A Brief History of Aviation in Chattanooga
Chattanooga has a rich aviation history dating back to the early 1900s. Along the way, the airport changed locations twice before settling on Lovell Field’s present location.
Chattanooga’s first rudimentary airfield was located in what is now Rossville Blvd area in the early 1900s. Chattanooga’s first commercial airfield, at Marr Field, was dedicated in December 1919. Named for Walter L. Marr, it was located off what is now present-day Amnicola Highway, between the railroad and Dodson Avenue north of Glass Street. Chattanooga was a stopover on the Contract Air Mail route served by Interstate Airlines between Atlanta and Chicago.
But Marr Field turned out to be situated in a poor location. During one ten-day period, there were three plane accidents at Marr Field. The field was condemned because of adverse air currents and only two directions for landing and taking off. To keep Chattanooga included on national transportation and air mail routes, a new airport was needed.
John Lovell was president of the Kiwanis Club, was one of the founders of the Chattanooga Community Advertising Association and was president of the Chattanooga chapter of the American Red Cross. His interest in aviation was sparked when he took one of the first flights ever in Chattanooga on a fragile aircraft built and flown by Johnny Green. The flight originated at the old airport on Rossville Boulevard around 1912. From that time on, Mr. Lovell maintained an ardent interest in aviation. Mr. Lovell was named president of the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce in 1933 and headed the Aeronautics Committee from its inception in 1917 until his passing in 1947. He also was a member of the Tennessee Aeronautics Commission.
Mr. Lovell campaigned for a $250,000 bond issue for a new airport to be constructed. In 1927, he brought Charles Lindbergh to Chattanooga to generate interest, a major public relations coup. He later brought in World War I fighter pilot ace and Eastern Air Lines executive, Captain Eddie Rickenbacker. The bond issue went over with a greater majority than any ever voted in Chattanooga. After consulting with engineers and pilots, the current location was decided upon. It was the site of a farm owned by Dr. J. B. Haskins. The purchase price for the land was $29,000 ($461,000 in 2021 dollars). The “nominal” fee for the land allowed Mr. Lovell and his team the budget to build an outstanding airport.
The new Chattanooga Airport opened with an unpaved runway at its present location in 1930 and was named Lovell Field in his honor. Airmail service began only a month after Lovell Field opened. In 1936 the landing area was expanded and runways paved as a part of the New Deal's Works Progress Administration (WPA). The original terminal building was also built at that time. When the airport re-opened in 1937, passenger service started.
During World War II Lovell Field was a military training facility. Growth in aviation in the 1950s led to a transfer of airport operations to the City of Chattanooga and airport expansion with a new runway, the primary runway today. The original terminal building was expanded in 1950 and again in 1955 by the city before being replaced by an all-new terminal in 1964.
Stewardess and unidentified pooch pose with a Braniff International Convair 340 on the Chattanooga ramp. The nose of a Capital Airlines Viscount turboprop can be seen in the background. Via Picnooga.
Aerial view of Lovell Field circa 1956 facing west. The quarry seen at center right was used for fill during the WPA funded airport expansion in the 1930s. Via Picnooga.
Chattanooga’s Jet Age Terminal under construction.
1964 curbside view of the new terminal from the collection of the Chattanooga Public Library.
The airport's ownership was transferred from Chattanooga to the Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport Authority (CMAA) in July 1985. The current passenger terminal, designed by Gensler, a global design and architecture firm, opened in 1992.
In 2011, a 1 megawatt solar farm located on the southwest corner of the airfield was constructed. An additional 1.1 megawatts were added to the solar farm in the summer of 2013. By 2017, the solar farm was providing approximately 90% of the airport's electricity.
What began with homebuilt aircraft taking off from a make-shift airfield near Rossville Boulevard, has now become a premier commercial service facility in the southeast. Today, the Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport is growing to meet the demands of travelers for the next century.
Over ninety years of history can be explored at the following links below