Open Blog Post To The City

That's a good idea. Dig it.

how does ADM feel about your idea? I know some peeps on the inside if you're serious...

sounds awesome, but i dont understand what silos u are talking about

I must confess I think the silos you speak of to be some of the most beautiful photographic subjects in the city: so heavy, menacing, symmetrical, utilitarian, and monochromatic -- with great shadows.

I've always liked those silos. In fact, just a day or two ago I was driving along McCallie. At a stoplight I looked toward the south and there were some low grey rain clouds obscuring Lookout, a lone ray of blinding light illuminating the silos, and, I swear, they were gorgeous. But, then again, I like silos. Some might call me a silo man.

This is not a bad idea. It strikes me as similar to this concept even though it incorporates still-functional industrial facilities. The basic point to both is one of being proud of an industrial past (or present, for that matter; future?) and allowing the physical attributes of that industrial past to be "Scenic" instead only having them contrast with the natural scenery.

Joe/CRM,

I confess that I'm a bit enamored with the/our industrial past. My heart sank a bit to see the Wheland Foundry come down. I though the city should have taken it and found the money to make it a museum to our industrial past. What a tourist attraction that would be. You can just see the thousands of field trips taken there by 6th graders learning about the industrial revolution.

So I guess in some sense I'm really with you CRM, but I like the idea of having "Chattanooga" on them, almost like we're boldly declaring that we're a city with an industrial past, and even though its fading somewhat, we will remember it.

make it so

Why not try to get chattablogs put up there? It would fit as well.

Back in the day, the way back day, when the train track were the life blood of the city, there were signs over the market street bridge that read:

"Chattanooga: Dynamo of Dixie."

True fact.

So, how about uniting the silo's visual prominence, the tinsle twinkle of a big, lit-up sign and Chattanooga's idustrial history with:

The sign Josiah described and the motto in quotation marks beneath AND...a blinking "V-I-S-I-T" above it all, and to the left.

v i s i t
C H A T T A N O O G A
dynamo of dixie

With this new addition to the skyline, Chattanooga could then be hummed to sleep, true to Chattavegas form, by the florescent angels of the night.

flourescent angels of the night. ...sigh... silos are poetic. i am on both sides of this - a big lover of public art and outdoor mural projects - but huge lover of natural industrial raw essense. i hated when they had to paint over the gorgeous patina on the market street bridge. but i think in part that was not simply a matter of aesthetics - i think there was some practical reason to paint over the beautiful aging blue-green hue accented by browns and yellow from the dripping erosion. fortunately i have some pictures of it as an aging beauty.

I'm with CRM and mary on the silos' industrial beauty. Josiah, how does this relate to your desire for a big phallic "Coptix" sign in St. Elmo? And no, I don't like the word 'Chattanooga' too self referential in an already vain town. How 'bout a big elvis head on one, then the Madonna on the other side? Oh, and the Elvis should be lit from within if at all possible.

oooohh! hows about one of those Magic Eye paintings! With all those shadows, shapes and curves on the silos it is ripe for some optical illusion making! and i'm with mark - no more we-love- ourselves branding for Our Towne. especially if they spell in the 21st century way of late: ChattaNEWga...

oh come on, what's wrong with a little civic pride? I'm proud of my neighborhood and I'm proud of my town, and quite frankly, I'm ok with people when they visit to know that we're proud of our little corner of the world. I mean, I wish more people were proactive about their city and neighborhoods.

now now - i'm very very proud of our town and neighborhood. i don't think any visitor or resident doesn't feel it themselves, especially now with our proud new waterfront. hows about something a little more interpretive, abstract and original on the barrel-chested silos then just the same ol nooga?? don't ask me what it is....

Hey, I'm all for that too. But howya gonna do it on silos? U gotta admit, they're kinda perfect for big letters spelling out our name.

It's a practical suggestion, too; these letters could serve as an aid to those suffering from short-term amnesia.

"Where am I? What city is this? Am I in the south? Are there any Choo Choos nearby?"

And the answer would come, as always, from above. In neon.

Josiah. make it happen.