Wednesday was Earth Day so I went out to touch some dirt, soak up some sun and vitamin D and marvel at our city’s beautiful outdoors.
In doing so I also discovered Cooper’s Alley, walked under the umbrellas off Chestnut Street, drew a stick man at Chalk Alley, checked out the sculptures at Blue Goose Hollow and feasted on a bratwurst at Brewhaus.
First, I drove to the City Center district in search of Cooper’s Alley.
Back in 2018 River City Company developed an art plan called Passageways 2.0 to enhance certain downtown alleys. The concept was to bring in the arts and create a space accessible to all and to be used by the public in a variety of ways.
Cooper’s Alley was unveiled in November 2018 with its main centerpiece of art called City Thread.
It’s like a continuous green line connecting one end of the alley to the other. According to River City Company it’s constructed from a series of larger, simple steel tubes. It draws you in as it flows through the alley creating separate little spaces yet openly flowing from end to end.
Cooper’s Alley has hosted a variety of community events and there are outdoor patio tables and chairs where you can sit for a meal from one of the many nearby restaurants.
When it was first unveiled, City Thread at Cooper’s Alley was the main draw in addition to a few murals that were painted on the brick walls. Based on some of the earlier pictures I’ve seen I can tell you it looks much different today. Cooper’s Alley now features a lot of graffiti art in bold fonts and colorful tones.
Bright hues of pink, pastel blue, shades of red and grey. It’s still an awesome thing to take in and walk through. Cooper’s Alley is between Market and Cherry Street on 7th Street right next to Shangri-la-Chinese Food (14 E 7th Street).
I hopped back into my car and drove over to the West Village area to walk under the colorful umbrellas at Umbrella Alley. Between 8 Street and MLK Blvd., on Chestnut Street hangs an array of colorful umbrellas and strings of lights. It was beautiful. It’s definitely an Instagram worthy stop for a selfie. I’m going to have to return to see it at night.
Back in my car I headed to Coolidge Park where I drew a little stick figure on the wall at Chalk Alley (that’s the best I can do when it comes to drawing anything at all). There were tons of people enjoying a sunny, cloudless afternoon throughout Coolidge and Renaissance Park.
As I drove from location to location, I noticed that nearly all the streetside utility boxes were painted with different works of art. There was one by Chalk Alley depicting people playing musical instruments. Those utility boxes protect the wires and switches that make the city's traffic signals, streetlights and phones work. And now they are beautiful works of art across the city, thanks to another River City Company project called ArtSpark.
It was time for lunch, so I stopped in at Brewhaus for a grilled brat and potato cakes. I walked in and was greeted by the server. She asked if I was familiar with German food and that sparked a conversation I had not expected. I told her I used to live in a small community in southeast Georgia that has a true, authentic German Restaurant.
Guess what?
Turns out she lived in Hinesville, Georgia and Ludowici (Lou-duh-we-see) when I lived there as well. She attended the private school I used to cover for basketball games and community activities, and we both ate, frequently, at Baldino’s Sub, which is the best sub place in all southeast Georgia.
What a small world it is sometimes.
After a great meal and conversation, I drove out to Blue Goose Hollow Trailhead to sit and take in the scenery. I first learned about Blue Goose Hollow from the Bessie Smith Cultural Center. The original Blue Goose Hollow was a thriving African American residential neighborhood and is most famous as the childhood home of blues legend Bessie Smith. Once home to over 1,000 residents and buildings, the neighborhood was demolished during city growth and industrial development. Today, the area has been revitalized into the current park and trailhead and features two sculptures called Resurgence: A Statement of Celebration.
It’s meant to tie the area’s industrial past with its now stunning and artful future. According to the Chattanooga Parks & Outdoors website, the smaller sculpture is 14 by 14 feet. The larger, monumental sculpture, which is 50 feet tall and 18 feet wide, located along the Tennessee River, serves as a major landmark drawing park visitors’ attention to the stunning panoramic views of the river and adjacent hills. They are incredible.
There are so many neat hidden gems throughout this city, and most are free to enjoy. We should treat every day like Earth Day and celebrate nature, wildlife, art and each other.