Excitement rose as the R.H. Hunt design for Chattanooga’s City Hall became known to the public. After occupying three temporary sites, the city would now have an impressive structure designed and built specifically to house its executives, including the commission and judiciary staffs on a permanent basis.
The building design combined functionality with simple elegance. The main Eleventh Street entrance stood on the second floor and was reached by a wide flight of steps leading up to three large square doors. Over each portal was a balcony enclosed by stone balustrades and supported by large ornamental brackets. The central portion of the building featured four columns, two stories in height, with large classic stone pediments incorporating moldings and details. The side entrance off “A” Street, now known as Lindsay Street, was similar in design but much smaller and had only a single door and balcony.
On the frieze just above the main entrance were the words “Chattanooga City Hall.” The side wings were complemented with three bays of triple bronzed windows augmented with stone piers and ornamental stone capitals. The overall impression was one of permanence and purpose. The interior was judged by the press to be “as handsome as is the exterior as Mr. Hunt has placed special emphasis so as to form commodious and convenient quarters for the present and future needs of the city.”
On February 8, 1907, a Chattanooga News headline announced an official notice from the Board of Registration commissioners calling for “Chattanooga’s million-dollar bond election for Tuesday, March 12.” The registration books would be open in several city wards on Saturday, Feb. 16, and the following Monday and Tuesday, to allow all citizens to qualify for voting in the election. The newest Chattanooga Directory supported commissioner statements regarding “growth and progress” and noted that the bond issue for the city hall was “absolutely assured and gaining in public favor. Even those citizens who have heretofore thought that a city hall is not a necessity are changing their minds … .”