Terminal Station (Chattanooga Choo Choo)!

What Is Terminal Station (Chattanooga Choo Choo)?

Today, this is the Chattanooga Choo Choo hotel!

What Makes It Historical?

So, technically, this hotel was only inspired by the famous 1941 song by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra, because it wasn’t turned into the Choo Choo Hotel until 1973! But before that, it was the Terminal Station, which served the Southern Railway through Chattanooga, and that was a key part of the “Chattanooga Choo Choo” song!

Trains first started coming through Chattanooga in the 1850s and used the Union Depot, which has since been demolished. The Terminal Station went up between 1906 and 1908, designed by New York architect, Don Barber, in a beaux-arts style. The Railway then asked him to redo the interior to match New York’s National Park Bank! After some court battles over building overpasses to protect nearby neighborhoods, the station finally opened on December 1, 1909!

At its height, this station was terminus for 17 train lines, including the Pelican (New York to New Orleans), the Royal Palm (Cincinnati to Miami), and the Birmingham Special (New York to Birmingham)! This third line was the last to leave the station in 1970 after the rise of the automobile in the 1950s and ’60s had gutted recreational train travel! After three years, and a brush with demolition, the 24-acre complex got a makeover and now serves as a hotel and convention center!

How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?

Stay the night at the Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel!
Donate to Chattanooga Historical Society!
Be a responsible visitor! Please respect the signs and pathways, and treat all structures and artifacts with respect. They’ve endured a lot to survive into the present. They’ll need our help to make it into the future!