(Editor’s note: First of two parts)
On April 4, 1906, Z. Cartter Patten, John T. Lupton and Ross Faxon announced that the Stone Fort Land Company would construct a major hotel in Chattanooga. The release coincided with news of a new wave of projects designed to promote the city as exploding with business opportunities and providing an excellent magnet for tourism. In addition to the hotel, the announcement referenced the Central station, the James “Skyscraper” and the increased flow of power from the “Hale’s Bar” electric power company. The Chattanooga Daily Times declared the city was beginning the new year with “a rush” forward.
The new fireproof hotel was designed to include 200+ rooms with substantial amenities including private baths in each room, several eateries, a bar, an expansive hotel lobby and dedicated electric and power plants. The project began as a consortium of investors, including the three local entrepreneurs and “several outside parties.” S.M. Chambliss, legal adviser for investors, shared that “they felt satisfied that there was not a better city in the South from a hotel man’s point of view and that there was nothing of greater benefit to Chattanooga.” Local leaders heaped praise on Patten, Lupton and Faxon, although Faxon would step aside shortly afterward due to substantial financial losses from the April 18 San Francisco earthquake.
By August 1906, construction permits were finalized. Plans for the 12-story Hotel Patten were carried in more than a thousand newspapers across the country. Patten and Lupton received “many felicitations on the beginning of the work.” Cartter Patten observed that the news stories alone provided “thousands of dollars as an advertisement, both for the city and the hotel.” The building permit signed that day – listing $500,000 with a possible $600,000 final cost – carried the highest dollar value in Chattanooga history. City Hall employees flocked to view the ceremony.
Associated Press newspapers later carried an interesting story about the announcement. When an AP news bulletin was sent to one city, it was routinely routed to every office on the circuit. After Chattanooga’s AP operator released the information about the planned hotel teletyping a projected $600,000 cost, the line was interrupted by a “cut out” from the Knoxville AP operator, who asked the operator if he had mistyped and meant $60,000. The Chattanooga operator responded that a “$600,000 proposition was a small thing for Chattanooga,” and asked him to open the wires. Knoxville’s response was “GEE!” The wires hummed with the news.
Geographic rivalry was common. After a remark by Birmingham officials referring to Chattanooga as the “noogy” due to its shortage of “hostelries,” a Chattanooga Daily Times editorial responded: “Our boastful neighbor need only to wait for a short time before it will have to take a back seat to that same ‘noogy.’ When the new Hotel Patten has been completed, not a public house in any city of the south will be able to compare with it … . In fact, Chattanooga is going to crowd up close to its enterprising Birmingham neighbor in all respects within the next two years.”
Construction began immediately, with the Chickamauga Construction Company handling the excavation. Southern Railway purchased the extra soil and transferred it to the area around its new depot. Rock blasting began, and much of the stone was retained for the building’s foundation. Architects and draftsmen expected all details to be completed and approved by Aug. 17, when building construction could begin. And promptly it did with few interruptions, as Superintendent George Baker Long, a well-known builder from Boston, commanded his team of skillful construction masters, journeymen and craftsmen. He, along with Manager C.T. Alexander, assured Chattanoogans that Hotel Patten would open April 1, 1908.
In October 1907, Z.C. Patten offered a hint at the opulence of the hotel by holding a reception for renowned Atlanta artist Charles Rousse, who had been commissioned to create 16 historic panels for the new hotel lobby. Ten of the 16 paintings had been completed and transported to the artist’s new studio. Each painting, 16 feet wide and seven feet high, depicted a scene from a Chattanooga battlefield. All were based on early military dispatches, photographs or diary recordings. After addressing the press and guests at the reception, Rousse headed to Lookout Mountain, where he planned to sketch the view from Point Park. The remaining six panels were to be completed by Jan. 1, in time to be installed before the spring opening.
Linda Moss Mines is Chattanooga-Hamilton County historian. For more information on local history, visit chattahistoricalassoc.org.