If you go
› What: Museum Hop.› When: 10 a.m-6 p.m. Friday.› Where: Six Chattanooga-area museums.› Admission: $10 (free to first 30 registrants).› Register: 423-894-8028 or www.tvrail.com.
With stops to see trains, guitars and a glass collection amassed by a woman with nine husbands, you might think Chattanooga's inaugural Museum Hop was inspired by a country song.
Nope, laughs the event's organizer, Amy Autenreith, director of the Houston Museum of Decorative Arts.
The combination of sites, she says, is "just kind of how it fell together."
The inaugural event, scheduled all day Friday, will guide visitors to six of the city's museums: the Houston, Songbirds Guitar Museum, Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum, Bessie Smith Cultural Center, Charles H. Coolidge Medal of Honor Museum and the 6th Cavalry Museum.
Autenreith says she modeled the idea after a Free Museum Day sponsored annually by Smithsonian Magazine.
"I didn't really get much in return for my effort for doing that for the day, so it got me thinking about other ideas," she says. "I liked the thought of us working together."
Admission to all six museums that day is $10, a savings of more than $50, but you must be registered to pay that price. You'll get a passport to stamp at each stop and a T-shirt boasting "I Hopped Them All" with the last stamp.
With eight hours for six tours and the drive time around town, there may not be time for deep exploration of any one place, but Autenreith says the idea is to stoke interest in the museums among local residents. If this year's event is a success, she expects next year will expand to other museums and an extra day to tour.
Museum Hop stops
› Charles H. Coolidge Medal of Honor Heritage Center: Stories of heroes, courage and patriotism are told at this facility dedicated to the history of the highest and rarest military decoration awarded by the U.S. president — from the first awarded by Abraham Lincoln in 1863 to present-day recipients. 4900 Hixson Pike; 423-877-2525, mohm.org› Songbirds Guitar Museum: This priceless collection of rare vintage guitars, augmented by audio and visual effects, features an extensive anthology of permanent and revolving exhibits, including the most complete collections of Fender and Gibson electric guitars that exist. You’ll find many other brands as well, along with rare custom colors, prototypes and instruments with famous owners. 35 Station St.; 423-531-2473, songbirdsguitars.com› Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum: Experience the romance of the rails from the “Golden Age of Railroading” as you tour the display yard to see steam and diesel locomotives as well as passenger and freight cars. Although there probably will not be time to ride a train while on the “Hop,” they offer train rides ranging from one hour to nine hours and with varying destinations. 4119 Cromwell Road; 423-894-8028, tvrail.com› Bessie Smith Cultural Center: Highlights at the Bessie include cultural heritage, historical documents and artifacts portraying African-Americans’ contributions to Chattanooga and the nation. The museum also captures reflections of African-American history through photography by local artists of life before the 1800s to the present day. Its performance hall is dedicated to its namesake “Empress of the Blues.” 200 E. M.L. King Blvd.; 423-266-8658, bessiesmithcc.org.› 6th Cavalry Museum: Experience the days of soldier and steed at this museum, which preserves the military history of the “Fighting 6th” Cavalry. Long before there was the city of Fort Oglethorpe, there was the Army Post, where the 6th Cavalry was permanently stationed from 1919 to 1942. The Post’s parade ground is surrounded by officers’ quarters and many original buildings. The museum stocks authentic weapons, uniforms, photographs, documents, a fully restored 1944 Willys Jeep and M-47 Patton tank. 6 Barnhardt Circle, Fort Oglethorpe; 706-861-2860, 6thcavalrymuseum.org.› Houston Museum of Decorative Arts: The Victorian residence in the Bluff View Art District contains one of the finest collections of antique glass, ceramics and pottery in the world, as well as many other kinds of rare and unusual antiques. The collection is a tribute to the determination of one extraordinary woman who spent half a century putting it together, Anna Safley Houston. The almost unbelievable story of her life, her many marriages and the hardships and deprivation she willingly accepted for the sake of preserving her collection is told here. 201 High St.; 423-267-7176, thehoustonmuseum.org
"One of the biggest issues our museums have - and almost every museum on this list will tell you - is that we get people from Atlanta and Nashville and Knoxville, we get people from all over the world, but what we keep working on is what do we need to do to get local visitation in our museums. Basically, we're looking at driving local visitorship."
Anyone who associates museums with art depositories may be surprised by the variety of unexpected masterpieces in store at the museums, each of which carves out its own slice of history.
"If we can open the doors to the museums and and let everybody see the depth and the breadth and the diversity of history enclosed in these museums, I think we'll have done our job," she says.
Contact Lisa Denton at ldenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6281.