COO and curator David Davidson, right, and President Johnny Smith tour the construction of the Songbirds guitar museum which will be located at the Chattanooga Choo Choo off of Station Street on Thursday, Nov. 3, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn. When it opens, the museum will house vintage and collector guitars from all eras of music.
Barry CourterJohnny Smith had the nervous energy of an expectant father last week watching the new Songbirds sign going up on top of the space the guitar museum will occupy at the Chattanooga Choo Choo.
Full disclosure: The sign, a 47-foot wide and 13-foot-tall neon number, was fabricated by Ortwein Signs, which is owned by my sister and brother-in-law. The sign is cool and will definitely get people’s attention, but the excitement last Tuesday was also about what it represents.
It means we are that much closer to getting one of the coolest things to come to town in a long time.
I’ve been telling people about this museum for almost a year, so I understand when Smith says, “People don’t get it yet, just what this will be. There is no place like it in the world.”
The collection has more than 1,700 guitars valued at more than $200 million. Some are from a private collection, and some are on loan. Some are valuable because of who owned them or because of their place in history. Sometimes those two things merge.