(Editor’s note: Second of two parts)
As interested Chattanooga residents watched the Hotel Patten rise against the city’s skyline, Chattanooga Hotel Company General Manager C.T. Alexander assured that the luxury hotel would open on April 1, 1908. And, Alexander’s promise proved accurate.
The initial event, a formal reception hosted by the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce, was held on April 1, and the new staff had “everything in good running order.” Comments from the attendees confirmed that the large corps of staff had been well-trained and “knew their places” so that the guests were impressed with the “most luxurious hotel” in the South.
The Chattanooga Star covered the event and praised its developers. “… the new Hotel Patten is opened for business. This is an event in the history of Chattanooga … The Star, in common with the community at large, has a feeling of pride that such a splendid hostelry as the Patten should have been erected by local men and local capital. Every dollar that went into this house was made here, and it is our wish that it may so succeed that it will bring back to its owners many thousands more in return for their investment.”
Z.C. Patten, J.T. Lupton and J.A Patten, who had replaced Ross Faxon as an investor, were applauded in local and regional newspapers.