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Friday, October 30, 2026Oct 30

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Remember When, Chattanooga? Streetcars crisscrossed the city from St. Elmo to Riverview

This July 7, 1943 photo shows three unidentified women standing in front of the Boyce Streetcar, which was retired in 1947. Photo contributed by Arlene Rogers and ChattanoogaHistory.com.
This July 7, 1943 photo shows three unidentified women standing in front of the Boyce Streetcar, which was retired in 1947. Photo contributed by Arlene Rogers and ChattanoogaHistory.com. This July 7, 1943 photo shows three unidentified women standing in front of the Boyce Streetcar, which was retired in 1947. Photo contributed by Arlene Rogers and ChattanoogaHistory.com.

Streetcars on hilly streets.

For most Americans those four words evoke visions of San Francisco.

But for an 80-year stretch spanning the end of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, Chattanooga was also a streetcar town.

Today’s photo, submitted by Times Free Press reader Arlene Rogers, is an image of the Boyce Streetcar, the last Chattanooga streetcar in operation before the trollies were replaced by city buses.

Rogers said the snapshot was found in a small envelope of photographs given to her about 25 years ago by a now-deceased church friend. The envelope also contained last week’s “Remember When, Chattanooga?” photo of Glass Street in East Chattanooga.