City Center in Chattanooga in Hamilton County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)

Looking Back

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, May 10, 2025

1. Looking Back Marker

Inscription. March 18, 1896, saw the beginning of a new street railway company in Chattanooga. In time this company would rival the much older and more reserved Chattanooga Electric Company Railway. Above (photograph circa 1905) the Sherman Heights line stops at the Chattanooga National Bank in downtown.

July 4, 1934, the last day for trolley operations on Signal Mountain. Motorman Hugh Parks is bringing up the car for the last time. The next day the “ugly duckling” supplanted the streetcar on Chattanooga's most scenic car line.

Photographs and historical information are provided courtesy of David Steinberg, the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Bicentennial Library and the Chattanooga Regional History Museum

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Railroads & Streetcars. A significant historical date for this entry is March 18, 1896.

Location. 35° 2.725′ N, 85° 18.634′ W. Marker is in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in Hamilton County. It is in City Center. It is at the intersection of Broad Street and West Martin Luther King Boulevard (Tennessee Highway 316), on the right when traveling south on Broad Street. Marker is in the

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Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority's Krystal Building bus stop. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 100 W M.L.K Blvd, Chattanooga TN 37402, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the original Cherokee Nation,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Crutchfield House (a few steps from this marker); The Chattanooga Rotary Club (a few steps from this marker); a different marker also named Looking Back (within shouting distance of this marker); The Union Depot (within shouting distance of this marker); Site of Crutchfield House (within shouting distance of this marker); Military History of Chattanooga (within shouting distance of this marker);

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, May 10, 2025

2. Looking Back Marker

Read House (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Sit-in Movement of 1960 (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Chattanooga.

Another marker is no longer nearby. First Union Occupation of the City (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been confirmed missing).

Streetcar No. 302 image. Click for full size.

Will Stokes; via Chattanooga Public Library (Public Domain), June 17, 1918

3. Streetcar No. 302

Chattanooga Railway and Light Streetcar No. 302 and three unidentified women on the corner of 8th and Market Streets in Chattanooga.

Credits. This page was last revised on May 17, 2025. It was originally submitted on May 16, 2025, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 158 times since then and 14 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on May 16, 2025, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. 3. submitted on May 17, 2025, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.