Editor’s note: second in a series of four.
Chattanooga leaders took a bold step forward when they employed famed landscape artist and civic engineer John Nolen to create a system of parks, green spaces and playgrounds for the city.
On Friday, Oct. 28, 1910, the Chattanooga News announced that Nolen had opened “his office in the ante-room to the mayor’s office” and would be working closely with “various civic leagues, the City Beautiful Club and other organizations” as he designed a plan for the city.
The following day, John A. Patten, president of the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce, welcomed Nolen to town as he hosted a luncheon in the “landscape artist’s honor” at the Hotel Patten. Guests included members of the City Parks Commission and the Chamber of Commerce Parks Committee, as well as other civic leaders interested in greenspace improvement. After hearing the details of Nolen’s vision of parks, parkways, rest spaces and playgrounds, the attendees were “convinced that this city must make the investment.” The strongest selling point for the plan came from the expert’s statement that an investment in parks would earn “substantial returns” from the standpoint of both local citizens and travelers attracted to the city’s natural beauty, as enhanced by a system of parks and pathways.
(READ MORE: Local History: Chattanooga parks envisioned more than century ago)