Skip to main content
Tuesday, November 10, 2026Nov 10
Subscribe
All Sections
Search
More

Westin hotel is latest use for signature downtown tower [photos]

High atop the Westin Hotel in Chattanooga, Tom Underwood, left, Richard E. Pauley sit in the open-air bar/restaurant called Alchemy, on the 10th floor.
High atop the Westin Hotel in Chattanooga, Tom Underwood, left, Richard E. Pauley sit in the open-air bar/restaurant called Alchemy, on the 10th floor. High atop the Westin Hotel in Chattanooga, Tom Underwood, left, Richard E. Pauley sit in the open-air bar/restaurant called Alchemy, on the 10th floor.

By Mike Pare 4 min read

Atlanta architect John Portman and BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee each broke new ground on Chattanooga’s “Gold Building” in the late 1960s, a key worker on the project recalls.

“Classical styles were still popular in Atlanta and Chattanooga,” said William Kampmeier, who was the resident engineer inspector during the building’s construction. “It was very unusual for an insurer to have a glitzy office.”

Earlier this month, the 10-story tower at M.L. King Boulevard and Pine Street reopened as a Westin hotel, refashioned by DeFoor Brothers Development as part of $88 million being spent in that end of downtown.

DeFoor Brothers has added about 30,000 square feet to the former BlueCross headquarters, including a second-floor pool. The Westin hotel owners also are putting in condominiums and a high-end restaurant across Pine Street, and they helped pay for new streetscaping in the area.

The DeFoors have revamped the building interior from offices to hotel rooms and restaurants, but the distinctive gold exterior remains much as it looked when the structure first opened in 1970.