Memorial project to honor legacy of Ed Johnson

(nooga.com) - A group of citizens has formed a collective to honor the memory of a man who was lynched on the Walnut Street Bridge in 1906.

The Ed Johnson Memorial Project seeks to promote "racial healing and reconciliation in Chattanooga by creating a permanent memorial."

The memorial would also honor the work of the attorneys who stood up for equal justice and the legacy of the landmark United States Supreme Court case that "established federal oversight of state-level civil rights issues then and now." Read more.

Debate continues about location of Charles H. Coolidge Medal of Honor Heritage Center

(nooga.com) - The potential Charles H. Coolidge Medal of Honor Heritage Center is drawing opposition for its proposed location. 

More than 1,000 people have signed a petition in support of not building the new center in Coolidge Park—but there is another petition, which had almost 350 signatures as of Sunday night, in support of the center and its location. 

Center officials are requesting to lease a portion of Coolidge Park from the city and county to build the two-story museum. Read more.

Former Chattanooga History Center building to hold temporary Monster Fish exhibit

(nooga.com) - Like the greatest fishermen, Tennessee Aquarium officials needed a bit of luck and timing to land their newest exhibit.

National Geographic's Monster Fish: In Search of the Last River Giants will open Oct. 1 in the River Place Building, formerly the proposed site of the Chattanooga History Center. Read more.

Chattanooga's Riverwalk adds 3 miles through city's abandoning "rust belt"

(Chattanooga Times-Free Press) - As a naturalist at the Tennessee Aquarium, John Dever said, he often served as a guide on the River Gorge Explorer cruises up the Tennessee River pointing out features on the riverbank. But Friday morning he got a chance to see the riverbank up close, as a new $16 million, three-mile section of the Tennessee Riverpark officially opened to the public. Read more.

Picnooga eyes nonprofit expansion, museum, archives for local history

(chattanoogan.com) - Chattanooga's history is a microcosm of the American story: controversial; violent; filled with ambitious leaders, tremendous successes and abject failures.

And as city leaders continue to plan for a technology-based thriving future for Chattanooga, the lessons of the past serve as reminders of how far we've come. Those history lessons, when viewed in hindsight, can help determine the best path to where we're going.

Picnooga, an online history organization, thinks Chattanooga's history is worth preserving. Read more.

Officials Mum On What Happened To $10 Million Donated For Chattanooga History Museum

(chattanoogan.com) - Officials associated with the Chattanooga History Center have been mum about what happened to some $10 million that was donated for a world class facility that never materialized.

Kim White, president of the River City Company, said the downtown development group is looking for a new tenant for the valuable space by the Tennessee Aquarium.

She said History Center officials "have let us know they don’t have the funding to proceed." 

The facility, under former director Daryl Black, was touted as a state-of-the-art presentation of Chattanooga's compelling history. Read more.

Military Parks Host Living History Programs Labor Day Weekend

(chattanoogan.com) - Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park invites the public to attend a variety of living history programs taking place at Point Park, on Lookout Mountain, and at Chickamauga Battlefield during Labor Day Weekend, Sept. 3 & 4.

Point Park will host living historians on Saturday, Sept. 3, and on Sunday, Sept. 4, who will share the experiences of Confederate soldiers on the mountain during the Siege of Chattanooga. Read more.