In 1965, the recently merged Trinity-Woodmore Methodist Church needed more room for its 600 members.
This photo, dated December 1965 and taken from the archives of the Chattanooga News-Free Press, shows a new sanctuary being built on the North Moore Road property. The finished building was occupied in the first half of 1966.
“We were new members when the Moore Road building was built,” said Clint Cooper, a former religion editor and current opinion writer at the Chattanooga Times Free Press. “I remember sliding under the just-installed pews, from pew to pew, on the slick new floor with the preacher’s youngest son.
“The sanctuary, when completed, had beautiful blond wood paneling, pews, chancel rails and a cross design above the choir loft,” Cooper said. “My recollection is that the original carpeting and pew cushions were a sort of turquoise. It had a center aisle, a narthex and a balcony. The approach from North Moore Road was up wide, long stairs leading to thrust double doors and single doors on either side.”
The photo is part of a gallery of Chattanooga Free Press images showcased at ChattanoogaHistory.com, a website curated by local history buff Sam Hall.