Built in 1915, this historic building was donated to our organization by the City of Chattanooga along with $80,000 that would have been spent on demolition. Preserve Chattanooga stabilized the structure and sold it. Now it is home to the popular St. John’s restaurant and is credited with being the catalyst for revitalizing the Southside area of town.

Built in 1883 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Preserve Chattanooga purchased the property for $250,000 and spent $500,000 stabilizing the structure. Valued at $1.5 million, the Central Block Building was gifted to the Greater Chattanooga United Way in 2002. The renovation had a major impact on the revitalization of Market Street with a total investment of $3 million.

Currently a PreserveNEXT opportunity, the former home of Burchay’s Furriers has 1,800 square feet of its original 4,800 square feet remaining. The City of Chattanooga donated the c. 1900 building to our organization which was originally scheduled for total demolition for the City’s Fourth Street Boulevard project. Preserve Chattanooga saved the limestone Richardsonian Romanesque façade by investing over $400,000 in its renovation.

Preserve Chattanooga assisted with the preservation and adaptive reuse of the historic Park Place School by providing a structural assessment Realizing that vacant, abandoned older properties can be intimidating for potential buyers, the report verified the stability of the structure and helped convince a new owner to invest in the renovation of the property.

The Passenger Freight Depot on 13th Street was a gift from the City of Chattanooga. Preserve Chattanooga found a new owner and today it is home the popular Urban Stack restaurant.

In 2005, Preserve Chattanooga facilitated an agreement with the then property owners (Hamilton County and City of Chattanooga) to save the roof of the historic stadium. Preserve Chattanooga invested $40,000 and each government entity invested $5,000. This action saved the abandoned structured from becoming unstable and bought time for the Engel Foundation to organize. In 2012 the venue was used for filming a movie. The stadium is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is now owned by UTC. Preserve Chattanooga gave an additional $20,000 in 2013 to the Engel Foundation. The structure is still threatened and remains on our PreserveNEXT list.

Preserve Chattanooga worked closely with Fisk University in selling The First Congregational Church Building. Founded in 1867, our organization nominated the building to the National Register of Historic Places and completed Part I for historic tax credit eligibility. Preserve Chattanooga, in conjunction with the Lyndhurst Foundation, invested $80,000 in its preservation.

A LEED certified project, Preserve Chattanooga completed a historic structures report and worked with the family heirs in dealing with the depilated property. Our organization, in conjunction with the Lyndhurst Foundation, provided $100,000 toward renovation costs.

In 2014, Cornerstones became aware that the historic tavern, listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the oldest standing structure in Chattanooga, was being sold. There was a serious development threat to the two-story log structure built in 1803. Preserve Chattanooga purchased the structure for $70,000. The Tavern was then purchased by the American Battlefield Trust. Federal and state matching grants were assembled to make this acquisition and about nine acres of surrounding land along Brown’s Ferry Road. The site is included in the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail.

Built in 1888, the structure opened as the Delmonico Hotel before reopening as the Ross Hotel in 1925. It became famous as the place where William Jennings Bryan, a U.S. Secretary of State and the anti-evolution attorney in the Scopes Trial, died taking a nap. Our organization encouraged the use of federal tax credits and commissioned an engineering study of the derelict building to illuminate what a rehabilitation would require for prospective buyers.