Underground city beneath Chattanooga is more than a curiosity

SEEKING HIGHER GROUND As devastating floods chronically ravaged young Chattanooga, residents and business owners took it upon themselves to keep their city on dry land. March 7-11, 1867 — Rain falls for four days, ushering in the largest flood in city history. The Tennessee River crests at nearly 50 feet — 28 feet above flood stage — inundating downtown. “This calamity should rather be an incentive to new efforts,” a newspaper article states, saying that city leaders plan to have “the grade of every street in Chattanooga … raised to a sufficient height above the level of this flood to preclude the possibility of any part of the city ever being again submerged.” March 1875 — The river reaches over 20 feet above flood stage, with a crest higher than 42 feet. After this flood, city leaders agree something more drastic has to be done, and they begin weighing the idea of building a levee or raising the grade of the soil. April 1886 — More than 4,000 suddenly homeless residents are taken by boats to higher ground at Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge as the river crests at over 20 feet above flood stage. April 10, 1886 — An editorial in the Chattanooga Daily Times bemoans the haphazard process of raising the city’s street level. “We have hitched up a corner here, a block there and part of a block yonder, each bringing a lawsuit for damage … confusing builders so they cannot tell what height to put their first floors.” March 1917 — The river crests at about 18 feet above flood stage. Many homes and businesses are flooded, with water skimming rooflines along Rossville Boulevard. 1920s — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers surveys several sites for a possible dam to protect the city from floodwaters. May 1933 — President Franklin D. Roosevelt establishes the Tennessee Valley Authority, which begins to harness the river through the construction of dams over the next decade. Sources: TVA, newspaper archives UNDERGROUND SPOTS These are just a few of the downtown buildings that have basements or access to underground chambers that were once ground floors. All of these building are privately owned, with no outside access to the public. The Bijou, now the Chattanooga Visitors Center, 215 Broad St. Big River Grille & Brewing Works/Bluewater Grill, 222 and 224 Broad St. The James Building, 721 Broad St. The Read House, now the Sheraton Read House, 827 Broad St. The Sports Barn, 301 Market St. The Miller Brothers building, now BlueCross BlueShield, 629 Market St. The Loveman Building, 800 Market St. Fischer Evans Jewelers, 801 Market St. Scenic City Mini Golf, 21 E. Seventh Street