Cooper: Another Riverwalk jewel

The new section of the Riverwalk which had its grand opening Friday offers a stunning view of Lookout Mountain.
The new section of the Riverwalk which had its grand opening Friday offers a stunning view of Lookout Mountain.

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Check out the Chattanooga Riverwalk extension with the guys who helped make it in this Facebook Live video.

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* Chattanooga's Riverwalk adds 3 miles of dramatic scenery to popular path * Celebrate grand-opening of new 3-mile extension of Riverwalk

Don't let the industrial area the new, 3.5-mile extension of the Chattanooga Riverwalk wanders through fool you. Although it offers views of Chattanooga's once thriving manufacturing base to the south, to the north are scenic views of the Tennessee River and Moccasin Bend National Archaeological District.

The $16 million extension, which had its grand opening Friday with remarks by Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., and Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke, now connects the former end of the riverwalk behind Cameron Hill to St. Elmo at the base of Lookout Mountain.

Begun in 1987 and now 13 miles long, the riverwalk eventually will create a 270-degree arc around the Scenic City, from the foot of Lookout Mountain to Camp Jordan in East Ridge.

Even though pieces of that arc are uncompleted, each new completed piece speaks to the beauty of the city's setting and the richness of its history, the drive to have such an attraction for residents and visitors, and the generosity of those whose gifts helped make the linear path a reality.

On this particular extension, the Blue Goose Hollow Trailhead recalls a small, black community that produced early 20th-century singer Bessie Smith, who was known as Empress of the Blues, and features a landscaped grass amphitheater where perhaps one day a future Bessie Smith will perform.

The new extension runs behind the new Cameron Harbor community in the shadows of Cameron Hill before reaching the Blue Goose Hollow Trailhead, where parking is available, where Bike Chattanooga will have a station, and where large pieces of art will be installed later this year, then extends behind Alstom and Alstom Park, where Combustion Engineering once occupied 100 acres and more than 1.5 million square feet of floor space, employed 6,000 workers and was the city's largest employer.

The 12-foot path - two feet wider than other Riverwalk sections - then runs in front of PSC Metals, where it moves away from the river, then meanders behind the scrap metal recycling company. It then moves behind the former U.S. Pipe, which employed 345 people as recently as 2005 but now is a mammoth, shuttered industrial site. Back by the river, it offers an overlook, then crawls under Interstate 24, across more former U.S. Pipe property, passes over Chattanooga Creek and winds up at Broad Street in St. Elmo.

While the new sector doesn't have the shady trees within sight of Chickamauga Dam, the flora and fauna of the Amnicola marsh or the views of downtown from the Boathouse restaurant, it has its own charm and connection to the Chattanooga story.

We welcome its completion.

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