network|access-date=June 27, 2012}}

In a seminal event for Chattanooga, Volkswagen announced in July 2008 the construction of its first U.S. auto plant in over three decades, the Volkswagen Chattanooga Assembly Plant.{{cite news|last=Pare|first=Mike|date=July 15, 2008|url=https://timesfreepress.com/news/2008/jul/15/chattanooga-lands--vw-plant/?volkswagen|title=Chattanooga lands VW plant|work=Chattanooga Times Free Press|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130511061918/http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2008/jul/15/chattanooga-lands--vw-plant/?volkswagen|archive-date=May 11, 2013|url-status=dead|access-date=December 7, 2011}} In May 2011, Volkswagen Group of America inaugurated its plant.[https://www.ausmotive.com/2008/07/16/volkswagen-wants-slice-of-american-pie.html Volkswagen wants slice of American pie] AUSmotive.com The $1 billion plant, opened in May 2011, served as the group's North American manufacturing headquarters. The plant, which initially employed 2,700 people, later increasing to 4,700, manufactures the Passat and the Atlas. It also has a full research and development center in downtown Chattanooga, employing some 200 engineers, the first of its kind in the South.{{cite news|url=https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2011/may/24/vw-ushers-new-era-us-its-chattanooga-plant/|title=VW ushers in new era in U.S. with its Chattanooga plant|last=Pare|first=Mike|date=May 24, 2011|newspaper=Chattanooga Times Free Press|access-date=June 26, 2012}}{{cite news|url=https://m.timesfreepress.com/news/2014/jul/14/vw-announce-new-suv-today-chattanooga/|title=VW announces Chattanooga-made SUV, and 2,000 new jobs|last=|first=|date=July 14, 2014|work=Chattanooga Times Free Press|access-date=|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808045957/https://m.timesfreepress.com/news/2014/jul/14/vw-announce-new-suv-today-chattanooga/|archivedate=August 8, 2014}}{{cite news|last=Heron|first=Michelle|date=July 15, 2014|title=Volkswagen Chattanooga SUV celebration continues|url=https://www.wrcbtv.com/story/26025004/volkswagen-chattanooga-suv-celebration-continues|work=WRCB-TV|location=Chattanooga|accessdate=}} The plant was the first new Volkswagen plant in the United States since the 1988 closure of Volkswagen Westmoreland Assembly near New Stanton, Pennsylvania.{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/11/21/business/volkswagen-to-shut-us-plant.html | work=The New York Times | title=Volkswagen to Shut U.S. Plant | first=John | last=Holusha | date=November 21, 1987 | access-date=March 27, 2010}} In 2019, Volkswagen Chattanooga announced plans to expand its Chattanooga-based plant to construct electric vehicles.{{cite web |title=Volkswagen Chooses Chattanooga for U.S. Electric-Vehicle Production |url=https://www.chattanoogachamber.com/news/entry/volkswagen-chooses-chattanooga-for-u.s.-electric-vehicle-production |website=www.chattanoogachamber.com |access-date=February 3, 2020 |date=January 14, 2019 |archive-date=January 31, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200131125912/https://www.chattanoogachamber.com/news/entry/volkswagen-chooses-chattanooga-for-u.s.-electric-vehicle-production |url-status=dead }} The expansion is expected to create one thousand new jobs and $800 million in investments.{{cite web |last1=Capps |first1=Tia |title=Volkswagen electric autos to boost Chattanooga economy |url=https://www.chattanoogatrend.com/topics/entry/vw-electric-autos-to-boost-chattanooga-economy |website=www.chattanoogatrend.com |access-date=February 3, 2020 |language=en |date=January 16, 2019 |archive-date=January 31, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200131125909/http://www.chattanoogatrend.com/topics/entry/vw-electric-autos-to-boost-chattanooga-economy |url-status=dead }}

In addition to corporate business interests, there are many retail shops in Chattanooga, including two shopping malls: Hamilton Place Mall in East Brainerd and Northgate Mall in Hixson. Eastgate Mall in Brainerd used to be a shopping mall, but has changed into a multi-use office building. Tourism and Hospitality has been a growing part of Chattanooga's economy, with 2014 being the first year for Hamilton County to surpass $1 billion in revenue.

Startups have been an increasing trend, due in part to EPB's fiber optic grid. Notable venture firms based in the city are Blank Slate Ventures, Chattanooga Renaissance Fund, Lamp Post Group, SwiftWing Ventures, the Jump Fund, Dynamo Ventures, and Brickyard VC. The city is served by several incubators, notably Co.Lab, the Business Development Center, and Lamp Post Group. The Business Development Center is among the nation's largest incubators, both in square footage and in the number of startups that it supports.{{cite news|url=https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/business/aroundregion/story/2015/feb/01/daltmay-hatch-business-incubator/285457/|title=Dalton may hatch business incubator|last=Malek|first=Mitra|date=February 1, 2015|newspaper=Chattanooga Times Free Press|access-date=March 5, 2015}} Co-working spaces have picked up downtown, including Society of Work and Chattanooga Workspace. Unique in the city is the startup accelerator Gigtank, which utilizes the city's gigabit capacities and focuses on 3D printing, healthcare, and smartgrid technologies. Notable startups include Quickcue (acquired by OpenTable in 2013), and Reliance Partners. Chattanooga went from zero investable capital in 2009 to over $50 million in 2014.{{citation needed|date=December 2018}}

File:USACE Chickamauga Lock and Dam.jpg on the Tennessee River at Chattanooga]]

Electric power for most of the city and surrounding area is provided by the city-run Electric Power Board (EPB). EPB also provides high-speed Internet service, TV, and telephone service to business and residential customers throughout Hamilton County, as well as parts of Bledsoe County, Bradley County, Catoosa County, Dade County, Marion County, Rhea County, Sequatchie County, and Walker County, via the nation's largest municipally owned fiber optic system.{{cite news |url=https://www.tfponline.com/news/2009/jul/17/electricity-meets-the-internet-with-smart-meters/?local |title=Electricity meets the Internet with smart meters |date=July 17, 2009 |work=Chattanooga Times Free Press |access-date=November 13, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929104242/http://www.tfponline.com/news/2009/jul/17/electricity-meets-the-internet-with-smart-meters/?local |archive-date=September 29, 2011 |url-status=dead }}{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/13/technology/13broadband.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1&src=busln | work=The New York Times | first=Steve | last=Lohr | title=Fastest Net Service in U.S. Coming to Chattanooga | date=September 12, 2010}} TVA operates the nearby Sequoyah Nuclear Power Plant, Chickamauga Dam, and the Raccoon Mountain Pumped-Storage Plant, all of which provide electricity to the greater Chattanooga area. TVA's corporate power generation and distribution organization is headquartered in downtown Chattanooga.

Natural gas and water are provided by the privately run Chattanooga Gas Company and Tennessee-American Water Company, respectively. In 2005, Mayor Ron Littlefield stated his desire for the city to purchase the Tennessee-American Water Company, which was sold in a public offering in 2007.{{cite news | title = Littlefield: "We Want Local Control" of the Water Company | publisher = The Chattanoogan | date = December 19, 2005 | url = https://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_77517.asp | access-date = March 24, 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071014221709/http://chattanoogan.com/articles/article_77517.asp | archive-date = October 14, 2007 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all }}{{cite news | title = Parent Company Of Tennessee-American Water To Be Sold In Public Offering | publisher = The Chattanoogan | date = March 25, 2006 | url = https://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_82620.asp | access-date = March 24, 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061019155722/https://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_82620.asp | archive-date = October 19, 2006 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all }} Former Mayor Jon Kinsey's attempts to have the city buy control of Tennessee-American Water were defeated in court.

EPB Fiber Optics is the dominant cable and internet service provider for most areas of the city.{{cite news|last=Flessner|first=David|title=EPB Fiber surpasses 90,000 customers|url=https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/business/aroundregion/story/2017/may/02/epb-fiber-tops-over-90000-customerstelecom-se/425825/|newspaper=Chattanooga Times Free Press|access-date=August 4, 2017|date=May 2, 2017}} The incumbent telephone company is AT&T Inc. However, competing phone companies, such as EPB, cellular phones, and VoIP are making inroads. A major interstate fiber optics line operated by AT&T traverses the city, making its way from Atlanta to Cincinnati. There are more choices among TV, Internet, and phone service providers for Chattanooga residents than in most other cities its size because of the intense competition between AT&T, Comcast, and EPB.{{cite news|url=https://timesfreepress.com/news/2011/dec/05/fiber-warfare/|title=EPB, AT&T and Comcast compete for Chattanooga customers|last=Smith|first=Ellis|date=December 5, 2011|newspaper=Chattanooga Times Free Press|access-date=June 22, 2012}}

Beginning in 2009 and continuing through March 2011, when Haletown, Tennessee, received service from EPB's fiber optic network, EPB began to establish its exclusive fiber optic network to its {{convert|600|sqmi|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} service area, which covers the greater Chattanooga Metropolitan Statistical Area.{{cite web|url=https://www.epb.net/about/our-company-and-history/ |title=Our Company and History |publisher=EPB |access-date=February 21, 2012}} In September 2010, EPB became the first municipally-owned utilities company in the United States to offer internet access directly to the public at speeds up to ten gigabit (10,000 megabits) per second.{{cite web|url=https://epbfi.com|title=EPB Fiber Optics|work=epbfi.com|access-date=July 17, 2015}}{{cite web|url=https://www.muninetworks.org/content/chattanooga-announces-1-gbps-tier |title=Chattanooga Announces 1 Gbps Tier | community broadband networks |publisher=Muninetworks.org |date=September 13, 2010 |access-date=April 25, 2013}} The network has been emulated by at least six other cities in Tennessee and studied by other cities in the U.S. and internationally.{{cite web|url=https://www.muninetworks.org/content/chattanooga-community-fiber-network-profiled-southern-way |title=Chattanooga Community Fiber Network Profiled on The Southern Way | community broadband networks |publisher=Muninetworks.org |date=October 29, 2011 |access-date=April 25, 2013}}{{cite web|url=https://www.muninetworks.org/content/knoxville-news-station-envious-chattanooga-fiber-network |title=Knoxville News Station Envious of Chattanooga Fiber Network | community broadband networks |publisher=Muninetworks.org |date=January 4, 2012 |access-date=April 25, 2013}} However, Tennessee state law has prevented the expansion of Chattanooga's municipal network to nearby communities that have requested connections, and that restriction was upheld in the 2016 circuit court ruling Tennessee v. FCC.{{Cite web |last1=Werner |first1=Paul A. |last2=George |first2=J. Aaron |last3=Thomas |first3=Dave |date=11 August 2016 |title=Sixth Circuit Rejects FCC's Effort To Preempt State Regulation Of Municipal Broadband Providers |url=https://www.natlawreview.com/article/sixth-circuit-rejects-fcc-s-effort-to-preempt-state-regulation-municipal-broadband |website=The National Law Review}}

Jay Weatherill, South Australia's Premier, visited Chattanooga in January 2012 and studied the gigabit network that was supporting critical city safety functions such as police and fire communications infrastructure, equipment and applications. He also inspected wastewater management, storm water management, traffic control and medical diagnostics applications, as well as operations of a smart lighting and camera system that allows the police to control public lighting and see what is happening in heavy crime areas. The use of broadband to carry the video and control signaling has contributed to making Chattanooga's Coolidge Park a safer place to visit.{{cite web |url=https://www.broadbandexpert.com/blog/high-speed-internet/broadband/south-australia-looks-at-chattanooga-for-high-speed-broadband-model/ |title=South Australia looks at Chattanooga for high speed broadband model |publisher=BroadbandExpert |date=January 9, 2012 |access-date=April 25, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130623044421/http://www.broadbandexpert.com/blog/high-speed-internet/broadband/south-australia-looks-at-chattanooga-for-high-speed-broadband-model/ |archive-date=June 23, 2013 }}

In 2011, the expansion of EPB's network became a subject of major controversy in Tennessee.{{cite web |url=https://www.muninetworks.org/tags-135 |title=chattanooga | community broadband networks |publisher=Muninetworks.org |access-date=April 25, 2013 |archive-date=April 29, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130429172111/http://www.muninetworks.org/tags-135 |url-status=dead }} The success of its network, credited with the expansion of Volkswagen's Chattanooga plant and the establishment of Amazon.com facilities in Chattanooga and Cleveland, led to a number of legal challenges by AT&T and Comcast insisting that public funds not be used to fund expansion of public networks in competition with private ones.{{cite web|url=https://www.muninetworks.org/content/chattanooga-epb-customers-rave-comcast-customers-livid |title=In Chattanooga, EPB Customers Rave, Comcast Customers Livid | community broadband networks |publisher=Muninetworks.org |date=January 28, 2012 |access-date=April 25, 2013}}{{cite web|url=https://www.muninetworks.org/content/amazons-chattanooga-distribution-center-expanding |title=Amazon's Chattanooga Distribution Center is Expanding | community broadband networks |publisher=Muninetworks.org |date=January 13, 2012 |access-date=April 25, 2013}} However, according to EPB, federal agencies, electricity industry trade sources, and other press sources, the investment in the fully fiber optic network is justified by electrical system benefits alone, including early fault detection and decreases in standby power.{{cite web|url=https://www.epb.net/power/home/products/smart-grid/ |title=Smart Grid Electric Power |publisher=EPB |access-date=April 25, 2013}}{{cite web|url=https://www.smartgrid.gov/project/epb_smart_grid_project |title=EPB (Smart Grid Project) |publisher=SmartGrid.gov |date=June 13, 2012 |access-date=April 25, 2013}}{{cite news|last=Smith|first=Ellis|date=October 25, 2011|url=https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2011/oct/25/chattanooga-smart-grid-gains-federal-accolades/ |title=EPB's Chattanooga smart grid gains federal accolades |work=Chattanooga Times Free Press |access-date=April 25, 2013}}{{cite web|url=https://www.electricenergyonline.com/?page=show_article&mag=68&article=550 |title=EPB Deploys America's Fastest Fiber-optic Smart Grid – Lee Baker, Smart Grid Consultant |publisher=Electric Energy Online |access-date=April 25, 2013|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110809100733/https://electricenergyonline.com/?page=show_article&mag=68&article=550|archivedate=August 9, 2011}}{{cite news|url=https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2011/nov/30/epb-smart-meters-benefit/ |title=EPB smart meters a benefit |work=Chattanooga Times Free Press |access-date=April 25, 2013|date=November 30, 2011 }}{{cite web|url=https://www.muninetworks.org/content/more-chattanooga-1gbps-thoughts-and-coverage |title=More Chattanooga 1Gbps Thoughts and Coverage | community broadband networks |publisher=Muninetworks.org |access-date=April 25, 2013}}

{{Update section|date=April 2020}}

As of 2014, there are 27 banks operating in the Chattanooga metropolitan area, lending to financial strength.{{cite news|url=https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/business/aroundregion/story/2014/dec/02/big-five-chattanoogas-biggest-banks/275999/|title=Big Five: Chattanooga's biggest banks|work=Chattanooga Times Free Press|access-date=July 17, 2015|date=December 2, 2014}} Among the larger banks are regional banks First Horizon Bank, Truist Financial, and Regions Financial Corporation, but the area also has offices from UBS, Chase, and Bank of America. Due in part to the strength and growing economic development, Chase recently shifted its East Tennessee headquarters from Knoxville to Chattanooga.{{cite news|last=Flessner|first=Dave|date=October 16, 2014|url=https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/business/aroundregion/story/2014/oct/16/johnston-heads-new-chase-hub-in-chattanooga/269692/|title=Johnston heads new Chase hub in Chattanooga|work=Chattanooga Times Free Press|access-date=July 17, 2015}}

In early 2015, three locally owned banks and one in nearby Cleveland, Tennessee, were acquired by other banks. CapitalMark, formed in 2007, will be acquired by the Nashville-based Pinnacle Financial Partners for $187 million to have the fourth largest market share in the Chattanooga metro area.{{cite news|last=Flessner|first=Dave|date=April 8, 2015|url=https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/business/aroundregion/story/2015/apr/08/pinnacle-bank-buy-capitalmark-187-milliontwo/297499/|title=Nashville's Pinnacle Bank to buy CapitalMark for $187 million|work=Chattanooga Times Free Press|access-date=July 17, 2015}} First Security Group, Inc, the largest Chattanooga-based bank, formed in 2000, will be acquired by the Atlanta-based Atlantic Capital Bancshares, Inc., for $160 million. Cornerstone, started in 1985, will merge with the Knoxville-based SmartBank in a stock deal. Cleveland's Southern Heritage Bank was acquired in 2014 by First Citizens National Bank in Dyersburg, Tennessee, for $32.2 million. All these mergers only leave one Chattanooga-based, independent bank, First Volunteer Bank. Others in the area locally based include Dunlap, Tennessee-based Citizens Tri-County Bank, Ooltewah-based Community Trust and Banking Co., Dayton, Tennessee-based Community National Bank, Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia-based Capital Bank, LaFayette, Georgia-based Bank of LaFayette, and Cleveland-based Bank of Cleveland.{{cite news|last=Flessner|first=Dave|date=April 12, 2015|url=https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2015/apr/12/chattanooghot-market-bank-mergers/298253/|title=Chattanooga hot market for bank mergers|work=Chattanooga Times Free Press|access-date=July 17, 2015}}

Chattanooga touts many attractions, including the Tennessee Aquarium, caverns, and new waterfront attractions along and across the Tennessee River. In the downtown area is the Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel, housed in the renovated Terminal Station. Also downtown are the Creative Discovery Museum, a hands-on children's museum dedicated to science, art, and music; an IMAX 3D Theatre, and the newly expanded Hunter Museum of American Art. The Tennessee Riverwalk, an approximately {{convert|13|mi|km|adj=mid|-long}} trail running alongside the river, is another attraction for both tourists and residents alike.

Across the river from downtown is the North Shore district, roughly bounded by the Olgiati Bridge to the west and Veterans Bridge to the east. The newly renovated area draws locals and tourists to locally owned independent boutique stores and restaurants, plus attractions along the Chattanooga Riverpark system, including Coolidge Park and Renaissance Park.{{cite web|url=https://chattanoogafun.com/outdoors/member.asp?id=2192|title=Chattanooga, Tennessee Visitors Bureau – Chattanooga Outdoors – Coolidge Park|publisher=Chattanoogafun.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101121062504/http://chattanoogafun.com/outdoors/member.asp?id=2192|archive-date=November 21, 2010|url-status=dead|access-date=November 13, 2011}}{{cite web|url=https://chattanoogafun.com/outdoors/member.asp?id=1959|title=Chattanooga, Tennessee Visitors Bureau – Chattanooga Outdoors – Renaissance Park|publisher=Chattanoogafun.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100920082236/http://chattanoogafun.com/outdoors/member.asp?id=1959|archive-date=September 20, 2010|url-status=dead|access-date=November 13, 2011}}

The Chattanooga Zoo at Warner Park is at 301 North Holtzclaw Avenue, a short distance from the downtown area. Hours of operation are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day. In 1937, the first small exhibit was "established with the construction of a 4x6' cage for two Rhesus Monkeys."{{Cite web|url=https://www.chattzoo.org/about/history|title=Chattanooga Zoo {{!}} History|website=www.chattzoo.org|access-date=March 28, 2019}} The Zoo has since grown, as in 2017, "the Zoo kicked off the year with the announcement of the Kits and Cubs Program, which is a unique early childhood learning program designed specifically for the youngest of animal lovers." And in May 2017, "the Zoo broke ground to expand the Corcovado Jungle exhibit adding six new outdoor and six new indoor exhibits to house small South American monkeys and mammals in June."

Parks and natural scenic areas provide other attractions. Ruby Falls on Lookout Mountain at 1720 S. Scenic Highway in Chattanooga is a park with a diverse ecosystem including a large waterfall underground in a cave, a historic castle,scenic overlooks of the Cumberland Plateau and Tennessee River{{Cite web |title=Discover - Ruby Falls on Lookout Mountain |url=https://www.rubyfalls.com/ |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=Ruby Falls |language=en-US}}. Craven's House, also on Lookout Mountain, is the oldest surviving structure on Lookout Mountain and was a major focal point during the Civil War.{{Cite web |title=Cravens House (U.S. National Park Service) |url=https://www.nps.gov/places/cravenshouselom.htm |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=www.nps.gov |language=en}}{{cite web|url=https://ngeorgia.com/tenn/cravens.html|title=Cravens House|date=June 5, 2007|publisher=Ngeorgia.com|access-date=November 13, 2011}} The Cravens House property is part of the Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park. The Lookout Mountain Incline Railway is a steep funicular railway that rises from the St. Elmo Historic District to the top of the mountain, where passengers can visit the National Park Service's Point Park and the Battles for Chattanooga Museum.{{cite web|url=https://roadsidegeorgia.com/site/pointpark.html|title=Point Park, on Lookout Mountain, Georgia-Tennessee|publisher=Roadsidegeorgia.com|access-date=November 13, 2011|archive-date=October 4, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111004230838/http://roadsidegeorgia.com/site/pointpark.html|url-status=usurped}} Formerly known as Confederama, the museum includes a diorama that details the Battle of Chattanooga. From the military park, visitors can enjoy panoramic views of Moccasin Bend and the Chattanooga skyline from the mountain's famous "point" or from vantage points along the well-marked trail system.{{cite web|url=https://www.hikelookout.com|title=Redirection is also a direction|work=hikelookout.com|access-date=July 17, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180402031710/http://www.hikelookout.com/|archive-date=April 2, 2018|url-status=dead}}

Near Chattanooga, the Raccoon Mountain Reservoir, Raccoon Mountain Caverns, and Reflection Riding Arboretum and Botanical Garden boast a number of outdoor and family fun opportunities. Other arboretums include Bonny Oaks Arboretum, Cherokee Arboretum at Audubon Acres, and Cherokee Trail Arboretum. The Ocoee River, host to a number of events at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, features rafting, kayaking, camping, and hiking. Harrison Bay State Park is another popular destination, offering a range of activities such as fishing, boating, and camping in a scenic lakeside setting. Just outside Chattanooga is the Lake Winnepesaukah amusement park. The Cumberland Trail begins in Signal Mountain, just outside Chattanooga.

File:TN Aquarium 01.jpg|The Tennessee Aquarium's River Journey building

File:TN Aquarium 02.jpg|The Tennessee Aquarium's Ocean Journey building

File:Water steps.jpg|Trail of Tears water steps off of Market Street, downtown Chattanooga

File:Coolidge park chattanooga.JPG|Coolidge Park

File:Walnut Street Bridge; Chattanooga, Tennessee; April 5, 2013.JPG|Walnut Street Bridge

File:Chattanooga.jpg|Looking south towards Lookout Mountain

File:Hunter Museum of American Art.jpg]]

As the birthplace of the tow truck, Chattanooga is the home of the International Towing and Recovery Hall of Fame and Museum.{{cite web|url=https://www.internationaltowingmuseum.org|title=The International Towing and Recovery Hall of Fame and Museum|date=October 7, 2011|publisher=Internationaltowingmuseum.org|access-date=November 13, 2011}} Another transportation icon, the passenger train, can be found at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum, called TVRM by locals, which is the largest operating historic railroad in the South.{{cite web |title=About Us |url=https://www.tvrail.com/about-us/ |website=Tennessee Valley Railroad |access-date=January 10, 2025}}

Other notable museums include the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center, the Houston Museum of Decorative Arts,{{cite web| url=https://www.thehoustonmuseum.com|title=index.html|work=thehoustonmuseum.com|access-date=July 17, 2015}} the Bessie Smith Cultural Center,{{Cite web|url=https://www.bessiesmithcc.org/|title=Bessie Smith Cultural Center | Chattanooga African American Museum|website=BSCC}} and the Creative Discovery Museum.{{cite web |url=https://www.cdmfun.org|title=The Creative Discovery Museum|publisher=United Nations|access-date=November 13, 2011}} Chattanooga African American Museum.{{cite web |url=https://www.caamhistory.com|title=Chattanooga African American Museum| publisher=Caamhistory.com|access-date=November 13, 2011|archive-date=October 15, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111015215106/http://www.caamhistory.com/|url-status=dead}}

There is no local history museum, but the Chattanooga History website holds a large collection of old photographs and other resources.{{cite web | title=Explore our City's Past | website=Chattanooga History | date=December 21, 2022 | url=https://chattanoogahistory.com/ | access-date=November 19, 2023}}

There are also several art museums, including the Hunter Museum of American Art. The Institute of Contemporary Arts Chattanooga (ICA Chattanooga), located on campus of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC), hosts a series of exhibitions of contemporary art throughout the year, which include exhibitions by regional and national contemporary artists and also feature from UTC's permanent collection.{{cite web | title=About | website=ICA Chattanooga | date=March 19, 2021 | url=https://icachatt.org/about | access-date=November 19, 2023}}

Starting in late 2025, or early 2026, there will be a brand-new museum called The Motion Museum, which was devoted to everything related to transportation with Firecrown Media, a Chattanooga based company that also bought the portfolio Kalmbach Media, bought the assets from the defunct EnterTRAINment Junction in West Chester, Ohio.{{cite news |title='EnterTRAINment Junction's popular exhibits to get new home' |url=https://www.fox19.com/2024/12/27/entertrainment-junctions-popular-exhibits-get-new-home/ |access-date=January 12, 2025 |work=Fox 19 |date=December 27, 2024 |language=en}}{{cite news |last1=Kiehl |first1=Allison |title=World's largest indoor train display is coming to Tennessee. Why organizers say new museum is the 'perfect fit' |url=https://www.knoxnews.com/story/entertainment/2025/01/08/entertrainment-junction-west-chester-cincinanti-chattanooga-train-display/77513294007/ |access-date=January 12, 2025 |work=Knoxville News Sentinel |date=January 12, 2025}}

Chattanooga has a wide range of performing arts in different venues. Chattanooga's historic Tivoli Theatre, dating from 1921 and one of the first public air-conditioned buildings in the United States, is home to the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera (CSO), which became the first merged symphony and opera company in the United States in 1985. The CSO is directed by Kayoko Dan.{{cite web |url=https://chattanoogasymphony.org |title=Chattanooga Symphony and Opera: Welcome! |publisher= Chattanoogasymphony.org|access-date=November 13, 2011}} The Chattanooga Theatre Centre offers 15 productions each year in three separate theater programs: the Mainstage, the Circle Theater, and the Youth Theater.{{cite web |url=https://theatrecentre.com/|title=Home|publisher=Theatrecentre.com|access-date=April 25, 2013}}The previous conductor was Robert Bernhardt, who retired in 2011 after 19 seasons, but continues to live in Chattanooga. [https8d://www.theatrecentre.com Chattanooga Theatre Centre]

Another popular performance venue is the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Auditorium. It was built between 1922 and 1924 by John Parks, General Contractors, and was designed by the architect R.H. Hunt, who also designed the Tivoli Theatre in Chattanooga.{{NRISref|2013a|dateform=mdy|access-date=May 8, 2020|refnum=80003823|name=Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Auditorium}}

Chattanooga was named the first National City Park{{Cite web |title=This Southern Destination Was Just Named North America’s First 'National Park City’ |url=https://www.southernliving.com/chattanooga-north-america-first-national-park-city-11711899 |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=Southern Living |language=en}} in the United States in April 2025 after a two-year vetting process.{{Cite web |date=2025-04-03 |title=It’s Official! Chattanooga Becomes the First National Park City in North America {{!}} Chattanooga.gov |url=https://chattanooga.gov/stay-informed/latest-news/its-official-chattanooga-becomes-first-national-park-city-north-america#:~:text=Chattanooga%20Becomes%20the%20First%20National%20Park%20City%20in%20North%20America,-Share&text=Chattanooga,%20Tenn.,Park%20City%20in%20North%20America. |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=chattanooga.gov |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Cridge |first=Mark |date=2025-04-03 |title=Chattanooga becomes the first National Park City in North America |url=https://www.nationalparkcity.org/chattanooga-becomes-the-first-national-park-city-in-north-america/ |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=National Park City Foundation |language=en-GB}} According to the a press release from the City of Chattanooga, the recognition signifies the city "embraces all aspects of outdoor life, from preserving forests and lakes to being stewards of native plant species and honoring cultural diversity through art, history and play.”

Chattanooga hosts several writing conferences, including the Conference on Southern Literature and the Festival of Writers, both sponsored by the Arts & Education Council of Chattanooga.{{cite web| url=https://southernlitconference.org|title=Conference on Southern Literature |publisher=Southernlitconference.org|access-date=November 13, 2011}}{{cite web |url=https://www.artsedcouncil.org/page/chattanooga-festival-of-writers|title=Festival of Writers |publisher=Artsedcouncil.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111004044534/http://artsedcouncil.org/page/chattanooga-festival-of-writers|archive-date=October 4, 2011|url-status=dead|access-date=November 13, 2011}}{{cite web|url=https://artsedcouncil.org|title=The Arts & Education Council of Chattanooga|publisher=Artsedcouncil.org|access-date=November 13, 2011}}

Moon River Festival is a three-day musical festival held every September in Coolidge Park. The festival originally was located in Memphis but relocated to Chattanooga in 2018.{{cite web | url=https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2023/jul/01/how-moon-river-became-chattanoogas-most-popular/ | title=How Moon River became Chattanooga's most popular boutique festival | Chattanooga Times Free Press | date=July 2023 }}{{cite web | url=https://www.chattanoogapulse.com/arts_entertainment/music-news/how-the-moon-river-music-festival-found-a-home-in-chattanoog/ | title=How the Moon River Music Festival Found a Home in Chattanooga | date=May 2, 2022 }} Moon River Festival and Riverbend Festival were rated among the top 10 music festivals in the south by Southern Living magazine.{{cite web | url=https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2023/apr/24/two-chattanooga-music-festivals-make-southern/#/questions | title=Two Chattanooga music festivals make Southern Living's Top 10 list | Chattanooga Times Free Press | date=April 24, 2023 }}{{cite web | url=https://www.southernliving.com/best-music-festivals-7480465 | title=The South's Best Music Festivals You Should Attend }}

New events, such as GoFest!, the "Between the Bridges" wakeboard competition, Heritage Festival, and Talespin, complement well-established events, such as Riverbend and the Southern Brewer's Festival, and attract their own audiences.{{cite web|url=https://www.gofest.info|title=GoFest!|publisher=Gofest.info|access-date=November 13, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110424212710/http://www.gofest.info/|archive-date=April 24, 2011|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.downtownchattanooga.org/talespin/index.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091221074808/http://www.downtownchattanooga.org/talespin/index.php|url-status=dead|title=Talespin|archive-date=December 21, 2009}} Back Row Films is a citywide celebration of film co-sponsored by the Hunter Museum of American Art, the Arts & Education Council, and UTC.{{cite web|url=https://backrowfilms.com|title=The Back Row Film Series|publisher=Backrowfilms.com|access-date=November 13, 2011}}

"Nightfall" is a free weekly concert series in Miller Plaza on Friday nights that features an eclectic mix of rock, blues, jazz, reggae, zydeco, funk, bluegrass, and folk music from Memorial Day until the end of September.{{cite web|url=https://www.downtownchattanooga.org/|title=RiverCity|publisher=Downtownchattanooga.org|access-date=November 13, 2011|archive-date=October 12, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111012103325/http://www.downtownchattanooga.org/|url-status=dead}} The Chattanooga Market features events all year round as part of the "Sunday at the Southside", including an Oktoberfest in mid-October.

The Chattanooga Dulcimer Festival, held each June, features workshops for mountain dulcimer, hammered dulcimer, and auto harp, among others, along with performances by champion performers from across the nation.{{cite web|url=https://www.chattanoogadulcimerfestival.com|title=Chattanooga Dulcimer Festival|publisher=Chattanooga Dulcimer Festival|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110912064701/https://www.chattanoogadulcimerfestival.com/|archive-date=September 12, 2011|url-status=usurped|access-date=November 13, 2011}}

Chattanooga is also the center of much bluegrass music. In 1935, as well as from 1993 to 1995, the city hosted the National Folk Festival. Since 2007, the annual 3 Sisters Festival showcases traditional and contemporary bluegrass artists, and has been named one of the country's "5 Best" bluegrass festivals by Great American Country.{{cite web|url=https://www.greatamericancountry.com/places/travel/the-5-best-bluegrass-festivals-in-the-country-pictures|title=The 5 Best Bluegrass Festivals in the Country|publisher=Great American Country|access-date=August 28, 2016}}

Each January, Chattanooga plays host to Chattacon, a science fiction and fantasy literary convention.{{cite web|url=https://www.chattacon.org|title=January 20–22, 2012|publisher=Chattacon.org|access-date=November 13, 2011}} The convention is organized by the nonprofit Chattanooga Speculative Fiction Fans, Inc. First held in 1976, the convention drew an estimated 1,000 attendees to the Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel in 2012, as well as an estimated 1,300 attendees in 2013.{{cite news|url=https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/jan/22/living-the-con-life/|title=37th Chattacon convention brings science-fiction fans to Chattanooga|date=January 22, 2012|newspaper=Chattanooga Times Free Press|access-date=May 22, 2012}}{{cite news|url=https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2013/jan/27/creature-comforts/|title=Creature comforts: Chattacon lures fantasies to Chattanooga Choo Choo|last=Jett|first=Tyler|date=January 27, 2013|newspaper=Chattanooga Times Free Press|access-date=February 23, 2013}}

Since 2014, Chattanooga has been home to the Chattanooga Film Festival, an annual film festival.{{cite web|url=https://www.chattfilmfest.org/past-festivals|title=Past Festivals|publisher=Chattanooga Film Festival|access-date=May 29, 2020|archive-date=April 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403104612/https://www.chattfilmfest.org/past-festivals|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=https://www.chattfilmfest.org/press/2020/5/6/filmmakers-with-a-cult-following|title=Filmmakers With A Cult Following|publisher=Chattanooga Film Festival|access-date=May 29, 2020|archive-date=April 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413193839/https://www.chattfilmfest.org/press/2020/5/6/filmmakers-with-a-cult-following|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/life/entertainment/story/2020/mar/11/large-entertainment-events-chattanooga/517912/|title=Large entertainment events planned for Chattanooga area still on track as nation's coronavirus outbreak grows|last=Courter|first=Barry|date=March 11, 2020|work=Chattanooga Times Free Press|access-date=May 29, 2020}}

Chattanooga has a large, growing, and diversified sports scene for a city of its size, including professional soccer, college sports, minor league baseball, semi-professional teams, professional cycling exemplified by the Volkswagen USA Cycling Professional Road & Time Trial National Championships, the Ironman Triathlon, and a large nationally renowned regatta the first weekend of November.

Chattanooga was the home of the NCAA Division I Football Championship game, which was held at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, from 1997 to 2009.

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) Mocs compete in NCAA Division I and the Southern Conference. UTC's athletic programs include football at the FCS level, women's soccer, volleyball, and cross country in the fall; men's and women's basketball, Wrestling, and indoor track & field in the winter; and softball and outdoor track & field in the spring. Men's and women's golf and men's and women's tennis play in the fall and spring.

The Chattanooga Lookouts, a Class AA Double-A South baseball team affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds, play at the riverfront AT&T Field.{{cite web|url=https://www.lookouts.com/|title=Chattanooga Lookouts official site; affiliate stated on top right-hand corner of web page|date=January 1, 2011|publisher=Lookouts.com|access-date=November 13, 2011|archive-date=January 21, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090121124909/http://lookouts.com/|url-status=dead}}

Chattanooga also is home to several semi-professional football teams, including the Tennessee Crush and the Chattanooga Steam. The Tennessee Crush plays its games at Finley Stadium in downtown Chattanooga. The Chattanooga Steam plays at Lookout Valley High School near Lookout Mountain.

The city has two professional soccer teams. From 2009 to 2019, Chattanooga FC played in the National Premier Soccer League, but moved to an unsanctioned professional league (NISA) in 2020.{{Cite web|url=https://chafc.soccer/2Z3yLHf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231007041146/https://chafc.soccer/2Z3yLHf|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 7, 2023|title=Chattanooga FC to go professional in 2020|date=August 15, 2019|website=Chattanooga FC}} Founded in 2009,[https://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2019/04/146023-chattanooga-football-club-scores-some-serious-funding-on-wefunder/ "Chattanooga Football Club Scores Some Serious Funding on Wefunder"], April 4, 2019 Chattanooga FC has gone to the national finals four times since its inception, and drew a record 18,227 fans for their 2015 NPSL title match.[https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2015/08/10/us-amateur-record-crowd-18227-sees-npsl-club-chattanooga-fc-fall-overtime "US amateur record crowd of 18,227 sees NPSL club Chattanooga FC fall in overtime in championship"], August 10, 2015. The club has also found success in the U.S. Open Cup defeating the professional USL's Wilmington Hammerheads to reach the tournament's third round in 2014 and 2015. In 2019, Chattanooga FC became one of the founding members of NPSL's Founders Cup, a group of eleven teams playing a professional tournament in the fall before forming a fully professional league in 2020.{{Cite web|url=https://www.npsl.com/about-npsl-founders-cup|title=About NPSL Founders Cup|date=October 31, 2018|access-date=July 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190715233835/http://www.npsl.com/about-npsl-founders-cup|archive-date=July 15, 2019|url-status=dead}} To support this, Chattanooga FC became only the second sports team in the U.S., after the Green Bay Packers, to sell supporter shares in the team. These moves were partially in response to a USL League One franchise, the Chattanooga Red Wolves SC starting play in the 2019 inaugural season of that new third-tier professional league under the direction of Chattanooga FC's former general manager.[https://sports.yahoo.com/usl-league-one-takes-first-224804576.html "USL League One takes its first strides"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190411015516/https://sports.yahoo.com/usl-league-one-takes-first-224804576.html |date=April 11, 2019 }}, March 28, 2019[https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/sports/professional/story/2019/jan/25/chattanooga-football-clubs-audit-reveals-unauthorized-payments-went-former-general-manager/487424/ "Chattanooga Football Club audit reveals unauthorized payments went to former general manager"], January 25, 2019 The Red Wolves play in USL League One and intend to build a multi-million dollar soccer specific stadium in the neighboring town of East Ridge, Tennessee.{{Cite web|url=https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/sports/professional/story/2019/apr/25/chattanooga-red-wolves-soccer-club-making-big-announcement-today/493418/|title=East Ridge to be home for new Chattanooga Red Wolves Soccer Club stadium|date=April 25, 2019|website=timesfreepress.com|access-date=June 25, 2019|archive-date=November 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112030033/https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/sports/professional/story/2019/apr/25/chattanooga-red-wolves-soccer-club-making-big-announcement-today/493418/|url-status=dead}} Before the proposed stadium was built, the Red Wolves had a legal battle with Arkansas State, with ASU sending them a cease-and-desist letter in November 2019. The stadium was announced as CHI Memorial Stadium, and was opened for play and fans in 2020 while still under construction. It will hold an estimated 5,000 fans for soccer matches.{{Cite web|url=https://newschannel9.com/news/local/trademark-tussle-arkansas-college-sends-cease-and-desist-letter-to-chattanooga-red-wolves|title=Trademark tussle: Arkansas college sends cease and desist letter to Chattanooga Red Wolves|date=November 27, 2019|website=WTVC}}

Chattanooga is also home to several rugby teams: the Chattanooga Rugby Football Club, Nooga Red, Nooga Black, men's Old Boys, a women's rugby team, men's and women's teams at UTC, and an all-city high school team.{{cite web|url=https://www.nooga.com/mobile/#160159/see-chattanoogas-rugby-boom-this-saturday/|title=See Chattanooga's rugby boom this Saturday|last=Behringer|first=Maggie|date=February 21, 2013|publisher=Nooga.com|access-date=March 19, 2013|archive-date=July 22, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130722205301/http://www.nooga.com/mobile/#160159/see-chattanoogas-rugby-boom-this-saturday/|url-status=dead}} The Chattanooga Rugby Football Club, which was established in 1978 and the 2011 and 2013 DII Mid South champions, is affiliated with USA Rugby and USA Rugby South. The club fields two teams, Nooga Red, which competes in Division II, and Nooga Black, which competes in Division III.{{cite web|url=https://www.nooga.com/mobile/#160242/banner-day-for-rugby-at-montague-park/|title=Banner day for rugby at Montague Park|last=Behringer|first=Maggie|date=February 26, 2013|publisher=Nooga.com|access-date=March 19, 2013|archive-date=July 22, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130722205301/http://www.nooga.com/mobile/#160242/banner-day-for-rugby-at-montague-park/|url-status=dead}} There is also a men's Old Boys team, a Chattanooga women's rugby team, as well as collegiate men's and women's teams representing the Mocs at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. A citywide high school rugby team, the Wolfpack, was established in 2012 and is open to any high school player living in the Chattanooga area. All seven teams play their home matches at Montague Park.

File:Head of the Hooch 2008 Stands and Finish.jpg

Rowing

The Head of the Hooch rowing regatta takes place along the Tennessee River in downtown Chattanooga during the first weekend of November. The head race originally took place on the Chattahoochee River in Atlanta before moving to Chattanooga in 2005, hence the name "Head of the Hooch". With 1,965 boats in 2011 and nearly 2,000 boats in 2012, this competition ranks as the 2nd largest regatta in the United States,{{citation needed|date=May 2020}} with numerous college and youth teams, such as UNC Men's Crew, Vanderbilt Rowing Club, James Madison University Crew, University of Tennessee Women's Rowing, Orlando Rowing Club, Nashville Rowing Club, Newport Rowing Club, and Chattanooga Rowing, competing.{{cite web|url=https://www.headofthehooch.org/results/2011/index.shtml|title=2011 Results|date=November 5–6, 2011|publisher=Head of the Hooch|access-date=May 22, 2012|archive-date=April 19, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120419222005/http://www.headofthehooch.org/results/2011/index.shtml|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|url=https://timesfreepress.com/news/2011/nov/06/head-of-hooch-rowing-competit-draws-15000-to-river/|title=Head of the Hooch competition draws 15,000 to river|date=November 6, 2011|newspaper=Chattanooga Times Free Press|access-date=May 22, 2012}}{{cite web|url=https://www.row2k.com/events/features.cfm?ID=281&site=events#.ULu9mYYvTp0|title=Hooch 2012: A Regatta Like Clockwork|last=Rosenbladt|first=Oli|date=November 16, 2012|publisher=Row2k.com|access-date=December 2, 2012}} There are also multiple local rowing clubs, such as the Lookout Rowing Club for adults and the Chattanooga Junior Rowing Club for high school students. The weekend of the Head of the Hooch also sees hot-air balloon rides and other activities.

Cycling

In 2013, the Volkswagen USA Cycling Professional Road & Time Trial National Championships were held in Chattanooga. The schedule for the 3-day event on May 25–27 featured a handcycling time trail and various other cycling time trials and road races, including a men's road race that took the cyclists through the heart of downtown Chattanooga and up Lookout Mountain for a total race distance of {{convert|102.5|mi|km}}.{{Cite web|url=https://legacy.usacycling.org/myusac/include/cms/schedule/index.php?mode=view&permit=2013-6|title=The Official Website – USA Cycling|website=legacy.usacycling.org}} American professional cyclist Freddie Rodriguez won the national road race championship title for the fourth time in his career.{{cite web|url=https://velonews.competitor.com/2013/05/news/rodriguez-wins-fourth-u-s-mens-road-title_288841|title=Rodriguez wins fourth U.S. men's road title|date=May 27, 2013|access-date=June 25, 2013}} The Championships' debut in Chattanooga marked the first time in the event's 29-year history that women were allowed to compete for professional national titles.{{cite web|url=https://www.nooga.com/161701/chattanooga-leaders-business-owners-prepare-for-the-super-bowl-of-cycling/|title=Chattanooga leaders, business owners prepare for "the Super Bowl of cycling"|date=May 24, 2013|access-date=June 25, 2013|archive-date=June 27, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627003109/http://www.nooga.com/161701/chattanooga-leaders-business-owners-prepare-for-the-super-bowl-of-cycling/|url-status=dead}} Chattanooga will also host the Championships in 2014 and 2015.{{cite web|url=https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2013/may/23/usa-cycling-championships-this-weekend/|title=USA Cycling Championships This Weekend|date=May 23, 2013|access-date=June 25, 2013|archive-date=June 28, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140628014638/http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2013/may/23/usa-cycling-championships-this-weekend/|url-status=dead}}

The city is home to the Chattanooga Bicycle Club. It was established in 1967 to "encourage and promote bicycle riding and safety, and to foster good relationships between cyclists and motorists by demonstrating courtesy and respect the law."{{Cite web|url=https://chattanoogabicycleclub.com/|title=Home|website=The Chattanooga Bicycle Club|access-date=April 1, 2019}} The Chattanooga Bicycle Club advocates for transportation, fitness, and recreation, as well as health and wellness.

This club is in relative with the League of American Bicyclists (LAB), Adventure Cycling, Bike Chattanooga, and Outdoor Chattanooga.

Running

Due to its location at the junction of the Cumberland Plateau and the southern Appalachians, Chattanooga has become a haven for outdoor sports, and has even been named Outside Magazine's "Best Town Ever" twice{{cite web|url=https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2017/dec/24/how-chattanoogbecame-best-town-ever/459856/|title=How Chattanooga became the 'Best Town Ever'|work=timesfreepress.com|date=December 24, 2017 |access-date=August 25, 2018}} such as hunting, fishing, trail running, road running, adventure racing, rock climbing, mountain biking, and road biking. The internationally known{{cite web|url=https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/sports/outdoors/story/2013/sep/26/famed-stumpjump-helps-kick-off-riverrocks/119769/|title=Famed Stump Jump helps kick off Chattanooga's RiverRocks festival|work=timesfreepress.com|date=September 26, 2013 |access-date=July 17, 2015}} StumpJump 50k has been hosted on nearby Signal Mountain since 2002.

The Erlanger Half Marathon and Marathon have become a large part of the spring activities in Chattanooga in recent years. These events are orchestrated by the Chattanooga Sports Committee, and the half marathon course and marathon course are designed by the same group of runners. The course is subject to change throughout the years. The most recent marathon and half marathon were held on March 3, 2019.

Triathlons

In August 2013, further cementing Chattanooga's growing status as a nationally recognized outdoor haven,{{cite magazine|url=https://www.outsideonline.com/1929386/americas-best-towns-2011|title=America's Best Towns 2011|date=October 2011|magazine=Outside Magazine|access-date=January 14, 2018}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.outsideonline.com/2006426/americas-best-towns-2015|title=The 16 Best Places to Live in the U.S. : 2015|date=September 2015|magazine=Outside Magazine|access-date=January 14, 2018}} the Chattanooga Sports Committee, an organization established in 1992 to help the city host major sporting events, announced that the Ironman Triathlon would be coming to the city in a 5-year deal.{{cite news|url=https://timesfreepress.com/news/2013/aug/16/chattanooga-lands-five-year-ironman-deal/|title=Chattanooga lands five-year Ironman deal|last=Paschal|first=David|date=August 15, 2013|newspaper=Chattanooga Times Free Press|access-date=August 16, 2013}}{{cite web|url=https://www.wrcbtv.com/story/23146185/chattanooga-to-host-ironman-triathlon-series|title=Chattanooga to host Ironman Triathlon series|author=|date=August 15, 2013|publisher=WRCB (Chattanooga, Tenn.)|access-date=August 16, 2013}} The city became one of only 11 cities in the United States to host the grueling competition showcasing Chattanooga's natural beauty, which consists of a {{convert|2.4|mi|km|adj=on}} swim, a {{convert|112|mi|km|adj=on}} bike race (which is broken down into two {{convert|56|mi|km|adj=on}} loops), and a {{convert|26.2|mi|km|adj=on}} run (which is broken down into two {{convert|13.1|mi|km|adj=on}} loops). The event has a $40,000 prize purse and chances to qualify for the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii.{{cite web|url=https://www.ironman.com/triathlon/news/articles/2014/10/how-to-get-to-kona.aspx#axzz54CMKnWlS|title=Kona-Bound: How to Get to the IRONMAN World Championship|date=October 2014|publisher=World Triathlon Corporation|access-date=January 14, 2018|archive-date=January 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180115071702/http://www.ironman.com/triathlon/news/articles/2014/10/how-to-get-to-kona.aspx#axzz54CMKnWlS|url-status=dead}} On November 4, 2014, it was announced that Chattanooga would host The Ironman 70.3 event, also known as the Half Ironman, in addition to the standard Ironman Triathlon. This event consists of a {{convert|1.2|mi|km|adj=on}} swim, {{convert|56|mi|km|adj=on}} bike ride, and {{convert|13.1|mi|km|adj=on}} run, and has a prize pot of $30,000. On September 29, 2015, The Chattanooga Convention and Visitors Bureau announced that Ironman had chosen Chattanooga, Tennessee to host the 2017 Ironman 70.3 World Championships.{{cite web|url=https://www.chattanoogafun.com/articles/post/chattanooga-to-host-2017-ironman-703-world-championships|title=Chattanooga, Tenn. Chosen to Host the 2017 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships|date=September 2014|publisher=The Chattanooga Convention & Visitors Bureau|access-date=January 14, 2018}}

Awards

Chattanooga has been a member of the League of American Bicyclists' Bronze level since October 2003, the only city in Tennessee to be a member of the organization before Knoxville and Nashville joined in 2010 and 2012, respectively.{{cite web|url=https://www.bikeleague.org/programs/bicyclefriendlyamerica/communities/bfc_chattanooga.php|title=Bicycle Friendly Community: Chattanooga|author=|year=2012|publisher=League of American Bicyclists|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130213165325/http://www.bikeleague.org/programs/bicyclefriendlyamerica/communities/bfc_chattanooga.php|archive-date=February 13, 2013|url-status=dead|access-date=February 12, 2013}} The city has a number of outdoor clubs: Scenic City Velo, SORBA-Chattanooga, the Wilderness Trail Running Association, and the Chattanooga Track Club. The city also funds Outdoor Chattanooga, an organization focused on promoting outdoor recreation. In September 2004, the city appointed its first-ever executive director of Outdoor Chattanooga to implement the organization's mission, which includes promoting bicycling for transportation, recreation, and active living.{{cite web|url=https://www.outdoorchattanooga.com/387.htm|title=About|publisher=Outdoorchattanooga.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111105010344/http://www.outdoorchattanooga.com/387.htm|archive-date=November 5, 2011|url-status=dead|access-date=November 13, 2011}} For paddlers, Chattanooga offers the Tennessee River Blueway, a {{convert|50|mi|km|adj=on}} recreational section of the Tennessee River that flows through Chattanooga and the Tennessee River Gorge. Since 2008, Chattanooga has hosted the Skyhoundz{{Cite web|url=https://skyhoundz.com/|title=Skyhoundz – The Center of the Disc Dog Universe}} World Canine Disc Championship, the crowning event of the largest disc dog competition series in the world.

{{see also|List of newspapers in Tennessee|List of radio stations in Tennessee|List of television stations in Tennessee}}

The city of Chattanooga is served by numerous local, regional, and national media outlets which reach approximately one million people in four states: Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, and North Carolina.

File:Chattanooga Times Free Press office.JPG headquarters]]

The Chattanooga Times Free Press, the area's only daily newspaper, is published every morning. It was formed in 1999 from the merger of two papers that had been bitter rivals for half a century, the Times and the News-Free Press.{{Cite web |date=December 15, 2019 |title=Chattanooga Times Free Press celebrates 150 years in business {{!}} Chattanooga Times Free Press |url=https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2019/dec/15/newspacelebrates-150th-anniversary/ |access-date=November 9, 2023 |website=www.timesfreepress.com |language=en}} The Times was owned and published by Adolph Ochs, who later bought The New York Times. The Times was the morning paper and had a generally more liberal editorial page. The News-Free Press, whose name was the result of an earlier merger, was an afternoon daily and its editorials were more conservative than those in the Times. On August 27, 1966, the News-Free Press became the first newspaper in the nation to dissolve a joint operating agreement.{{cite news|url=http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/04/newspaper-marks-10-years-sales-merger/|title=Newspaper marks 10 years since sales, merger|date=January 4, 2009|newspaper=Chattanooga Times Free Press|access-date=June 26, 2012|archive-date=October 10, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010201853/http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/04/newspaper-marks-10-years-sales-merger/|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1817&dat=19660824&id=IW4dAAAAIBAJ&pg=5657,4332219|title=Choice Now In Chattanooga|date=August 28, 1966|access-date=June 26, 2012|publisher=Tuscaloosa (Ala.) News}} In 1999, the Free Press, which had changed its name from News-Free Press in 1993, was bought by an Arkansas company, WEHCO Media, publisher of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, which then bought The Times from the Ochs heirs.{{cite news|url=http://jobs2.timesfreepress.com/careers/company/detail?id=207167|title=Chattanooga Times Free Press Overview|year=2010|newspaper=Chattanooga Times Free Press|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110101064805/http://jobs2.timesfreepress.com/careers/company/detail?id=207167|archive-date=January 1, 2011|url-status=dead|access-date=June 26, 2012}} The Times Free Press is the only newspaper in the United States to have two editorial pages, reflecting opposite ends of the political spectrum. The Times{{'}}s editorial page, which is liberal, is on the left page and the Free Press{{'}}s editorial page, which is conservative, is on the right.{{cite web|url=http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/04/our-unique-editorial-variety/|title=Our unique editorial variety|publisher=timesfreepress.com|access-date=November 13, 2011|archive-date=August 12, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110812093101/http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/04/our-unique-editorial-variety/|url-status=dead}}

The Chattanooga Pulse is a free weekly alternative newspaper, published every Wednesday, that focuses primarily on arts, music, film and culture.{{Cite web|url=https://www.chattanoogapulse.com/about|title=About The Pulse|date=September 12, 2023|website=The Pulse » Chattanooga's Weekly Alternative}} It was formed in 2003 by Zachary Cooper and Michael Kull, running independently until 2008, when the paper was purchased by Brewer Media Group, which also owns and operates five radio stations in the city.

Enigma is a free monthly pop culture and entertainment magazine.{{Cite web|url=http://enigmaonline.com/archived-articles/enigma-magazine-in-print/|title=Enigmaonline.com|website=enigmaonline.com}} Founded as a weekly newspaper in 1995 by David Weinthal, Enigma lays claim to being Chattanooga's oldest alternative newspaper, even though it had ceased physical publication from 2013 until it resumed as a monthly magazine in 2015.

The Chattanooga News Chronicle is an African-American weekly newspaper.{{Cite web|url=http://www.chattanooganewschronicle.com/html5/app.asp?RelId=4.2.1.1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140628153451/http://www.chattanooganewschronicle.com/html5/app.asp?RelId=4.2.1.1|url-status=dead|title=html5 app.asp Chattanooga News Chronicle e-Edition|archive-date=June 28, 2014|website=www.chattanooganewschronicle.com}}

The Chattanoogan and its website "Chattanoogan.com", established in 1999, is an online media outlet that concentrates on news from Chattanooga, North Georgia, and Southeast Tennessee. The publisher is John Wilson, previously a staff writer for the Chattanooga Free Press. The Chattanoogan is the oldest online newspaper in Chattanooga.{{cite web|url=http://www.chattanoogan.com/|title=The Chattanoogan|publisher=Chattanoogan.com|access-date=July 21, 2009}}{{cite news|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-55639266.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121026073235/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-55639266.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 26, 2012|title=Internet Newspaper to Appear in Chattanooga, Tenn.|work=Chattanooga Times Free Press|access-date=July 22, 2009|year=1999}}

Nooga.com, purchased in November 2010 by local entrepreneur Barry Large, relaunched in 2011 as a local news website offering "quality daily content focusing on local business, politics, and entertainment in the Chattanooga area."{{cite news|url=http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2011/jan/19/group-plans-news-website-igou-sells-nooga-domain/|title=Group plans news website as Igou sells nooga domain|last=Flessner|first=Dave|work=Chattanooga Times Free Press|access-date=February 17, 2011|year=2011}} In August 2018, Nooga.com partnered with Greenville, S.C.-based media company 6AM City.{{Cite web|url=https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/breakingnews/story/2018/aug/13/noogacom-partners/476850/|title=Nooga.com partners with media company|date=August 13, 2018|website=timesfreepress.com|access-date=July 26, 2019}} The outlet was rebranded and relaunched as NOOGAtoday in September 2018.{{Cite news|url=https://noogatoday.6amcity.com/nooga-com-partners-with-6am-city-unveils-new-brand-across-online-platforms/|title=Nooga.com partners with 6AM City, unveils new brand across online platforms|date=August 13, 2018|work=NOOGAtoday|access-date=July 26, 2019|archive-date=July 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726153835/https://noogatoday.6amcity.com/nooga-com-partners-with-6am-city-unveils-new-brand-across-online-platforms/|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|url=https://noogatoday.6amcity.com/noogatoday-launch-seven-years/|title=We are officially NOOGAtoday + here's to seven more years|last=noogatoday|date=September 27, 2018|website=NOOGAtoday|access-date=July 26, 2019}} While NOOGAtoday's primary product is its daily email newsletter, it also publishes content on its social media accounts and website.

Chattanooga is served by the following AM and FM radio stations:

{{divcol}}

• WDYN 980 AM – Southern Gospel / WDYN Radio,{{cite web|url=http://www.wdyn.com|title=WDYN Radio |website=www.wdyn.com}} operated by Tennessee Temple University (licensed to Rossville, GA)
• WFLI 1070 AM – Top 40 from the '60s & '70s (licensed to Chattanooga-Lookout Mountain, TN)
• WGOW 1150 AM – News Talk / NewsRadio 1150{{cite web|url=http://wgow.com/am|title=Amazing travel gadgets|date=August 20, 2015}} (licensed to Chattanooga, TN)
• WNOO 1260 AM – Urban gospel and Motown (licensed to Chattanooga, TN)
• WXCT 1370 AM – AAA / ALT 98.7 (licensed to Chattanooga, TN)
• WLMR 1450 AM – Christian Talk (licensed to Chattanooga, TN)
• WJOC 1490 AM – Southern Gospel (licensed to Chattanooga, TN)

{{div col end}}

{{divcol}}

• WUTC 88.1 FM – NPR{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org|title=Home Page Top Stories}}/Mixed music / Music 88. Operated by UTC. First station in Chattanooga to broadcast in HD Radio. (licensed to Chattanooga, TN)
• W203AZ 88.5 FM – Religious / CSN International{{cite web|url=http://www.csnradio.com|title=Christian Radio – Bible Teaching|website=www.csnradio.com}} (Licensed to Chattanooga, TN)
• WMBW 88.9 FM – Christian / Moody Radio For The Heart of the Southeast. Owned and operated by Moody Bible Institute. (Licensed to Chattanooga, TN)
• WYBK 89.7 FM – Christian. Operated by Bible Broadcasting Network. (Licensed to Chattanooga, TN)
• W211BG 90.1 FM – Religious{{cite web|url=http://www.klove.com|title=Positive & Encouraging K-LOVE|website=K-LOVE}} (Licensed to Walden, TN)
• WSMC 90.5 FM – Classical/NPR/PRI{{cite web|url=http://www.wsmc.org|title=Home|last=University|first=Southern Adventist|website=www.wsmc.org}} Operated by Southern Adventist University. (licensed to Collegedale, TN)
• WJBP 91.5 FM – Christian / Family Life Radio{{cite web|url=http://www.myflr.org|title=Family Life Radio – Christian Radio Station Network|website=Family Life Radio}} (licensed to Red Bank, TN)
• WAWL – College Alternative / The Wawl (web only / formerly broadcasting on 91.5) Chattanooga State Community College (licensed to Chattanooga, TN)
• WDEF-FM 92.3 FM – Adult Contemporary / Sunny 92.3{{cite web|url=http://www.sunny923.com|title=WDEF|website=WDEF}} (licensed to Chattanooga, TN)
• W224AZ (WALV-HD3) 92.7 FM Christian / LF Radio{{cite web|url=https://www.lf.radio/|title=LF Radio|website=WALV-HD3}} (licensed to Chattanooga, TN)
• WSAA 93.1 FM – Christian Rock / Air 1{{cite web|url=http://www.air1.com|title=Air1 – Positive Hits|website=Air1}} (licensed to Benton, TN)
• WMPZ 93.5 FM – Urban Adult Contemporary / Groove 93{{cite web|url=http://www.groove93.com|title=WMPZ|website=WMPZ}} (licensed to Harrison, TN)
• WJTT 94.3 FM – Urban contemporary / Power 94{{cite web|url=http://www.power94.com|title=WJTT POWER94|website=WJTT POWER94}} (licensed to Red Bank, TN)
• WAAK-LP 94.7 FM – Variety{{cite web|url=https://www.waakradio.com/listen-live//|title=WAAK 94.7 FM WaaKool Radio – Catoosa County}} (low power station licensed to Boynton/Ringgold, GA)
• WALV-FM 95.3 FM – Christian/The Joy FM{{cite web|url=https://florida.thejoyfm.com/|title=The Joy FM|website=TheJoyFM}} (licensed to Ooltewah, TN)
• W241AF 96.1 FM / W262DQ 100.3 FM – Conservative Talk / The Big One{{cite web|url=https://www.discoverdade.com/wfli/?doing_wp_cron=1717465884.7622199058532714843750|title= WFLI|website= The Big One} }} (licensed to Rossville, GA & Hixson, TN) (simulcast of WFLI-AM)
• WDOD 96.5 FM – Top-40 / Hits 96{{cite web|url=http://www.hits96.com|title=Hits 96|website=Hits 96}} (licensed to Chattanooga, TN)
• WUUQ 97.3 FM / W257AZ 99.3 FM – Classic Country / Q Country 97.3/99.3 (licensed to South Pittsburg, TN and Lookout Mountain, TN)
• W249BR (WUSY-HD2) 97.7 FM - Urban Contemporary / Real 97.7{{cite web|url=https://www.audacy.com/real977|title= Real 97.7 |website= Real 97.7|date= March 5, 2021 }} (licensed to Lookout Mountain, TN)
• WLND 98.1 FM – Hot AC / 98.1 The Lake{{cite web|url=http://981thelake.com|title=98.1 The Lake |website=98.1 The Lake}} (licensed to Signal Mountain, TN)
• WOOP-LP 99.9 FM – Classic country, old-time gospel, bluegrass, and mountain music.{{cite web|url=http://www.woopfm.com/|title=Welcome to the World Wide Woop!|website=www.woopfm.com}} Operated by the Traditional Music Resource Center (licensed to Cleveland, TN)
• WUSY 100.7 FM – Contemporary Country / US101{{cite web|url=http://www.us101country.com|title=US 101 |website=US 101}} (licensed to Cleveland, TN)
• WJSQ 101.7 FM – Contemporary and Classic country / 101.7 WLAR{{cite web|url=http://www.wjsqwlar.com|title=WJSQ / WLAR|website=www.wjsqwlar.com}} (licensed to Athens, TN)
• WOCE 101.9 FM – Spanish (licensed to Ringgold, GA)
• WGOW 102.3 FM – Talk Radio 102.3{{cite web|url=http://www.wgow.com/fm|title=Two Survivors Tell Of Wreck That Killed 3 Members Of Thomas Family... |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051214185818/http://www.wgow.com/fm/|archive-date=December 14, 2005|url-status=dead|access-date=December 7, 2005}} (licensed to Soddy-Daisy, TN)
• WBDX 102.7 FM – Contemporary Christian{{cite web|url=http://www.j103.com|title= Shining the Light in the Tennessee Valley J103|website=www.j103.com}} (licensed to Trenton, GA)
• WJLJ 103.1 FM – Contemporary Christian (simulcast with WBDX 102.7) (licensed to Etowah, TN)
• WKXJ 103.7 FM – Top 40 / 103.7 Kiss FM{{cite web|url=http://www.kisschattanooga.com|title=KISS FM |website=KISS FM}} (licensed to Walden, TN)
• WUIE 105.1 FM – American Family Radio (licensed to Lakeside, TN)
• WRXR-FM 105.5 FM – Active Rock / Rock 105{{cite web|url=http://www.rock105.net/|title=Rock 105 Man Up!|website=Rock 105 Man Up!|access-date=December 7, 2005|archive-date=May 31, 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050531210541/http://www.rock105.net/|url-status=dead}} (licensed to Rossville, GA)
• WSKZ 106.5 FM – Classic Rock / KZ106{{cite web|url=http://www.kz106.com|title=WSKZ-FM|website=WSKZ-FM}} (licensed to Chattanooga, TN)
• W295BI (WALV HD-2) 106.9 FM Christian/ Joy Worship{{cite web|url=https://www.joyworship.com/|title=Joy Worship|website=WALV HD2}} (licensed to Ooltewah, TN)
• WOGT 107.9 FM – Country / New Country 107.9{{cite web|url=https://www.1079country.com|title=WOGT-FM|website=WOGT-FM}} (licensed to East Ridge, TN)

{{div col end}}

Chattanooga's television stations include:

• WRCB channel 3, NBC affiliate (DT 13 / cable 4)
• WOOT-LD channel 6, Independent/Heartland (formerly UPN)
• WTVC channel 9, ABC/Fox affiliate (DT 9 / cable 10)
• WDEF channel 12, CBS affiliate (DT 8 / cable 13)
• WNGH channel 18, GPB member station (DT 4 / cable 12)
• WELF channel 23, TBN affiliate (DT 28 / cable 9)
• W26BE channel 26, 3ABN affiliate (cable 295)
• WYHB channel 39, Independent/DefyTV (DT 25)
• WTCI channel 45, PBS member station (DT 35 / cable 5)
• WFLI-TV channel 53, The CW/MyNetworkTV affiliate (Formerly UPN and The WB) (DT 23 / cable 6)
• WDSI channel 61, True Crime Network affiliate (DT 14 / cable 11)

{{see also|List of Mayors of Chattanooga, Tennessee|Mayoral elections in Chattanooga, Tennessee}}

File:Flag of Chattanooga, Tennessee (1923–2012).svg

The mayor is Tim Kelly, who was elected in April 2021.{{cite news|last=Taylor|first=Sarah Grace|date=April 18, 2021|title=Kelly takes office as Chattanooga's mayor Monday with plan for first 100 days|url=https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2021/apr/18/kelly-takes-office-chattanoogas-mayor-monday/545326/|work=Chattanooga Times Free Press|access-date=April 19, 2021}}

File:Flag of Chattanooga, Tennessee.svg

The city operates under a charter granted by the state legislature in 1852; the charter has been subsequently amended.

The city operates under a strong mayor system, which changed from a commission form of government with members voted at-large. In 1987 twelve African American city residents filed a complaint, Brown v. Board of Commissioners of the City of Chattanooga, alleging that the commission-style government violated their civil rights, including the Voting Rights Act of 1965, by diluting the minority black vote.{{cite news|url=http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2011/oct/13/court-case-dramatically-shifts-form-of/|title=Brown v. Board of Commissioners|last=Hightower|first=Cliff|author2=Todd South|date=October 13, 2011|newspaper=Chattanooga Times Free Press|access-date=August 10, 2012}} In 1989 U.S. District Judge R. Allan Edgar ruled in their favor, compelling the city to abandon the at-large voting system that it had used for the 'commission' form of government, established single-member geographical districts to proportionally represent both majority and minority elements of the population according to the city's racial demographics, eliminated voting privileges for non-resident property owners, and created the city's mayor-council form of government. The Chattanooga City Council has nine members, of whom four are African American. The strong-mayor system began in 1991 after a 1990 citywide election that used the new court-ordered district system.

The city's legislative branch is represented by members from nine districts, elected from single-member districts in partisan elections. The council members are Chip Henderson (District 1), Jenny Hill (District 2), Ken Smith (District 3), Darrin Ledford (District 4), Isiah Hester (District 5), Jenni Berz (District 6), Raquetta Dotley (District 7), Marvene Noel (District 8), and Demetrus Coonrod (District 9).{{cite web |title=City Council |url=http://www.chattanooga.gov/city-council/ |website=Chattanooga.gov |publisher=City of Chattanooga |access-date=June 20, 2022}}

Chattanooga's delegation to the Tennessee House of Representatives includes Robin Smith{{cite web |url=http://www.legislature.state.tn.us/House/members/h26.html |title=Representative Robin Smith|website=TN House Directory |publisher=Tennessee General Assembly |access-date=March 15, 2019}} (R), District 26; Patsy Hazlewood{{cite web |url=http://www.legislature.state.tn.us/House/members/h27.html |title=Representative Patsy Hazlewood |website=TN House Directory |publisher=Tennessee General Assembly |access-date=March 15, 2019}} (R), District 27; Yusuf Hakeem{{cite web |url=http://www.legislature.state.tn.us/House/members/h28.html |title=Representative Yusuf Hakeem|website=TN House Directory |publisher=Tennessee General Assembly |access-date=March 15, 2019}} (D), District 28; Mike Carter{{cite web |url=http://www.legislature.state.tn.us/House/members/h29.html |title=Representative Mike Carter |website=TN House Directory |publisher=Tennessee General Assembly |access-date=March 15, 2019}} (R), District 29; and Esther Helton{{cite web |url=http://www.legislature.state.tn.us/House/members/h30.html |title=Representative Esther Helton|website=TN House Directory |publisher=Tennessee General Assembly |access-date=March 15, 2019}} (R), District 30. In the Tennessee Senate, Chattanooga is divided between Districts 10 and 11 with Todd Gardenhire{{cite web |url=http://www.legislature.state.tn.us/Senate/members/s10.html |title=Senator Todd Gardenhire|website=TN Senate Directory |publisher=Tennessee General Assembly |access-date=March 15, 2019}} (R) and Bo Watson{{cite web |url=http://www.legislature.state.tn.us/Senate/members/s11.html |title=Senator Bo Watson|website=TN Senate Directory |publisher=Tennessee General Assembly |access-date=March 15, 2019}} (R) representing each district respectively.

Chattanooga is represented in the United States House of Representatives by Chuck Fleischmann (R), who represents the 3rd District.{{cite web|url=http://fleischmann.house.gov/|title=Congressman Chuck Fleischmann|publisher=United States House of Representatives|access-date=July 3, 2012}} In the United States Senate, both Marsha Blackburn (R) and Bill Hagerty (R) have district offices in Chattanooga.{{cite web |title=Call My Office |url=https://www.blackburn.senate.gov/call-me |website=U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee |access-date=August 21, 2020 |language=en}}{{cite web|url=http://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/|title=Senator Lamar Alexander|publisher=United States Senate|access-date=July 3, 2012|archive-date=July 10, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160710023701/http://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/|url-status=dead}}

Chattanooga, as the county seat of Hamilton County, is home to Chattanooga's City Courts and Hamilton County's Courts.

Chattanooga is the location of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee's Southern Division, which is housed in the Joel W. Solomon Federal Courthouse. The Southern Division has jurisdiction over Bledsoe, Bradley, Hamilton, Marion, McMinn, Meigs, Polk, Rhea, and Sequatchie counties.

The Chattanooga Police Department dates from 1852. Starting in 1883, it hired black police officers, making Chattanooga one of the first major Southern cities to have them. But after the state legislature imposed segregation, black police officers were dropped from the force. They were hired again on a permanent basis beginning on August 11, 1948, years before other major cities in the Southeast, such as Birmingham, Alabama and Jackson, Mississippi, integrated their police departments. The first seven black officers in 1948, Thaddeus Arnold, Singer Askins, W.B. Baulridge, C.E. Black, Morris Glenn, Arthur Heard, and Thomas Patterson, were initially restricted to walking beats in black neighborhoods. In 1960, black police officers were authorized to patrol all neighborhoods and arrest white citizens.{{cite web|url=http://www.chattanooga.gov/police-department/history-department/40-s|title=Chattanooga Police Department: 1940s|publisher=City of Chattanooga|access-date=August 9, 2012}}{{cite web|url=http://ngeorgia.com/tenn/chattanooga3.html|title=Chattanooga's History (Great Depression through the Present Day)|publisher=NGeorgia.com|access-date=August 9, 2012|archive-date=August 24, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120824043605/http://www.ngeorgia.com/tenn/chattanooga3.html|url-status=dead}}{{cite book|last=Hubbard|first=Rita L.|title=African Americans of Chattanooga: A History of Unsung Heroes|publisher=The History Press|location=Charleston, South Carolina|date=December 10, 2007|pages=77–78|chapter=Notable Place and Events that had an impact on the United States|isbn=978-1-59629-315-1|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y2oFBDdrJDMC&q=black+police+officers+in+chattanooga%2C+1883&pg=PA77|access-date=August 9, 2012}}{{Dead link|date=November 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

Most of Chattanooga's primary and secondary education is funded by the government. The public schools in Chattanooga, as well as Hamilton County, have fallen under the purview of the Hamilton County Schools since the 1997 merger of the urban Chattanooga City Schools system and the mostly rural Hamilton County Schools system.{{cite web|url=http://www.hcde.org/schools/default.htm|title=Hamilton County Department of Education :: --Quick Links--|work=hcde.org|access-date=July 17, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120911125449/http://www.hcde.org/schools/default.htm|archive-date=September 11, 2012}}{{cite web |url=http://www.pefchattanooga.org/about-us/history |title=History « PEF |publisher=Pefchattanooga.org |access-date=April 25, 2013 |archive-date=May 14, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120514035010/http://www.pefchattanooga.org/about-us/history |url-status=dead }} The Howard School was the first public school in the area, established in 1865 after the Civil War.{{cite web|url=http://www.thehowardschool.net/ |title=3HD is now ND&P |publisher=Thehowardschool.net |access-date=November 13, 2011}} Tyner High School (now Tyner Academy) was the first secondary school built east of Missionary Ridge in 1907. It is now the home of Tyner Middle Academy. The Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences, the STEM School Of Chattanooga and the Chattanooga High School Center for Creative Arts are additional public magnet schools.

The city is home to several well-known private and parochial secondary schools, including Baylor School, Boyd-Buchanan School, Chattanooga Christian School, Girls Preparatory School, McCallie School, and Notre Dame High School. The Siskin Children's Institute in Chattanooga is a specialized institution in the field of early childhood special education.{{cite web|url=http://www.siskin.org/ |title=Children With Special Needs | Autism | Early Intervention | Special Education | Down syndrome | Siskin Children's Institute |publisher=Siskin.org |access-date=November 13, 2011}}

File:UTC Race Hall.jpg's Founders Hall in June 2007]]

A wide variety of higher education institutions can be found in Chattanooga and nearby. The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is the second largest campus of the University of Tennessee System, with a student population of over 11,587 as of 2017–18 school year.{{cite web|url=https://www.utc.edu/planning-evaluation-institutional-research/factbook/ |title=UTC Factbook|publisher=utc.edu |access-date=April 4, 2016}} Chattanooga State Community College is a two-year community college with a total undergraduate enrollment of roughly 8150 students in 2018.{{Cite web|url=https://www.collegetuitioncompare.com/edu/219824/chattanooga-state-community-college/enrollment/|title=2018 Student Population {{!}} Chattanooga State Community College|website=College Tuition Compare|access-date=April 16, 2019}} Tennessee Temple University was a Baptist college located in the Highland Park neighborhood that is no longer operating as of 2015. Chattanooga is also home to a branch of the University of Tennessee College of Medicine, which provides medical education to third- and fourth-year medical students, residents, and other medical professionals in southeast Tennessee through an affiliation with Erlanger Health System. Covenant College, a private liberal arts college operated by the Presbyterian Church in America, is located in the nearby suburb of Lookout Mountain, Georgia, and has a student population of about 1,000. Southern Adventist University is located in the suburb of Collegedale, Tennessee, and enrolls roughly 3,000 students. Richmont Graduate University is a Christian graduate school located in Chattanooga with a CACREP accredited clinical mental health counseling program as well as other ministry related degrees and a student population close to 300. Virginia College School of Business and Health offers a variety of programs leading to diplomas, associate degrees, and bachelor's degrees.

The Chattanooga Public Library opened in 1905.{{cite book |title=American Library Annual, 1917-1918 |year=1918 |pages=7 v |location=New York |publisher=R.R. Bowker Co. |hdl=2027/mdp.39015013751220?urlappend=%3Bseq=423 |url= http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015013751220?urlappend=%3Bseq=423 }} Since 1976, the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Bicentennial Library system had been jointly operated by the city and county governments; due to Chattanooga terminating a 1966 agreement with Hamilton County to distribute sales tax revenue equally, the city has taken over full funding responsibilities as of 2011.http://www.lib.chattanooga.gov/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060613103710/http://www.lib.chattanooga.gov/ |date=June 13, 2006 }} Library Website{{cite news|url=http://timesfreepress.com/news/2011/may/23/sales-tax-accord-ends-new-era-begins/|title=Sales tax accord ends; new era begins |last=Hightower|first=Cliff|date=May 23, 2011|newspaper=Chattanooga Times Free Press|access-date=July 1, 2012}} The city was given a Carnegie library in 1904, and the two-story purpose-built marble structure survives to this day at Eighth Street and Georgia Avenue as commercial office space. In 1939, the library moved to Douglas Street and McCallie Avenue and shared the new building with the John Storrs Fletcher Library of the University of Chattanooga. This building is now called Fletcher Hall and houses classrooms and offices for the university. In 1976, the city library moved to its third and current location at the corner of Tenth and Broad streets.

{{See also|List of hospitals in Tennessee}}

Chattanooga has three hospital systems: Erlanger Health System, Parkridge Hospital System, and CHI Memorial Hospital System.

Founded in 1889, Erlanger is the seventh largest public healthcare system in the United States{{cite web|url=http://www.chattanoogan.com/2015/7/9/303908/Erlanger-Ranked-Seventh-Largest-Public.aspx|title=Erlanger Ranked Seventh Largest Public Hospital System In The Nation |website=www.chattanoogan.com|date=July 10, 2015 |access-date=October 6, 2015}} with more than half a million patient visits a year.Erlanger Health System, FY 2014-2015 Erlanger Hospital is a non-profit academic teaching center affiliated with the University of Tennessee's College of Medicine.{{cite web|url=http://www.erlanger.org/body.cfm?id=38&oTopID=38 |title=About Erlanger |publisher=Erlanger.org |date=October 5, 2011 |access-date=November 13, 2011}} Erlanger is also the area's primary trauma center, a Level-One Trauma Center for adults, and the only provider of tertiary care for the residents of southeastern Tennessee, north Georgia, northeastern Alabama, and western North Carolina. In 2008, Erlanger was named one of the nation's "100 Top teaching hospitals for cardiovascular care" by Thomson Reuters.{{cite web | title = 100 Top Hospitals 2008 | publisher = Thomson Reuters | year = 2008 | url = http://www.100tophospitals.com/winners/cardiowinners.aspx | access-date =November 18, 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080524062303/http://www.100tophospitals.com/winners/cardiowinners.aspx |archive-date = May 24, 2008}} Erlanger has been operated by the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Hospital Authority since 1976.{{Cite web|url=http://www.erlanger.org/about/trustees.asp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081021052622/http://www.erlanger.org/about/trustees.asp|url-status=dead|title=Erlanger Hospital|archive-date=October 21, 2008|website=www.erlanger.org}}

Parkridge Hospital is located east of downtown in the Glenwood district and is run by Tri-Star Healthcare. Tri-Star also operates Parkridge East Medical Center in nearby East Ridge.

Memorial Hospital, which is operated by Denver-based Catholic Health Initiatives, is located downtown. In 2004, Memorial was named one of the "100 Top Teaching Hospitals" by Thomson Reuters.{{cite web | title = 100 Top Hospitals 2004 | publisher = Thomson Reuters | year = 2004 | url = http://www.100tophospitals.com/Winners/national04/benchmarks.asp | access-date =March 24, 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070209172535/http://www.100tophospitals.com/Winners/national04/benchmarks.asp |archive-date = February 9, 2007}}

Considered to be the gateway to the Deep South, along with the Midwest and the Northeast for motorists from states such as Alabama, Florida, and Georgia, Chattanooga's extensive transportation infrastructure has evolved into an intricate system of interstates, streets, tunnels, railroad lines, bridges, and a commercial airport. While only a midsize city, Chattanooga is ranked as having some of the worst traffic congestion of cities its size, due primarily to unusually high volumes of truck traffic.{{cite news |last=Pare |first=Mike |date=August 28, 2015 |title=Chattanooga traffic gridlock sets new records |url=https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2015/aug/28/traffic-gridlock-sets-new-records/322225/ |work=Chattanooga Times Free Press |access-date=March 31, 2022}} A 2015 study by Cambridge Systematics found that 80% of trucks that pass through Chattanooga are destined for a different location, the highest share of any metropolitan area in the country.{{cite news |last=Pare |first=Mike |date=February 15, 2015 |title=Forget trains. Chattanooga is No. 1 in the nation for truck traffic |url=https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/business/aroundregion/story/2015/feb/15/truck-traffic-troubles-scenic-city/288113/ |work=Chattanooga Times Free Press |access-date=January 11, 2022}}

Interstate 75 (I-75) connects Chattanooga with Knoxville to the northeast and Atlanta to the south. Interstate 24 (I-24), which to Nashville to the northwest, passes through the central part of the city and reaches its eastern terminus at the 75/24 Split with I-75. The northern terminus of Interstate 59 (I-59) is about {{convert|10|mi|km}} southwest of downtown Chattanooga in Dade County, Georgia, and connects the city to Birmingham to the southwest. A controlled-access segment of U.S. Route 27 (US 27) begins at an interchange with I-24 in downtown Chattanooga, and ends in northern Hamilton County, connecting the city with the cities of Red Bank, Soddy Daisy, Dayton, and Dunlap to the north. State Route 153 (SR 153), some of which is controlled-access, is a major route which connects I-75 to US 27 in the eastern and northern parts of the city. A short controlled-access portion of SR 319, known as DuPont Parkway, connects downtown Chattanooga to the Hixson area.{{cite map |author = Tennessee Department of Transportation Long Range Planning Division Office of Data Visualization|title = Hamilton County|year = 2018|url =https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/tdot/maps/county-maps-(us-shields)/h-m/Hamilton%20County.pdf|publisher = Tennessee Department of Transportation}}

In addition to US 27, several other US Highways pass through Chattanooga as surface streets, and many share concurrencies. They include U.S. Routes 11, 41, 64, 72, 76, and 127, the last three of which have termini in Chattanooga. US 11 and 64 form a concurrency as Brainerd Road and Lee Highway, and connect Chattanooga to Collegedale and Cleveland to the northeast. US 41/76 (Ringgold Road) connects the city to Ringgold, Georgia to the southeast, and a surface-street section of US 27 (Rossville Boulevard) connects to Rossville, Fort Oglethorpe, and LaFayette, all in Georgia, to the south. Beginning in downtown and continuing for several miles to the southwest, US Routes 11, 41, 64, and 72 run together as Cummings Highway, before US 11 splits off, heading toward Trenton, Georgia. The remaining three routes continue toward Jasper, where US 72 splits off headed towards Huntsville, Alabama. US 127 (Signal Mountain Boulevard) begins in North Chattanooga at an interchange with US 27, and connects the city to Signal Mountain and Dunlap to the northwest.

Other major state routes in Chattanooga include routes 17, 58 (Highway 58, Ochs Highway), 148 (Lookout Mountain Scenic Highway), 317 (Bonny Oaks Drive), 319 (Hixson Pike), and 320 (East Brainerd Road). Major city-maintained surface streets include Broad Street, Georgia Avenue, Gunbarrel Road, Hickory Valley Road, McCallie Avenue, Shallowford Road, Dayton Boulevard, and Frazier Avenue.

• Bachman Tubes (also unofficially known as The East Ridge Tunnels), which carry Ringgold Road (US 41/76) into the neighboring city of East Ridge.
• Missionary Ridge Tunnels (also unofficially known as McCallie or Brainerd Tunnels), which carry McCallie and Bailey Avenues (US 11/64) through Missionary Ridge where the route continues as Brainerd Road.
• Stringer's Ridge Tunnel, which carries Cherokee Boulevard through Stringer's Ridge where the route continues as Dayton Boulevard.
• Wilcox Tunnel, which carries Wilcox Boulevard through Missionary Ridge and connects to Shallowford Road.

The city is served by a publicly run bus company, the Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority (CARTA). CARTA operates 17 routes, including a free electric shuttle service in the downtown area, and free wireless Internet on certain "smartbuses".http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_113678.asp {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080720074719/http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_113678.asp |date=July 20, 2008 }} The Chattanoogan, September 19, 2007.

The Chattanooga Department of Transportation has a mission "to make efficient transportation viable for all commuters- cyclists, pedestrians, transit users, and motorists while enhancing multi-use public spaces for all people."{{Cite web|url=http://www.chattanooga.gov/transportation|title=Transportation|website=www.chattanooga.gov|access-date=April 1, 2019}} Chattanooga favors public transit, as the opening lines on the TDOT website read: "Sit back, relax, and let someone else deal with the traffic. Compared to driving, public transportation is less expensive, safer, and better for the environment. It reduces traffic congestion, saves energy, and benefits the communities it serves."{{Cite web|url=https://www.tn.gov/tdot/multimodal-transportation-resources/office-of-public-transportation/public-transit-services1.html|title=Public Transit Services|website=www.tn.gov|access-date=April 1, 2019}}

The city has its own bicycle transit system (Bike Chattanooga){{cite web|url=http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2016/jul/22/bike-share-program-celebrates-four-years/377236/|title=Bike Chattanooga celebrates four years|date=July 22, 2016 |access-date=August 3, 2016}} with 300 bikes and 33 docking stations, all supplied by PBSC Urban Solutions, a Canadian company.{{cite web|url=http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2016/mar/08/electric-bikes-and-lighter-bikes-could-come-c/353981/|title=Chattanooga eying new bicycle models for bike-share program|date=March 8, 2016 |access-date=August 3, 2016}}

File:Chattanooga Choo-Choo train.jpg]]

File:Chattanooga Choo Choo in Terminal Station (Chattanooga).jpg]]

Though Chattanooga's most famous connection to the railroad industry is "Chattanooga Choo Choo", a 1941 song made famous by Glenn Miller & His Orchestra, the city serves as a major freight hub with Norfolk Southern (NS) and CSX running trains on their own (and each other's) lines. The Norfolk Southern Railway's main classification yard, DeButts Yard, is just east of downtown; Norfolk Southern's Shipp's Yard and CSX's Wauhatchie Yard are southwest of the city. Norfolk Southern maintains a large railroad repair shop in Chattanooga.{{cite web|url=http://www.nscorp.com/nscportal/nscorp/Media/Corporate%20Profile/|title=Norfolk Southern Corporate Profile|publisher=Norfolk Southern|access-date=August 22, 2012}} The two railroad companies are among the largest individual landowners in the city (the Federal Government is another).{{cite web|title = Chattanooga, Tennessee – Slider|url = http://enc.slider.com/Enc/Chattanooga,_Tennessee|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060820231544/http://enc.slider.com/Enc/Chattanooga%2C_Tennessee|url-status = dead|archive-date = August 20, 2006|website = enc.slider.com|access-date = October 1, 2015}}

The Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum (TVRM), the largest historic operating railroad in the South, and the Chattooga and Chickamauga Railway also provide railroad service in Chattanooga. The headquarters of the National Model Railroad Association (NMRA) were located in Chattanooga next to the TVRM from 1982 to 2013, when the NMRA moved to Soddy-Daisy, a nearby suburb.{{cite web|url=http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/an-interview-with-national-model-railroad-association-library-director-brent-lambert/|title=An Interview With National Model Railroad Association Library Director Brent Lambert|last=Keane|first=Maribeth|date=February 20, 2009|publisher=Collectors Weekly|access-date=June 26, 2012}} (The NMRA had moved from Indianapolis, Indiana to Chattanooga.)

Despite the high level of freight rail activity, there is no passenger rail service in the city for commuters or long-distance travelers. But the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) has Chattanooga on a proposed future route that would run from Atlanta to Nashville twice daily, with additional stops in Marietta, GA; Cartersville, GA; Dalton, GA; Bridgeport, AL; Tullahoma, TN; Murfreesboro, TN; and the Nashville International Airport.{{cite web |title=Amtrak's Vision: Atlanta — Chattanooga — Nashville |url=https://www.amtrakconnectsus.com/maps/atlanta-chattanooga-nashville/ |website=Amtrak Connects US |access-date=March 23, 2022}}

Using the AAR reporting marks (NS for Norfolk Southern, CSXT for CSX Transportation, TVRM for the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum, TNT for subsidiary Tyner Terminal Railroad, and CCKY for Chattooga and Chickamauga Railway), the rail lines passing through Chattanooga are as follows:

• CSXT – Western & Atlantic Subdivision (Chattanooga to Atlanta)
• Chattanooga Subdivision (Chattanooga to Nashville on former NC&StL trackage)
• NS – Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific, aka the Queen and Crescent Route, (Chattanooga to Cincinnati, Ohio via Lexington, Kentucky)
• Alabama Division (Chattanooga to Memphis via Huntsville, Alabama)
• Alabama Great Southern (Chattanooga to New Orleans, Louisiana via Birmingham, Alabama)
• Georgia Division (Chattanooga to Atlanta)
• Central Division (Chattanooga to Knoxville)
• Chattanooga Traction Company
• North Chattanooga to Signal Mountain
• Dry Valley Line (Red Bank to Lupton City)
• TVRM – East Chattanooga to Grand Junction ({{convert|3|mi|km}})
• East Chattanooga Belt Line Railroad (from near 23rd Street, across to Holtzclaw Avenue and East Chattanooga around North Chamberlain Ave., used by TVRM)
• TNT – Tyner Terminal Railroad (Enterprise South Industrial Park railroad operations)
• CCKY – formerly the Tennessee Alabama & Georgia line (Chattanooga to Hedges, Georgia, abandoned since 2009)
• formerly the Central of Georgia line (Chattanooga to Lyerly, Georgia)

The Lookout Mountain Incline Railway, often referred to as the Incline Railway by locals, serves as a tourist attraction. It is also occasionally used for commuting by Lookout Mountain residents, particularly during wintry weather when traveling up and down the mountain could be very dangerous.

Until the 1960s the Louisville and Nashville railroad ran passenger trains through Union Station and the Southern Railway ran trains through Terminal Station. The last train, the L&N's Georgian, left Terminal Station in October 1971.

Being bisected by the Tennessee River, Chattanooga has seven bridges that allow people to traverse the river; five of the bridges being automobile bridges, one a rail bridge, and one a pedestrian bridge. These are the following, from west to east:

File:Market Street Bridge Downtown Chattanooga.JPG

• P.R. Olgiati Bridge – Named for a former mayor, P.R. Olgiati, this bridge, which was dedicated in 1959, carries U.S. Highway 27 from downtown towards Dayton, Tennessee and points northward.
• Market Street Bridge – Officially called the John Ross Bridge, this bridge is a bascule bridge, which is a type of draw bridge. The bridge was completed in 1917 for the large sum of $1 million for the time. Having stood for decades since its last major overhaul, the Tennessee Department of Transportation declared it unsafe in late 2004. The bridge was closed in 2005 for a long-overdue renovation and was reopened on August 4, 2007.{{cite web |url=http://www.marketstbridge.com/happening.html |title=Market Street Bridge Project // What's Happening |publisher=Marketstbridge.com |access-date=November 13, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130722190038/http://www.marketstbridge.com/happening.html |archive-date=July 22, 2013 }}
• Walnut Street Bridge – Also known as "The Walking Bridge", it is one of the centerpieces of Chattanooga's urban renewal and is the second longest pedestrian bridge in the nation. Constructed in 1891, the bridge was declared unsafe and closed to traffic in 1978. It was on the verge of being demolished in the late 1980s when public outcry led to it being restored as a pedestrian-only span that opened in 1993.{{cite web |url=http://www.bikekatytrail.com/walnutstreet.asp |title=Katy Trail Information |publisher=Bikekatytrail.com |access-date=November 13, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111001131447/http://www.bikekatytrail.com/walnutstreet.asp |archive-date=October 1, 2011 |url-status=dead }}
• Veterans Memorial Bridge – Completed in 1984, this bridge has helped commuters from Hixson, Lupton City, and other northern areas reach downtown quickly.
• C.B. Robinson Bridge – Opened in 1981, this bridge carries DuPont Parkway (SR 319) from Amnicola Highway (SR 58) to Hixson Pike and Route 153.
• Tenbridge – This truss bridge with a vertical lift carries the Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway over the river and is a popular railfan area. It was constructed in 1920.{{cite web|url=http://bridgehunter.com/tn/hamilton/tennessee-rr/ |title=Tennessee River Railroad Bridge |location=35.104075;-85.233388 |publisher=Bridgehunter.com |access-date=November 13, 2011}}
• Wilkes T. Thrasher Bridge – Completed in 1955, this route carries Highway 153 over the Chickamauga Dam.

The Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport (CHA) offers non-stop service to various domestic destinations via regional and national airlines, including Allegiant Airlines, American Eagle, Delta Air Lines and its regional carrier Delta Connection, and United Express.[http://www.chattairport.com/flight_info/destinations.htm] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100725140053/http://www.chattairport.com/flight_info/destinations.htm|date=July 25, 2010}}

Chattanooga has been referred to in pop culture numerous times over the decades, including in books, documentaries, films, TV shows, and more. In recent years, Chattanooga has appeared in more productions of blockbuster movies and TV shows, as well as independent films and documentaries.{{cite news|url=http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2008/nov/17/film-enthusiasts-want-chattanooga-become-movie-mag/|title=Film enthusiasts want Chattanooga to become a movie magnet|last=Leber|first=Holly|date=November 17, 2008|newspaper=Chattanooga Times Free Press|access-date=February 12, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510195728/http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2008/nov/17/film-enthusiasts-want-chattanooga-become-movie-mag/|archive-date=May 10, 2013}}{{cite news|url=http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2011/aug/26/movie-likely-shooting-baylor-school-fall-helps-put/|title=Movie likely shooting at Baylor School in fall helps put city on the map|last=Leber|first=Holly|date=August 26, 2011|newspaper=Chattanooga Times Free Press|access-date=February 12, 2013}}

Books that have Chattanooga as either a major or minor plot setting include Four and Twenty Blackbirds by Cherie Priest.{{cite web|url=http://thegreenmanreview.com/gmr///book/book_priest_4and20blackbirds.html|title=Cherie Priest, Four and Twenty Blackbirds|last=reviewer|website=thegreenmanreview.com|url-status=dead|access-date=September 7, 2017|archive-date=September 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170907213339/http://thegreenmanreview.com/gmr///book/book_priest_4and20blackbirds.html}}

Documentaries have been filmed in Chattanooga over the decades, mostly related to the railroad industry or the Civil War battles that were fought in Chattanooga. These include the following:{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

• Up Lookout Mountain on the Electric Incline (1913){{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
• Battle Fields Around Chattanooga (1913){{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
• The Blue and the Gray (1935){{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
• Our Country (2003){{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
• John Henry: Inside the Sculptors Studio (2008){{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
• Let There Be Light: The Odyssey of Dark Star (2010){{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
• Memphis & Charleston Railroad: Marriage of the Waters (2010){{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
• Born and Bred (2011){{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
• When Mourning Breaks (2013){{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

Chattanooga and its environs have been featured in numerous films since the early 1970s, principally due to Chattanooga being the home of the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum (TVRM), which has allowed its equipment to be filmed in various films.

A partial list of movies shot with TVRM equipment follows:{{cite web|url=http://www.tvrail.com/pages/in-the-movies|title=In the Movies|publisher=Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum|access-date=August 28, 2012}}

{{div col}}

• Fool's Parade (1971) (Southern 4501 as B&O 4501){{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
• Eleanor & Franklin (1976), starring Jane Alexander and Edward Herrmann{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
• The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James (1986){{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
• Fled (1996) (shot on the TVRM mainline){{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
• Mama Flora's Family (1998){{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
• October Sky (1999) (Southern 4501 appearing as N&W 4501 with O. Winston Link being the engineer){{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
• The Adventures of Ociee Nash (2003){{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
• Warm Springs (2005) (shot in Summerville, Georgia, using TVRM equipment){{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
• Heaven's Fall (2007){{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
• Leatherheads (2008), starring George Clooney and Renée Zellweger{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
• Water for Elephants (2011), starring Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
• The promotional video for Josh Turner's 2003 country single "Long Black Train" was filmed on TVRM property.

In addition to the above TVRM films, the following films were filmed either in Chattanooga itself or in nearby locales:

• The Man Trail (1915){{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
• The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia (1981){{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
• The Big Blue (1988){{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
• Dutch (1991){{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
• Christopher Columbus: The Discovery (1992){{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
• All Over Again (2001){{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
• Straight into Darkness (2004){{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
• 42 (2013) (filmed at Engel Stadium){{cite web |last=Barnett |first=Mary |url=http://www.nooga.com/155444/filming-of-42-begins-at-engel-stadium/ |title=Filming of "42" begins at Engel Stadium |publisher=Nooga.com |date=May 21, 2012 |access-date=August 13, 2012 |archive-date=September 26, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120926130019/http://www.nooga.com/155444/filming-of-42-begins-at-engel-stadium/ |url-status=dead }}{{cite news|url=http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/jun/01/harrison-ford-in-chattanooga-to-film-42/|title=Harrison Ford in Chattanooga to film '42'|last=Poulisse|first=Adam|date=June 1, 2012|newspaper=Chattanooga Times Free Press|access-date=January 30, 2013}}
• Identity Thief (2013) (scene set in St. Louis was filmed on the Market Street Bridge){{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

{{div col end}}

The 1941 Glenn Miller song that catapulted Chattanooga to international fame, "Chattanooga Choo Choo", has been performed in numerous movies, including the 1941 film Sun Valley Serenade, featuring the Miller Orchestra and Milton Berle, The Glenn Miller Story starring James Stewart in the 1953 title role, and the 1984 eponymous film Chattanooga Choo Choo.

A number of pro wrestling events, as well as other events, such as circuses, concerts, ice shows, monster truck rallies, and rodeos, have been held in Chattanooga since the late 1980s, all at UTC's McKenzie Arena, also known as The Roundhouse because of its round shape and the impact of the railroad industry on Chattanooga.{{cite web|url=http://www.chattanoogan.com/2007/12/2/117984/UTC-McKenzie-Arena-Celebrating-25-Years.aspx|title=UTC McKenzie Arena Celebrating 25 years|last=Shearer|first=John|date=December 2, 2007|publisher=Chattanoogan.com|access-date=February 12, 2013}} The events include the following:

{{div col}}

• Clash of the Champions IV: Season's Beatings (1988){{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
• Saturday's Night Main Event (January 27, 1990, episode){{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
• Halloween Havoc (1991){{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
• In Your House 13: Final Four (February 16, 1997){{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}{{cite web|url=http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/97.htm|title=The History of the WWE: 1997|author=|year=2013|publisher=WWE.com|access-date=February 12, 2013}}
• 2005 and 2011 Men's Southern Conference basketball tournaments
• 2005 Women's Southern Conference basketball championship game
• Kenny Rogers concert (October 8, 1982; first-ever event held in McKenzie Arena){{cite web|url=http://www.gomocs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=17700&ATCLID=1146159|title=The McKenzie Arena|author=|publisher=UTC Mocs Athletics|access-date=February 13, 2013|archive-date=November 13, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111113071304/http://www.gomocs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=17700&ATCLID=1146159|url-status=dead}}
• Toby Keith concert (February 8, 2007){{cite web|url=http://www.songkick.com/concerts/553465-toby-keith-at-utc-mckenzie-arena|title=Toby Keith-Chattanooga |author=|year=2013|publisher=Songkick.com|access-date=February 13, 2013}}
• Elton John concert (2011, 2013, 2016){{cite web|url=http://www.chattanoogan.com/2013/1/17/242465/Elton-John-To-Perform-At-McKenzie-Arena.aspx|title=Elton John To Perform At McKenzie Arena On March 23 |author=|date=January 17, 2013|publisher=Chattanoogan.com|access-date=February 13, 2013}}

{{div col end}}

Police POV, COPS, and the MTV show Cuff'd have shown members of the Chattanooga Police Department apprehending suspects.{{cite news|url=http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2011/oct/03/chattanooga-police-make-for-arresting-tv/|title=Chattanooga becoming a destination for police reality TV shows|last=Harrison|first=Kate|date=October 3, 2011|newspaper=Chattanooga Times Free Press|access-date=January 31, 2013}} In addition to police reality shows, Chattanooga and nearby areas have been either been featured or mentioned in several TV shows, including the following:

{{div col}}

• America's Walking (This Woman's Not Stopping episode, originally broadcast May 20, 2002){{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
• R&B Divas: Atlanta (Til Divas Do Us Part episode, originally broadcast June 19, 2013){{cite web|url=http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/3478296|title=Monifah's Girlfriend Terez Proposes On 'R&B Divas'|last=Morgan |first=Glennisha|date=June 21, 2013|publisher=Huffington.com|access-date=November 5, 2013}}
• American Idol (Top 3 Results Show episode, originally broadcast May 19, 2011){{cite web|url=http://www.mjsbigblog.com/lauren-alaina-chattanooga-homecoming-media.htm|title=Lauren Alaina– Chattanooga homecoming |last=MJ |date=May 14, 2011|publisher=MJ's Big Blog|access-date=August 28, 2013}}
• Antiques Roadshow (Chattanooga episodes (Hours 1–3), originally broadcast March 30 and April 6 and 13, 2009){{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/cities/chattanooga_2009.html|title=Chattanooga: 2009|author=|year=2013|publisher=WGBH|access-date=July 26, 2013}}
• Bridezillas (Shederyl & Poni episode){{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
• Fitness Truth (CF Open Chattanooga episode, originally broadcast August 14, 2011){{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
• $40 a Day (Chattanooga episode, originally broadcast October 29, 2004){{cite web|url=http://www.foodnetwork.com/40-a-day/chattanooga-tn/index.html|title=Chattanooga, TN: $40 a Day|author=|year=2013|publisher=Food Network|access-date=February 12, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121203162333/http://www.foodnetwork.com/40-a-day/chattanooga-tn/index.html|archive-date=December 3, 2012}}
• Evening Magazine{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
• Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (Sharrock Family episode, originally broadcast May 15, 2011){{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
• Good Eats (Hook, Line, and Dinner episode, originally broadcast September 8, 1999){{cite web|url=http://www.tnaqua.org/sustainableseafood/AboutAltonBrown.aspx|title=About Alton Brown|author=|year=2013|publisher=TNAqua.com|access-date=February 12, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130520103239/http://www.tnaqua.org/SustainableSeafood/AboutAltonBrown.aspx|archive-date=May 20, 2013}}
• Mystery Manhunt (2012-){{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}{{cite web|url=http://www.nooga.com/mobile/#154529/nat-geos-great-american-manhunt-premieres-in-april/|title=Chattanooga news, entertainment, opinion, editorials|work=Nooga.com|access-date=July 17, 2015|archive-date=March 4, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150304181211/http://nooga.com/mobile#154529/nat-geos-great-american-manhunt-premieres-in-april/|url-status=dead}}
• Off Limits (Tennessee episode, originally broadcast June 20, 2011){{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
• Only in America with Larry the Cable Guy (Larry Gets the Horns episode, originally broadcast February 22, 2011){{cite web|url=http://chattanoogan.com/2011/2/22/195154/Railroad-Museum-Featured-On-History.aspx|title=Railroad Museum Featured On History Channel Tuesday Night|author=|date=February 22, 2011|publisher=Chattanoogan.com|access-date=August 28, 2013}}
• 16 and Pregnant (Maci episode, originally broadcast June 11, 2009){{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/shows/16_and_pregnant/season_1/episode.jhtml?episodeID=153833|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091105234231/http://www.mtv.com/shows/16_and_pregnant/season_1/episode.jhtml?episodeID=153833|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 5, 2009|title=Maci (Season 1, Episode 1)|author=|year=2013|publisher=MTV|access-date=February 12, 2013}}
• Teen Mom (Maci Bookout character){{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
• Tennessee Crossroads (Show 752 episode, originally broadcast June 23, 1994){{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
• The Andy Griffith Show (Andy the Matchmaker and The Shoplifters episodes, originally broadcast on November 14, 1960, and March 2, 1964, respectively.){{cite web|url=http://mayberryusa.yuku.com/topic/869/The-State-Game#.Uk71tpm9LCQ|title=The State Game in Mayberry Carnival – the Games Forum! Forum|work=Yuku|date=March 24, 2008 |access-date=July 17, 2015}}
• The Middle (Vacation Days episode, originally broadcast March 5, 2014){{cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/the-middle-vacation-days-1798179712|title=Vacation Days—The Middle|last=Harris|first=Will|date=March 5, 2014|publisher=AV Club.com|access-date=August 1, 2015}}
• The Steps (a locally produced web series){{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}{{cite web|url=http://www.tubefilter.com/2010/02/19/the-steps-all-aboard-as-chattanoogas-darling-web-series-bows-tonight/|title='The Steps', All Aboard As Chattanooga's Web Series Bows Tonight|last=Hustvedt|first=Marc|date=February 19, 2010|publisher=TubeFilter.com|access-date=February 12, 2013}}
• Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy (Hammond/Howard episode, originally broadcast January 17 and 24, 2005){{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}{{cite web|url=http://www.tv.com/shows/trading-spouses/episodes/|title=Trading Spouses Episodes (Hammond/Howard)|author=|year=2013|publisher=TV.com|access-date=February 12, 2013|archive-date=January 11, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130111041900/http://www.tv.com/shows/trading-spouses/episodes/|url-status=dead}}
• Who Do You Think You Are? (Lionel Richie episode, originally broadcast March 4, 2011){{cite news|url=http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2011/feb/02/lionel-richies-visit-to-the-scenic-city/|title=Lionel Richie's Visit to the Scenic City|last=O'Neal|first=Carey|date=February 2, 2011|newspaper=Chattanooga Times Free Press|access-date=August 28, 2013|archive-date=December 2, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202224154/http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2011/feb/02/lionel-richies-visit-to-the-scenic-city/|url-status=dead}}
• Restaurant: Impossible (Chattanooga Blues episode, shot at the Blue Orleans and was broadcast on February 27, 2020.)

{{div col end}}

Numerous independent short films have been produced in Chattanooga over the last several years, including the following:

• Outcasts (2003){{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
• Assurances (2004){{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
• A Bright Past (2008){{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
• Last Breath (2009){{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
• The Campaign for Chattanooga: Death Knell of the Confederacy (2012){{Citation |last=Wheeler |first=Chris |title=The Campaign for Chattanooga: Death Knell of the Confederacy |type=Short, History |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2264980/ |access-date=2025-01-16 |others=Whit Barr, Emily Marie Palmer, Shane Pinson |publisher=Great Divide Pictures}}
• Ella (2012){{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}{{cite web|url=http://www.wrcbtv.com/story/19075669/movie-filmed-in-chattanooga-to-premiere-saturday|title=Movie filmed in Chattanooga to premiere Saturday|date=July 20, 2012|publisher=WRCB|access-date=June 24, 2013}}

Some TV movies have been filmed in Chattanooga or nearby areas, as well, including the 1986 TV movie A Winner Never Quits.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

The 1999 music video Usher Live, starring Chattanooga native Usher, was filmed in Chattanooga.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} In 2012, the music video for Truck Yeah by Tim McGraw was also filmed in Chattanooga.{{Cite web |date=2012-09-19 |title=Chattanooga filmed Tim McGraw video debuts on YouTube |url=https://www.local3news.com/local-news/whats-trending/chattanooga-filmed-tim-mcgraw-video-debuts-on-youtube/article_2e2fe3ac-5b29-589d-8e50-2ce1843b03fa.html |access-date=2025-02-08 |website=Local3News.com |language=en}}

Chattanooga's sister cities are:{{cite web |title=Chattanooga Sister Cities |url=https://chattanoogasistercities.org/ |access-date=June 27, 2023 |publisher=Chattanooga Sister Cities}}

{{div col|colwidth=30em}}

• {{flagicon|GER}} Hamm, North Rhine-Westphalia Germany (1975)
• {{flagicon|CHN}} Wuxi, Jiangsu, China (1982)
• {{flagicon|ISR}} Givatayim, Gush Dan, Israel (1988)
• {{flagicon|RUS}} Nizhny Tagil, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia (1996)
• {{flagicon|KOR}} Gangneung, Gangwon-do, South Korea (2003)
• {{flagicon|GER}} Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany (2011)
• {{flagicon|JPN}} Tōno, Iwate, Japan (2017)
• {{flagicon|GHA}} Accra, Greater Accra, Ghana (2024)

{{div col end}}

In January 2007, all of the cities above (with the exceptions of Wolfsburg and Tōno) and the former sister cities of Swindon and Ascoli Piceno had a tree native to each locale planted at Coolidge Park's Peace Grove, which was established to replace a 100-year-old Slippery elm tree which was damaged in a lightning storm in August 2006.{{cite web|url=http://www.chattanooga.gov/9_3033.htm |title=Coolidge Park Tree in Danger of Being Replaced |publisher=City of Chattanooga |date=August 9, 2006 |access-date=December 7, 2011}}{{cite web|url=http://www.chattanooga.gov/General_Government/62_PeaceGroveTakesSlipperyElmsPlaceinCoolidgePark.htm |title=Peace Grove Takes Slippery Elm's Place in Coolidge Park |publisher=City of Chattanooga |date=January 5, 2007 |access-date=December 7, 2011}} Wolfsburg and Tōno were added in September 2011 and January 2018, respectively.{{cite web |last=Epps |first=Nordia |url=http://www.wdef.com/content/news/volkswagen/story/Chattanooga-celebrates-sister-city-agreement-with/6uHM9Hg0XEiQFhK2RqOu_g.cspx?rss=3483 |title=Chattanooga celebrates sister city agreement with second German city – WDEF.com; Volkswagen News |publisher=WDEF.com |date=September 27, 2011 |access-date=December 7, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120407131554/http://www.wdef.com/content/news/volkswagen/story/Chattanooga-celebrates-sister-city-agreement-with/6uHM9Hg0XEiQFhK2RqOu_g.cspx?rss=3483 |archive-date=April 7, 2012 }}{{cite web|last=Hunter-Grah|first=Alina|title=Chattanooga greets Japanese Sister City leaders|url=https://noogatoday.6amcity.com/chattanooga-greets-japanese-sister-city-leaders/|access-date=August 28, 2019|date=January 12, 2018}} The Peace Grove has nine trees: a linden tree, which represents Hamm; a Chinese elm, which represents Wuxi; a Mediterranean cedar, which represents Givatayim; a white birch, which represents Nizhny Tagil; a ginkgo tree, which represents Gangneung; an English elm, which represents Swindon; a European hornbeam, which represents Ascoli Piceno; an oak tree, which represents Wolfsburg; and a cherry tree, which represents Tōno.

Chattanooga has friendly relations with:

• {{flagicon|ITA}} Manfredonia, Apulia, Italy (2014)

{{Main article|List of people from Chattanooga, Tennessee}}

{{portal|United States|Tennessee}}

• Benwood Foundation
• Chattanooga, Rome and Columbus Railroad
• Lyndhurst Foundation
• The Steele Home Orphanage
• Underground Chattanooga
• USS Chattanooga, 4 ships
• YMCA of Metropolitan Chattanooga

{{notelist}}

{{reflist}}

{{See also|Timeline of Chattanooga, Tennessee#Bibliography|l1=Bibliography of the history of Chattanooga, Tennessee}}

• Armstrong, Zella. The History of Hamilton County and Chattanooga, Tennessee. (2 vol 1931; reprint The Overmountain Press, 1992)
• Crutchfield, Jennifer. Chattanooga Landmarks: Exploring the History of the Scenic City (The History Press, 2010)
• Desmond, Jerry R. Chattanooga (Arcadia Publishing, 1996)
• Downey, Fairfax. Storming of the Gateway: Chattanooga, 1863 (D. McKay Company, 1960)
• Ezzell, Tim. Chattanooga, 1865-1900: A City Set Down in Dixie (University of Tennessee Press; 2014) 212 pages; focuses on economic and political development
• Govan, Gilbert E., and James W. Livingood. "Chattanooga Under Military Occupation, 1863-1865." Journal of Southern History (1951) 17#1 pp: 23–47. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2198340 in JSTOR]
• Hubbard, Rita L. African Americans of Chattanooga: A History of Unsung Heroes (The History Press, 2007)
• Livingood, James Weston. Chattanooga: An Illustrated History (Windsor Publications, 1981)
• Scott, Michelle R. Blues Empress in Black Chattanooga: Bessie Smith and the Emerging Urban South (University of Illinois Press, 2008)

{{Commons category|Chattanooga, Tennessee}}

{{Wikivoyage|Chattanooga}}

{{AmCyc Poster|Chattanooga}}

• {{Official website|http://www.chattanooga.gov}}
• [https://www.visitchattanooga.com Visit Chattanooga]
• [http://www.chattanoogachamber.com Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce]
• {{cite EB1911|wstitle=Chattanooga|volume=6|pages=7–8|short=y}}

{{Hamilton County, Tennessee}}

{{Tennessee}}

{{Chattanooga, Tennessee landmarks}}

{{Chattanooga, Tennessee sports venues}}

{{Tennessee county seats}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Cities in Tennessee

Category:History of voting rights in the United States

Category:Cities in Hamilton County, Tennessee

Category:County seats in Tennessee

Category:Populated places established in 1816

Category:U.S. Route 11

Category:Tennessee populated places on the Tennessee River

Category:Chattanooga metropolitan area county seats

Category:1816 establishments in Tennessee

Category:Railway towns in Tennessee

Category:Tennessee placenames of Native American origin