Arts and culture abound in Chattanooga

Chattanooga, Tenn., offers so many arts and cultural activities that you will need a few days just to fit it all into your visit.

The Hunter Museum of Art, located at 10 Bluff View, houses the south’s largest collection of American art. From paintings to sculpture, you will find something to capture your imagination.

Jellies: Living Art is a joint effort of the Hunter Art Museum and the Tennessee Aquarium. The mysterious creatures from the sea are paired alongside some breathtaking glass sculptures inspired by nature.
For more information on the museum, go to www.huntermuseum.org or call 423-267-0968. For more information on the aquarium, go to www.tnaqua.org or call 800-262-0695.

Near the museum is the Bluff Art District, which is located on the bluffs above the Tennessee River. This thriving art district has galleries, museums and restaurants. A unique part of the district is the working kitchens, which include a bakery, a pasta kitchen, a candy maker and a coffee roaster.

The River Gallery Sculpture Garden is located in the district. The artwork featured changes and the selections are available for purchase. The latest display is sculptures by Andrew Crawford of Georgia.
Art tours are offered in the Southside District to give you an overview of the area. The Chattanooga Art Tour offers access to art studios for a one-of-a-kind experience. You can meet artists in their working environment and get a behind-the-scenes look at what goes into creating their artwork.

Our stops included glass artist Christopher Mosey at 1800 Rossville Ave., Suite 4, and Cessna Decosimo and Elizabeth Roger’s studio. It was so interesting to see Mosey as he worked on a vase. I didn’t realize so much work goes into each piece. He has some beautiful work. It was also enlightening to go behind the scenes in Cessna and Elizabeth’s work space. Both are very talented artists.

For more information on the art tour, go to www.chattanoogaartstour.com or call 423-413-1579.

While in the Southside, drop in at Create Here. Be sure to check out the old-time cigarette machine in the back. For just $5, you can buy an original piece of artwork, including paintings, dolls and paintings. I got a small gold weight made by metal casters in Ghana.

Chattanooga has plenty of unique shopping opportunities. I spent a few hours checking out some of the cool shops in the North Shore area. Among my finds were some great priced jewelry at Go Fish; a funky purse at blue skies; and ice cream at Clumpies. You can get to the North Shore area by walking along the Walnut Street Bridge, the world’s longest pedestrian bridge.

During your trip, also check out some of the entertainment at the Nightfall Concert Series which offers free live entertainment in the downtown area. We enjoyed a fun night listening to Nation Beat. The schedule includes a variety of headliners and music at Miller Plaza. The performances are held on Friday evenings beginning at 7 p.m.

WHERE TO EAT

Chattanooga offers some wonderful culinary experiences. Among the restaurants I checked out were:

•The Station House at The Chattanooga Choo Choo where you can get a great meal and some wonderful entertainment. The servers provide entertainment—taking off their aprons and taking the stage throughout the evening. Our servers performed selections from the Mamas and Papas, Elvis, Juice Newton and K.C. and the Sunshine Band. Entrée choices include Atlantic Salmon, which I chose, and filet mignon. The restaurant also offers a great salad and shrimp bar that has a lot of variety.

•East Bistro, located in downtown, has a great raw bar. We opted for a dozen east coast oysters and they were wonderful! Just thinking about it makes me want some right now. As an entrée, I had salmon and shrimp. Both were great.

•The Chattanoogan Hotel’s Broad Street Grille is a great lunch spot. Get the buffet to sample several of their favorites. The sweet tea brined rotisserie chicken is so good. The sassafras pork chop is also wonderful. They offer a unique twist on Southern favorites. The dessert offerings on the buffet include cherry cobbler and a cheesecake lollipop.

•Back Inn Café in the Bluff View Art District is located in a historic mansion and offers global cuisine. The turbot fish with lobster risotto in lemon butter sauce was wonderful. Other choices were the Martin Steak House and chicken breast stuffed with spinach mousseline cream. For dessert, the peanut butter pie and Italian creak cake were delectable.

•Rembrandt’s Coffee House in the Bluff View Art District is a great spot to sit outside and enjoy some delectable pastries and house-roasted coffee. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are offered, and you can dine indoors or outdoors. We had a lovely breakfast outside on the garden terrace. What a wonderful, relaxing spot.

•Hennen’s is located downtown and has a lot of variety on its menu, including fresh seafood and steaks. The Tuna Nicoise was a delight. The Ahi tuna steak is grilled and served over potatoes, asparagus, black olives and grape tomatoes with a balsamic glaze.

•The Chattanooga Market offers fresh, local produce, as well as handcrafted arts and crafts. It’s a great to pick up some local food to make your own feast. Strawberries, green onions, zucchini and cucumbers are among the produce we bought. It was all great. The market also has live music, a free rock climbing wall and special exhibits. The market is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays and is located in downtown Chattanooga beside of Finley Stadium. For more information, go to wwww.chattanoogamarket.com.

UNIQUE ACCOMMODATIONS

Chattanooga has some of the most unique accommodation options to be found, including a historic riverboat, an antique rail car and a tree house in the sky.

The 82-year-old Delta Queen riverboat is no longer cruising the river but it is docked in Chattanooga and is open as a hotel. It’s a unique experience to be able to stay overnight in a national historic landmark. Tours are also offered of the Delta Queen, which was the last steamboat powered riverboat in operation, and the restaurant is open to not only guests at the hotel but other visitors as well. The Delta Queen Hotel is located at 100 River Street. For more information, go to www.deltaqueenhotel.com or call 423-468-4500.

At the Chattanooga Choo Choo, visitors can stay in an antique rail car on the grounds. Four dozen restored passenger cars are decorated in Victorian style. These rooms have queen size beds and day beds. For information, go to www.choochoo.com or call 423-266-5000.

The Chattanooga Nature Center offers overnight stays in the Peddler’s Perch, a “tree house” or elevated cabin located on Lookout Creek. It is accessible by kayak, as well as by car. Not only overnight guests, but visitors alike will enjoy the nature center, which is a quiet retreat surrounded by natural beauty. Reptile exhibits, an amazing tree house, 45 native animals, a forest boardwalk, canoeing and hiking trails are among the highlights. We spotted red wolves, owls, a bald eagle, hawks and a bobcat on our journey through the nature center. The center is located at 400 Garden Road. For more information, go to www.chattanooganaturecenter.org or call 423-821-1160.

For more information on visiting Chattanooga, go to www.chattanoogafun.com or call 800-322-3344.