Chattanooga vs. Knoxville: The Smackdown Intro

Chattanooga Skyline from Lookout MountainImage by SeeMidTN.com (aka Brent) via Flickr
Chattanooga Skyline

Last week I mentioned, in a post available below, that I recently took a trip to Chattanooga and it changed my perspective on both Chattanooga and Knoxville. I’ll say at the outset that I’m comparing the main portion of Chattanooga by the river, mostly up and down Broad and Market Streets to our downtown. That may not be a fair comparison to someone who knows Chattanooga well, but, as I’ll explain, it is a fair comparison for my comments.

I’d previously visited this area of Chattanooga many times for various reasons from concerts, to trips to tourist attractions to work-related conferences and short day trips for fun. I was a bit jealous of the area I mentioned above. Why couldn’t Knoxville do something similar? I accepted that it was a long, hard climb to be as cool as Asheville, but Chattanooga? How could we let this happen?
I think there was a discussion on Knoxnews within the last year and I spoke up for Knoxville, but in my heart I remembered how pleasant our visits to Chattanooga had been and I secretly knew they had it over us going and coming.
Eastward view of the skyline of downtown Knoxv...Image via Wikipedia
Knoxville Skyline – Image via Wikipedia

Of course, I know downtown Knoxville much more intimately than I did the last time I traveled to Chattanooga. It had been four years since I really looked around their downtown. Among the other things that have changed in the interim is the astounding development we’ve experienced. Both cities have their assets and both have their problems, their similarities and differences. A simple walk through their downtown revealed plenty of each.
 
So I’ll do a little comparison and contrast. I’ve set a poll at the top which you might wish to vote now or you may choose to wait until you’ve read the next couple of posts. Should any of my Chattanooga readers wish to enlighten me, I’ll welcome that. All I’ve got are my honest impressions, so that’s what I’ll give you. Tomorrow we’ll do similarities between the two and I’ll follow that on Thursday with differences and a conclusion.

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