The Chattanooga Public Library is hosting The Tivoli Foundation: Your Ticket to History, an exhibit celebrating the history and restoration of Chattanooga’s Tivoli Theatre. The exhibit opened Oct. 10 on the first floor of the Downtown Library and will remain on display through Feb. 26, 2027.
Featuring photographs, historical materials and items from the library’s Local History & Genealogy archives, the exhibit explores the theater’s legacy and the Ticket to History Campaign that supported its preservation and restoration.
Originally opened in March 1921 and known as “The Jewel of the South,” the Tivoli is scheduled to reopen Oct. 20 following an extensive restoration and expansion project that began in 2022.
The exhibit was developed with assistance from the Museum Center at 5ive Points, the library’s Local History & Genealogy Department and the Tivoli Foundation.
New rehearsal space opens in Chattanooga
The Performance Space Alliance, formerly known as the Performance Innovation Center, has opened a shared rehearsal facility in Chattanooga’s North Shore area to provide affordable, accessible space for local performing artists and organizations.
The pilot facility features two large group spaces, three rehearsal rooms, a small stage, a green room, a conference room and shared office space. More than a dozen local arts organizations are participating.
The initiative follows a feasibility study supported by ArtsBuild and the Lyndhurst Foundation that identified a shortage of rehearsal space as a major challenge facing Chattanooga’s performing arts community.
Led by Chattanooga native Blake Harris, PSA plans to expand its offerings to include performance venues, workshop space and storage. The organization is seeking financial contributions and donations of equipment, including ballet barres, dance flooring, sound equipment and mirrors.
Groups interested in using the facility or supporting the initiative can contact Harris at blake@artsbuild.com.
CommonSpirit opens Hixson orthopedic clinic
CommonSpirit Medical Group Orthopedics has opened a new clinic at 2051 Hamill Road, Suite 210, inside the Professional Office Building at CommonSpirit Memorial Hospital Hixson.
Led by board-certified orthopedic surgeons Dr. Masoud Hamidian and Dr. H. Corey Manson, the clinic provides orthopedic consultations, diagnostic evaluations, follow-up care and postoperative recovery planning for patients in North Hamilton County and surrounding communities.
Patients requiring surgery have access to orthopedic services at CommonSpirit Memorial hospitals in Chattanooga, Hixson and Ringgold. Hamidian and Manson also provide acute orthopedic trauma care at all three hospitals’ emergency departments.
To schedule an appointment in Hixson, call 423 531-1031. For the Ringgold location, call 706 871-1342.
Hamilton County voting machines pass testing
The Hamilton County Election Commission completed public testing of 112 voting machines ahead of the Nov. 3 state and federal general election, with no issues identified.
Independent auditor Quinten Howard, a certified public accountant, reported that results from the machines’ control tapes matched those produced during testing.
High-speed optical scanners also passed testing without discrepancies.
Following the tests, election staff reset all vote totals to zero, and Howard signed each machine’s tape to verify the reset. Staff then secured the machines with tamper-evident seals bearing unique serial numbers maintained under a chain-of-custody system.
The machines, which are not connected to the internet, will be used during early voting and on Election Day.
Early voting runs through Oct. 29. The deadline to request an absentee ballot is Oct. 24.
Hamilton Co. property sales top $343 million
Property sales in Hamilton County totaled more than $343.7 million in September, according to the monthly sales and mortgages report released by Register of Deeds Marc Gravitt.
The county recorded 1,252 deeds and 1,289 deeds of trust during the month, with mortgage loans totaling more than $402.8 million. The Register of Deeds office collected $1.27 million in conveyance taxes and $456,698 in mortgage taxes for the state.
The month’s largest property transaction was a $6.9 million sale at 407 Signal Mountain Road in Chattanooga. Other major transactions included a $4.8 million sale involving multiple parcels, a $4 million sale at 684 Signal Mountain Road and another $4 million transaction involving multiple parcels.
Additional notable sales included properties at 5377 Browntown Road for $3.95 million, 2271 Gunbarrel Road for $3.35 million and 7302 Lee Highway for $3.31 million.
The Register of Deeds office recorded 5,141 documents of all types during September.
Memorial Highway honors K-9 Diesel
A portion of Amnicola Highway has been renamed in honor of Diesel, a Chattanooga Police Department K-9 killed in the line of duty last year.
State Sen. Bo Watson and state Rep. Michele Reneau recently joined law enforcement officers and community leaders for a ceremony designating the stretch of Amnicola Highway between Wisdom Street and Judd Road as the K-9 Diesel Memorial Highway.
Diesel died Sept. 17, 2025, after suffering severe injuries while helping officers apprehend an armed suspect. The 3-year-old K-9 had served with the Chattanooga Police Department for one year and five months.
Watson and Reneau also sponsored the K-9 Emergency Medical Care and Transport Act during the most recent legislative session.
The law allows trained emergency medical personnel to provide emergency care and transportation to K-9s injured in the line of duty.
The ceremony included the unveiling of memorial highway signs honoring Diesel.
Lamb Library gets tech grant
Katie Lamb Public Library in Collegedale has received a $15,276 state technology grant to purchase desktop computers and monitors.
The state awarded $508,522 in technology grants to 99 libraries this year.