Finding History

What is actually “historic”?

Buildings are considered “historic” if they are 50 years old or older, but there is more to know. For example, let’s say a real estate agent tells you about a wonderful historic house for sale. It’s very important to found out whether the house is one of three types:

1. Simply old.
   It can be beautiful and have a rich history, but there is no formal historic designation. It can be inappropriately altered or demolished.

2. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places or located within a neighborhood that is recognized as a National Register District.
   This means it has been formally recognized as important historically after being nominated and undergoing state and federal reviews. However, National Register designation does not protect a building from inappropriate alterations or demolition.

3. Located within a Local Historic District.
   Local Historic Districts have design guidelines and oversight by a local historic zoning commission. In this case, any alterations must comply with the design guidelines and demolitions are typically not allowed.

   This applies to commercial buildings as well. Commercial buildings that are certified historic through the National Register process may be eligible for tax credits when being rehabilitated. There are rarely any type of financial incentives for residential properties.
   

Where are Chattanooga’s historic neighborhoods?

Chattanooga has four Local Historic Districts: Battery Place, Ferger Place, Fort Wood, and St. Elmo. These residential neighborhood are protected with design guidelines and oversight by the Chattanooga Historic Zoning Commission.

There are other residential neighborhoods that not Local Historic Districts, but are National Register Districts. These include Glenwood, Missionary Ridge, Signal Mountain Historic District, and Stringers Ridge. There are also National Register Districts that are mostly commercial in nature. These include the Downtown Chattanooga District, Market and Main District, Market Square-Patten Parkway, ML King Boulevard District, and Stone Fort.

Where are Chattanooga’s historic buildings?

All over. You can quickly see a list of National Register listed places in Hamilton County on Wikipedia. It probably won’t surprise you that Terminal Station, the Hamilton County Courthouse, the Tivoli Theater, and the Walnut Street Bridge are all listed. However, there may be some surprises such as Williams Island, the W Road, and the Audubon Acres site. It’s good to get to know what is historic in the place you call home.