This 1989 photo featured in the Chattanooga News-Free Press recalls a time when the Tennessee riverfront downtown was little more than a muddy shoreline.
This image of a fisherman, taken by former newspaper staff photographer Laura Walker, appeared on the cover of the local news section on March 7, 1989. The caption was headlined “Angling Into Spring.”
In the ensuing two decades, the area of downtown pictured here would be transformed into a tourism, business and park district anchored by the Tennessee Aquarium, which opened in 1992. After that, the area continued to evolve, with the opening of the Chattanooga Visitors Center in 1993, the Creative Discovery Museum in 1995 and the IMAX 3D Theater in 1996.
Two of the three bridges in the photo would also be transformed. In 1993, the Walnut Street Bridge, in the middle, was reopened as a pedestrian bridge after being idle for many years. The Market Street Bridge (also known as the Chief John Ross Bridge), in the foreground, was painted “Chattanooga blue” and refurbished.
History enthusiast Sam Hall, curator of ChattanoogaHistory.com, said he recovered this photograph from an estate sale. It, along with other photos in the “Remember When, Chattanooga?” series, are archived at the website.