Walking the Baby Down Douglas Street
A toddler plays with a chain on a hitching post along Douglas Street. Based on the long shadows of the photographer and companion we know it was late afternoon in winter. Just down the road, the J. C. Berryhill Grocery can be seen at 510 Douglas St., an address that doesn’t exist anymore. Near the corner of East 4th Street, that space is now occupied by the UTC Aquatic and Recreation Center. Berryhill left Chattanooga by 1907 and entered the canning business in California.
Hardtmuth's Cedar Works
Alton Park
…the von Hardtmuths found that labor was cheaper in Tennessee, and that the savings in freights was enormous so that nowadays the greater part of their pencil making is done in Chattanooga.
Franz von Hardtmuth, grandson of the founder of the L. & C. Hardtmuth Company, faced keen competition from Faber pencils and decided to make 'a top-quality pencil that would sell for three times the price of any other pencil in the world.' ... According to one story, it had already been decided that its colors would be those of the Austro-Hungarian flag, and since the graphite was black, the pencil had to be painted golden yellow, which would also remind pencil buyers of the Oriental source of the finest graphite.
First sold in 1890, the Hardtmuth Koh-I-Noor pencil became a tremendous success, especially after it was exhibited at the Columbian Exposition in 1893. Today about three out of four pencils made are yellow, regardless of their quality, but pencils with the Koh-I-Noor name are still sold today.
Source: WONDER WHY YOUR PENCIL'S YELLOW?
The Washington Post - November 15, 1994
Rooftop Photography Studio
The likely photographer, Charles G. Walline, worked at the D. B. Loveman & Co. at the corner of 8th and Market Streets. A series of photos includes mostly young women, but also a few men who we can reasonably assume were all coworkers. The roof provided good lighting. The department store offered easy access to the latest fashions, and willing models to pose.
In this photo – 3 young ladies pose together. The insignia on their hats are likely 'faux military'- in fashion following the Spanish American War.
421 Houston Street
Sometimes we’re fortunate to have clues in the photos. The address 421 is painted on the transom window. Many of the photographer’s photos were taken within walking distance of his home at 107 Payne St., now 607 Battery Place. At the time, and before Riverfront Parkway, Houston St. intersected directly into Payne Street.
This couple's home was likely built after 1904, as it was at that year's Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis that concrete and concrete block gained a wide audience from the building trades industry and average citizens.*
‘Rock Face Blocks’, were often manufactured on-site by portable block making "machines". They were available in mail-order catalogs, including Sears, Roebuck and Co. These machines had interchangeable face plates to create the surface textures.
The rock wall in front of the house is actual stone - likely from the Stone Fort area.
*Source: THE EARLY DEVELOPMENTAL HISTORY OF CONCRETE BLOCK IN AMERICA (Thesis)JAMES P. HALL, BALL STATE UNIVERSITY
Top of Society at the Top of Lula Falls
A group of women pose at the top of Lula Falls on Lookout Mountain. My interpretation of their facial expressions is exuding confidence and wealth. In time perhaps some or all can be identified.
Thanks to the efforts of the Lula Lake Land Trust, established in 1994 by the Davenport Family, this historic area of natural beauty remains intact and accessible to all.
WANTED:
Glass Plates
If you have access to glass plates or film negatives, especially from the Chattanooga area, please contact me about professional free high-resolution scanning.
