Urban Renewal

Urban Renewal. . Throughout the late 19th and into the middle 20th century, residential neighborhoods existed alongside the riverfront factories. Housing was especially dense along the slopes of Cameron Hill in a neighborhood called the West Side. The families of wealthy, northern born businessmen and factory owners lived on the upper heights of the hill. Working class families, most of whom were African American, occupied homes along the hill's lower slopes. Shops, schools and churches were established in these neighborhoods and served as centers for working class life. The neighborhood also served as a center for African American politics., Over the years many of the homes, owned in large part by absentee landlords who rented to working families, began to show signs of neglect and decay. By the early 1950s, many white political and community leaders had begun to argue major changes were needed. In November, 1955, Chattanooga Mayor Rudy Olgiati announced that the city had received funding from the United States Government to execute an Urban Renewal plan., Despite Chattanooga's relatively small size, its West Side Urban Renewal project became the 12th costliest ($10,667,000) and 5th largest (410 acres) in the United States. During the project, work crews demolished more than a 1,000 homes, 196 businesses, 21 churches, 2 schools, 2 community centers, 1 hospital, and 1 mental health clinic. At the same time, workers dug away the top of Cameron Hill to provide dirt for the major Interstate (I-24) and Federal Highway (U. S. 27) projects. In the end, nearly 1,100 families were displaced. Those with ample assets found new suburban homes on Signal Mountain and other outlying neighborhoods. Despite promises that their new housing would be an improvement over their old West Side neighborhoods, most African American families were forced to find housing in the most polluted sections of the City., Captions: , Bottom left: The West Side during the Golden Gateway Urban Renewal project. The prominent street down the center is West 14th Street. This view shows College Hill, College Hill Courts, the Newton Community Center and the James A. Henry Elementary School 1959-1960. , Right (clockwise from top right): , . The Golden Gateway , . City promotors touted the benefits of the Golden Gateway in a variety of ways. , . (Map of project area) , . Homes and manufacturing plants on the west side of Cameron Hill. Photograph by William Stokes. Circa 1900. , . The West Side neighborhood about 1910. , . Site plan for the Golden Gateway Project. , All images Courtesy of the Chattanooga History Center