Editor's note: Last weekend's NPR story about Main Street set off a firestorm of reaction. Many locals felt the article didn't represent the diversity of the Main Street area and focused only on the negative elements. So we asked photographer Chloe Wright to answer the question, "What does Main Street look like?" She hit the pavement, armed with her camera and complete creative freedom. Our only request: go the distance, from Riverfront Parkway to Dodds Avenue. This is what caught her eye.
Great Dane
Chloe Wright
Gas Truck
Chloe Wright
Firehouse
Chloe Wright
End of the Road
Chloe Wright
Downtown Supercenter
Chloe Wright
Chattanooga Plow Building
Chloe Wright
2021
Chloe Wright
201 W. Main
Chloe Wright
33-8-7.48
Chloe Wright
bobw on Aug. 31, 2009
nice photos, but the strange lack of people (I found 2 total) is unsettling.
mwillingham on Aug. 31, 2009
Interesting... I wonder why no pictures of the "nice" portion of Main St.?
Oskie on Aug. 31, 2009
I was hoping for something that showcased the good parts of main street and not purely the downtrodden elements. Great pictures though.
twitter-14702067 on Aug. 31, 2009
Perhaps because the "nice" portion of Main St. has received news coverage several times before. It is much more challenging to find an aesthetically pleasing view in the unlikely or unpleasant.
Also, don't forget, those "downtrodden elements" are the overwhelming majority of Main St. Keep in mind that those places may be susceptible to positive change.
davastewart on Aug. 31, 2009
Nice pictures. The sky was awesome that day. I would describe several of them more as industrial than downtrodden. Chloe did a great job of finding the "aesthetically pleasing view."
colesweeton on Aug. 31, 2009
Excellent photos. This is a great representation of what most people ignore about Main St.
Sure, Main Street is coming up in the world, but its really hard to say that much of it isn't industrial or rather dilapidated. Only 10% of Main St has been under renovation. Check out the rest... its pretty rough.
r. wright on Aug. 31, 2009
there is too much focus on the elitist area of main street , the majority of the people populating the main street neighborhood are not able to shop or are even welcome in the area that has been improved. the community wants to ignore the real issues with that area by a glitz over and then media focus on the pretty paint and people while ignoring the crime ,poverty and desperation of the area
DavidMorton on Aug. 31, 2009
Excellent photos Chloe. Thanks for putting this project together.
Kordax on Aug. 31, 2009
Chloe, I wonder if you observed any backyard vegetable gardens planted in old garden space plots? Years ago (@ 30), backyards that couldn't be easily seen on & near Main St from a passing car sported collard green gardens, chicken coops, stands of corn, tomatoes, lettuce, turnip greens and other vegetable grown by urban people with country roots.
maryon h wright on Aug. 31, 2009
as the editor said, the assignment was to cover main from dodds to riverfront parkway. so right now, this is main st. whether we think it is pretty or not.it is a worthwhile project to show what is really there
hannahg on Aug. 31, 2009
Chloe, awesome photos! I am very pleased that you did not snap any pics of the new renovated, "green" areas. What I see is the Main St that I remember from Chattanooga. Although the updated areas are great, they have not done anything to lessen the divide between Chattanooga's elite and Chattanooga's poverty and destitution. I spoke with some Chattanoogans who were bothered by NPR's Main Street article, feeling that it gave the town a bad rep. Ignoring problems is what society does best and that is an ignorant and idealistic solution. Good work, Chloe!!!
stevaker on Aug. 31, 2009
Whether you agree with the content or feel the photos represent Chattanooga's Main Street section of town positively or negatively, they are GREAT photos, nonetheless. Great work Chloe! Do you currently have a web-portfolio?
twitter-14702067 on Aug. 31, 2009
My site isn't up yet, but you can check out some of my work at www.flickr.com/chlobotphoto
twitter-3447841 on Aug. 31, 2009
Chloe's excellent photography represents the Main Street I see every day on the way to and from work: industrial, cluttered and a bit run-down... but not harsh - and still somehow inviting. Main Street is a vital Chattanooga artery for both transportation and commerce, and the beauty of Main lies in its ability to provide something for everyone. Bars and restaurants, offices and factories, stores and homes, Main Street brings together people from different cultures and socio-economic backgrounds more successfully than any other area in Chattanooga. Diversity at its best.
facebook-778753528 on Aug. 31, 2009
After 3 years of examining Main street as part of my neighborhood, I find these images quite accurate. I would have liked to see more people, but the buildings stand alone with no people the majority of the hours. Weekends and evenings that's all we see. I'm glad to see the Downtown Mart and T-Bone's. I agree with Chloe that the "nice" part of Main has been photographed quite alot. I enjoy the quite hum of asleep businesses, these pictures show us that part of Main.
Margen Laratta on Aug. 31, 2009
These are my feelings as well. I live here and, as someone who prior to this lived in suburbs all her life, I don't feel that the urban neighborhood I live in next to Main Street is a harsh, scary, or dangerous environment. I like living here.
theegarten on Aug. 31, 2009
Well, while I agree, Katie, that the revitalized part of Main Street has gotten a lot of press, I don't know that for the NPR audio doc it was given an even treatment for that audience. I think what I would have rather heard was more of both - the revitalized and the un-revitalized. I realize they had a time constraint, but they didn't tell the whole story, and if I had not heard about this from living here, I could easily get the wrong impression of what was going on here. As for there being a lot of pictures of the revitalized part of Main Street, there are, but I also have taken plenty of pictures of the not-yet-revitalized Main Street. Focusing on that with no photos to balance it out in this place (regardless of what others have done) doesn't do us any good any more than the one-sided NPR piece.
John Hawbaker on Aug. 31, 2009
I agree, the photos are fantastic. Thanks again.
Little Napoleon on Aug. 31, 2009
Thank you, great pictures. I noticed recently that the garage on Main St. just before it goes up Missionary Ridge took down the car wrapped around a telephone pole that it had displayed since the early 70's. I remember hearing that the accident happened when two cars were drag racing down North or South Terrace, one of them lost control, and slammed into the pole. It was an incredible site - the car had been going so fast it wrapped completely around the pole, and it looked like a doughnut with a stick through the middle/
frad on Sept. 1, 2009
I think the funniest is the reaction to the original NPR story.... The only people in Chattanooga who actually listen to NPR are now shocked and dismayed what the rest of us already know.. NPR does not practice journalism.. they push agendas. GO OBAMA!! The principles behind the original story claim they spent 2 weeks in Chattanooga... And they talked to Brother Ron... who ever that is and if really is at Community Kitchen he is no where near Main Street... but I digress....
Hey kids.... NPR is an agenda driven media outlet. Go Obama! Sorry it hurts so bad when it hits so close to home.
Fred on Sept. 1, 2009
Chloe's pictures are crap also... Id like to see each one of them again that was not digitally altered.
A real photo journalist does not digitally alter their images.
twitter-14395223 on Sept. 1, 2009
I guess you must be a "real" photo journalist then huh Freddy. How about offering creative criticism next time or perhaps showing us some photos you've taken. I'd also love for you to show me one image that's appeared in mainstream media in the last 3 years that wasn't in some way digitally altered. Good luck.
Awesome job Chloe! I think 20/21 is my favorite in this set. Great composition!
joelance on Sept. 1, 2009
I submit that old-school photographers who used different filters, lenses, film, and darkroom techniques were doing nothing materially different from today's digital "alterers." Each process creates an image that adheres to some ruling set of goals. If you want a "naked eye" view, there's usually the option of going to the site and viewing the object of your choice in person.
I do think that an image or two of the revitalized area would have increased the set's completeness, but I also understand the photographer's choice to exclude them.
facebook-146900541 on Sept. 1, 2009
Great pics. Glad it wasn't another "Main Street is My Jesus" puff piece.
That was one damn sexy homeless man you found in pic 22
twitter-14702067 on Sept. 1, 2009
Hey, Fred, or Frad or whatever.
You're probably trying to piss me off, considering the audacity of your comment. However, my photo's aren't digitally "altered". If that includes adjusting exposure, contrast and cropping, just like I would do/have done in a darkroom with an enlarger, filters and exposure time, then you clearly don't know anything about photography or production.
twitter-14702067 on Sept. 1, 2009
The revitalized 1.5 blocks of Main St. is not completely excluded from the photo set. If you'll take a look, there's a shot of the Firehouse and of a Main St. Art sculpture. To have anymore than two photos of the "revitalized" area of Main, would have been unfair, considering that I was asked to photograph the entirety of Main St., not just the 10% that has become so popular.
The lack of people illustrates the real Main Street. I wasn't asked to photograph the "people of Main" but the street. If I'd been asked to photograph people, then I'd probably have photographed the prostitute that stands at the end of my street on S. Highland Park and Main or the crack dealer who stands on the corner of Central and Main.
If you think that the new revitalized part of Main was left out, then you should consider walking from Dodds Ave to Riverfront Parkway and see how much of the cleaner newer Main you actually see.
Let's face it. The people who've inhabited Main for the last decade are being displaced so the rich can have a new play place. This isn't a cute story, its the American way.
mwillingham on Sept. 1, 2009
Chloe,
I thought you did a great job and I really enjoyed the pictures. You made something I drive by everyday seem interesting again.
But your last paragraph is a little odd. Is it wrong for people to invest in areas because they are dilapidated? Should the "rich" just stear clear of all the bad parts of town? Think of North Chattanooga about 15 years ago. It was crap, but now it's nice. Highland Park used to be all crap, now it's only half crap. Same with St. Elmo. Why is that wrong?
atrowbri on Sept. 1, 2009
Mike, You are, self described, "a huge Republican and I am politically to the right of almost everyone I know. " so I'm not going to waste time explaining urban design and growth strategies that do not rely only on moving richer people in and displacing people already in the area, I'll just note that they exist, you know they exist, so you're not really asking for information, you just want to be disagreeable.
twitter-14702067 on Sept. 1, 2009
My words weren't clear enough, Mike. My bad.
It is not, absolutely, not wrong for people to invest in dilapidated areas of town. Buildings should be saved and utilized, there is no part of me that will try to justify dead space.
I lived in North Chattanooga 13 years ago, I know what it was like.
I'm just saying, the SOHO, GreenSpaces, Niedlovs, Alleia, they are not for the people who have inhabited Main St. since prior to their installment.
It is not a negative movement, Main St. turning money and building up, it's just the way it is.
I only wish people wouldn't ignore the undercurrents.
mwillingham on Sept. 1, 2009
What the hell? I was genuinely curios as to what she meant. She did a fine job explaining herself below. Just because I'm conservative, I can't ask questions?
mwillingham on Sept. 1, 2009
Thank you Chloe. That was a fine answer.
Robert T. Nash on Sept. 1, 2009
I think Ms. Wright's Main Street photo set is interesting...From my perspective the very real "problem" with Main Street is the undeniable FACT no leading edge types "pioneered" living and working there before the current foundation-facilitated big bucks gentrification - such as it is - got underway. I think anyone who takes an in-depth objective look at what is going on down there will come away with the conclusion that what is being billed as "organic" is actually very contrived...I'll close by saying all you Lyndhurst cheerleaders still have ample opportunity to put your money where your mouth is and buy a house down there...
doodleking on Sept. 1, 2009
Chloe you are so right, maybe no one remembers the Union Gospel Mission that was forced to move to allow the property values to increase, or the the other businesses that lost leases when it was decided to improve that part of Main Street.
The poor will always suffer for the desires of rich.This is the way of the world.
stevaker on Sept. 1, 2009
Fraud,
Since you obviously didn't do much research before you posted your response, let me give you a hand.
The Chattanooga Community Kitchen is a freestanding social service agency focused on meeting needs. Brother Ron Fender is the Community Kitchen's Day Center Manager as well as a spiritual and social advocate for homeless people in the area. The Community Kitchen and Brother Ron ARE actually relevant to the NPR Main Street piece because Brother Ron knows the couple mentioned in the story since they are both homeless and one being a prostitute working on Main Street.
I hope this clears things up for you.
Stevaker
P.S. It's good to see that you have so much political spirit and excitement for President Obama, even after the election.
Chris on Sept. 1, 2009
I know of several who have, in the last six months.
stevaker on Sept. 1, 2009
I'm not sure why some people are making this a "party specific" issue. Main Street is run down because of poverty, attrition, apathy and social circumstances not because someone is a Democrat or a Republican.
I think your question was valid, Mike...but that's just me!
Britt on Sept. 2, 2009
Chloe, I just wanted to say thank you. Since moving to the area, I've been rather uninspired by the amount of photography focused solely on scenic, "nice" areas of downtown, and touristy landmarks. I think you've captured a very real and honest part of this city - whether anyone can appreciate the beauty in that or not. I know where my camera and I will be next week.
Zack Littlefield on Sept. 3, 2009
These photos are really beautiful. Some of them have a very "Lynchian" quality. Thanks for sharing these - and keep up the great work Chloe!
Jim Kimball on Sept. 8, 2009
Very nice pictures Chloe. We ran by Main street this morning at 4:50. It is a great area in transition. Your pictures picked up the diverse flavor of it very well.
archwillingham on Sept. 13, 2009
""a huge Republican and I am politically to the right of almost everyone I know. "...umm, and that's a bad thing? :)
archwillingham on Sept. 13, 2009
Cool pictures.....been working on Main for 25 years (see picture 21) and its come a long way. My mom got mugged in our parking lot about 15 years ago by a transvestite. We used to be able to tell the temperature by the number of hookers that were sitting on the wall across the street (the building is now gone) - the warmer the weather, the more hookers were out there.
Say what you want about the metamorphosis but we are now able to walk to lunch without worrying about getting accosted.
youngmonster on Oct. 13, 2009
These pictures are lovely. Really good looking shots - composition is tite etc etc. I do wanna see people though. But if that wasnt the point then it wasnt the point and I can respect that.
Its really amazing that everyone has so many opinions on this and are getting so wild! That means you did a hell of a job Chloe. Good content. Good shots. Provocative stuff. Let the haters hate!
The fact that every one has a story cos of the pix makes it even better.
Bingo