Walnut Street Bridge
The Walnut Street Bridge connects downtown Chattanooga and North Chattanooga and played a major part of Chattanooga’s history.
Built in 1890, the bridge is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Years ago the bridge was referred to as the “county bridge” because it connected the white population of the south side of the bridge with the black residents on the north side.
Today people walk the bridge for exercise or gather for wine tasting events, cross from the Hunter Museum of American Art to the locally owned specialty shops of North Chattanooga with little thought of what the bridge represents in the history of Chattanooga.
Valentine’s Day in 1893, three years after the completion of the bridge, Alfred Blount, a black man, was lynched and hanged from the first span of the bridge for allegedly attacking a white woman.
In 1906, on March 19th, Ed Johnson, a black man, was lynched and hanged from the second span of the bridge again for allegedly attacking a white woman.
For anyone interested in the full story of the lynchings and the impact they had on the country, local attorney Leroy Phillips (now deceased) co-authored Contempt of Court: The Lynching that Launched a Hundred Years of Federalism.
Perhaps those two horrific incidents added to the significance of our town supporting Black Lives Matter with flags representing the movement in the summer of 2020.
In 1978, the bridge was closed to vehicular traffic because of its deteriorating condition. For almost a decade the bridge reigned as a useless eyesore on the community before the bridge was opened to the public as a pedestrian bridge after repairs were made. In 2010 the asphalt was replaced by wood planks. And, today the almost half-mile long bridge is the walker’s gateway between the arts district in downtown Chattanooga and the boutiques of North Chattanooga.
The view across the Tennessee River (north looking southwest) from the Walnut Street Bridge shows the Market Street Bridge, also known as the John Ross Bridge.
A view of Coolidge Park below the west side of the Walnut Street Bridge. Coolidge Park is the home to many community gatherings from music events to movies under the stars. It is also the starting point of many sponsored walks to support various causes.
Most often Coolidge Park is a gathering place for pickup frisbee games, families enjoying a day out, and walkers getting in a few extra steps.
Almost every Chattanoogan has enjoyed walking the bridge on a day out. It has become an integral part of our downtown and is central to connecting the art district with the cozy north shore.
The Walnut Street Bridge has become a joy to us as walkers.
