During the American Civil War Chattanooga was a major rail hub and at the center of a number of pitched battles. These battles are remembered through numerous battlefield parks and Civil War attractions located in and around the city. In more modern times, the city has received national recognition for the renaissance of its once dilapidated downtown and redevelopment of its riverfront. An early cornerstone of this project was the restoration of the historic Walnut Street Bridge, which is now the world's longest pedestrian bridge.

Chattanooga is the corporate headquarters and home of Olan Mills, Rock Creek Outfitters, Krystal, Chattem, UnumProvident, The Chattanooga Bakery (home of the Moon pie), and Miller Industries, the largest tow truck manufacturer in the world. Chattanooga is also home to the Tennessee Valley Authority, a self-funding government agency which operates numerous power plants in the South. Following the city's industrial decline, many businesses in the banking and insurance industries set up operations in Chattanooga. The city is home to large branch offices of Cigna, Blue Cross, AT&T and UBS.

Within the last ten years the city has won 3 national awards for outstanding "livability", and 9 Gunther Blue Ribbon Awards for excellence in housing and consolidated planning. As of the census of 2000, there are 155,554 people, 65,499 households, and 39,626 families residing in the city. There are 72,108 housing units at an average density of 205.9/km (533.3/mi). The racial makeup of the city is 59.71% White, 36.06% African American, 0.29% Native American, 1.54% Asian. 2.11% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Education

Universities and Colleges
 • University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, 615 McCallie Avenue - A public university, UTC is the second largest campus in the University of Tennessee system.
 • Chattanooga State Technical Community College - A publicly funded junior college.
 • Covenant College - A private Christian college.
 • Tennessee Temple University - A private Christian college.
 • Miller-Motte Technical College

Non-Conventional Institutions
 • 212 Market Restaurant, 212 Market Street, telephone 265-1212. Offering monthly cooking classes.
 • Mia Cucina-The Place for Cooks (literally: "My Kitchen" in Italian), 307 North Market Street, telephone 423-265-4474. Offering several cooking classes per month, with the majority of them starting at 6:30pm. Private classes for groups are also available. Students receive a 10% discount on merchandise the day of their class, as well.

Internet

Many of the city's parks have WiFi hotspots in them. See WirelessInTheParks.com for more information regarding this venture.
 • Coolidge Park - The area centering around the Carousel is a Wi-Fi Hotspot thanks to the City of Chattanooga and AirNet Group . It uses 802.11b. WEP security is turned off.
 • Grey Friars Coffee - Using 802.11a/b. SSID "Greyfriar24"
 • Chattanooga Choo Choo/Holiday Inn - Located at 1400 Market Street.
 • Panera Bread - Located near the Target in the Hamilton Place Mall Area. 1810 Gunbarrel Road. Also at  417 Market Street, Near Jack's Alley
 • Stone Cup Roasting Company - Located in the Northshore Distinct. 224 Frazier Avenue.
 • The Walden Club - 633 Chestnut Street, 21st floor. The Walden Club is a members-only restaurant in the Republic Center.
 • University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Lupton Library - Located at the center of the UTC campus offering 802.11b on an open network.
 • Barnes & Noble - Near Hamilton Place Mall at 2230 Hamilton Place Blvd.
 • Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport
 • Holiday Trav-L-Park - Free 802.11 WiFi for all campers.  Located near Northgate Mall, next to the TJ Maxx strip mall. 620 Northgate Mall.
 • The UPS Store - Located near the Best Buy in the Hamilton Place Mall Area. 2288 Gunbarrel Road. May require subscription to Boingo Wireless service
 • Krystal Restaurants - Nearly every Krystal Restaurant in the Chattanooga area.
 • McDonald's - Service is $9.95/day or $29.95/month through the provider Wayport .  2003 Dayton Blvd in Red Bank; 4502 Rossville Blvd, 6220 Lee Hwy; 1117 E 3rd Street. This location very close to Erlanger Hospital and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga campus. (However, it is also the slowest McDonald's on the face of the earth.)
 • Amigo's Mexican Restaurant - Located in Hixson at 5450 Highway 153.

Medical

The Chattanooga area has three major hospitals:
 • Memorial Hospital, 2525 de Sales Avenue, 495-2525 - Their main hospital is located minutes from downtown Chattanooga. Memorial is a part of the Catholic Health Initiatives.  • Memorial North Park Hospital, General Number: 495-7100, Patient Information 495-7124, Patient Room Direct 495-7+ROOM#. Located in the Hixson community in the North part of Chattanooga.
 • Memorial North Shore Health Center, 756-1506. Located West of Coolidge Park off of Cherokee Blvd. They are open M-Fr, 8:30am to 4:30pm.
 • Erlanger Hospital, 975 East Third Street, 778-7000 - Their main hospital, the Baroness Campus, is located just a block from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga campus, minutes from downtown. Erlanger is a non-profit, academic teaching center and is a Level One Trauma Center for adults. Erlanger maintains the LifeForce Air Ambulance, the region's only air medical service.
 • T.C. Thompson Children's Hospital, 778-6011. Located next door to Erlanger, T.C. Thompson's is the only hospital in the region with immediate availability of pediatric sub specialists, providing a special environment of healing for all children.
 • Erlanger North Campus, 778-7811. The North Campus is located in the next-door city of Red Bank North of Downtown Chattanooga.
 • Parkridge Medical Center, 2333 McCallie Avenue, 698-6061 -

Get Out

Nearby:
 • Ocoee, TN. A popular destination for water sports such as white water rafting and kayaking, as well as fishing.
 • Cleveland, TN. 30 minutes North of Chattanooga. M&M Mars has a plant here.
 • Dalton, GA. Home of SHAW Industries, one of the world's largest carpet manufacturers.

Not quite as nearby, but still reasonable:
 • Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Explore acre upon acre of forested mountains with a 2 hour drive North.
 • Knoxville. About a 2 hour drive.
 • Nashville. About a 2 hour drive.
 • Atlanta, GA. About a 2 hour drive. (Including Marietta, Decatur and Stone Mountain)

Chattanooga Aquarium

 • Getting In & Around
 • Attractions
 • Activities
 • Dining & Drink
 • Shopping

Weather

Summer (Jun-Aug), average temperature of 80F (27 C), with maximums in the low 100s (38). Scattered thundershowers quite often appear and disappear almost as quickly, sometimes dropping almost an inch of rain in 30 minutes or less.
 
Autumn (Sep-Nov), average temperature of 61 F (16 C).

Winter (Dec-Feb), average temperature of 40 F (4.5 C), with a number of days below freezing (32 F, 0 C). Very little snow or ice in the valley, but fairly often in the higher elevations such as Lookout and Signal Mountains. Almost any amount of snow or ice in the valley will stop nearly all activity in the city.

Spring (Mar-May), average temperature of 59 F (15 C).

Media

Newspapers
 • Chattanooga Times Free Press. This is the city's mainstream newspaper providing local, regional, and national news.
 • The Pulse - Chattanooga's Alternative Newsweekly is available free in over 250 locations throughout the city. Provides local civic news, arts, music and entertainment, with a weekly calendar of events. All content as well as expanded calendar listings and dining guide is available online as well.

Radio
 • WUTC - Transmitting at 88.1 FM and located on the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga campus, WUTC is a National Public Radio (NPR) affiliate. When not playing NPR programs, the format is a mix of blues, jazz and alternative music.
 • WAWL - Transmitting at 91.5 FM, streaming on the web and located on the Chattanooga State Technical Community College campus, WAWL's format is college radio at its best with a very wide variety of music and with specialty shows in the afternoons and evenings. Requests at 423 697-4406 are very welcome.

Stay safe

The Chattanooga Police Department operates a police precinct located on Walnut Street in Downtown Chattanooga.  The Police Department's Traffic Division uses patrol cars without emergency lights on their roof. Instead they have numerous blue lights mounted in the front grill and rear window.

Law Enforcement
Of course in any emergency situation, call 911!
 • Chattanooga Police Department, the non-emergency number is 698-2525.
 • Hamilton County Sheriff's Department, For matters outside of the city limits. 209-7000
 • Hamilton County Jail, The Hamilton County Sheriff's Department administers the jail. For information, contact 209-7050