Chattanooga Facts
Fact 1: Moon Pies and RC Cola – partial credit goes to Chattanooga for these two Southern treats. In the early 1900's a Chattanooga Bakery salesman targeting miners as prospective buyers listened to their suggestions and helped create Moon Pies, two graham cookies dipped in marshmallow and coated with chocolate. By the 1950's, the snack was a big hit.
Fact 2: "Rock rising to a point" is how the Creek Indians described Lookout Mountain. "Chattanooga" is a variation of their word for this "rock," located six miles from downtown.
Fact 3: Point Park on Lookout Mountain features many memorials to the brave soldiers who fought in the Civil War. One such tribute is the only statue in the country to show a Union soldier and a Confederate soldier shaking hands.
Fact 4: With a full stretch of half a mile, the Walnut Street pedestrian bridge is the longest pedestrian bridge in the world. The bridge, constructed in 1890, was originally designed to convey people and vehicles between downtown Chattanooga and the North Shore neighborhoods. Today this scenic stretch is popular with joggers, walkers, and sightseers thanks to its stellar views of Coolidge Park and the Tennessee Aquarium.
Fact 5: Chattanooga has become a destination for shoppers throughout the southeast. In addition to a Prime Outlets, the Northgate Mall, and the Eastgate Mall, the city is home to Hamilton Place, the largest shopping mall in Tennessee.
Fact 6: Chattanooga is home to the world's largest freshwater aquarium. The architecturally striking building enhances downtown's Riverwalk and is often compared to the Guggenheim Museum in New York City. Learn about the Tennessee River from its source deep in Appalachia to its mouth in the Mississippi Delta.
Fact 7: Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, located on Lookout Mountain, is both the oldest and the largest national military park in the country. Since its establishment in 1890, it has become a model for all of the nation's other military parks.
Fact 8: In 1929, a local explorer discovered an underground cavern that included a massive waterfall. He named the 145-foot falls "Ruby" in honor of his sweetheart. Today, Ruby Falls, located 650 feet beneath Lookout Mountain, is one of Tennessee's most popular attractions. It is the highest underground waterfall in the world.
Fact 9: Today many visitors to Chattanooga drive up Lookout Mountain, but once upon a time, the only way to the top was via the incline railway. You can still take a breath-taking trip aboard this train, which is the steepest incline railway in the world. Near the top of the mountain the grade is 72.7% – very nearly vertical.
Fact 10: See the world's largest collection of decorative pitchers in downtown Chattanooga at the Houston Museum of Decorative Arts. The museum's patroness spent her life collecting the pitchers, as well as other pieces of porcelain, ceramic, and glass. Upon her death she willed her home and the collection to "the people of Chattanooga."
