Chattanooga recently acquired a new tourist attraction from across the pond. The Chattanooga Double Decker company features and open-top 1960s authentic double decker bus brought over from West London, England. The bus allows patrons to travel the streets of Chattanooga in a tour that includes a commentary of the history of landmarks around the city.
The bus originally began running tours at noon, 2 p.m., 6 p.m. and the most popular 8 p.m. sunset tour each day. Business owners know, though, that adaptations must be made to further the business. In such spirit, the 6 p.m. tour has been done away with and a 9:30 p.m. ghost tour has been added to offer a cooler alternative to that heat of the day tour. Due to mechanical problems with the double decker bus known as Eleanor, I had to wait a few weeks to be able to see what this huge bus traveling up and down the streets of downtown Chattanooga was all about.
On my third trip to the semicircle fountain plaza in front of the Tennessee Aquarium where the bus parks before each tour, I was able to board the bus with no problem and had my choice of any seat on the bus’s top tier. The bus quickly filled up, though, before the 9:30 p.m. ghost tour, only the second one our tour guide, owner and operator Rufus Marye had given. The air was still quite balmy at 9:30 p.m., but once the bus got started, the breeze washing over us was extremely welcome. Having the open air and being up so high on a moving vehicle made the trip quite unique and pleasant. There were many times during the tour which we could have touched the stop lights, and many times that branches were right above our heads.
During one part of the tour, we went through the Stringer’s Ridge tunnel and during another, we went over the Market Street Bridge. The bus gave me a different perspective on passing across these landmarks, and I can’t imagine what non-locals must have thought about the experience. During the ghost tour, Marye sat upstairs with us while another man drove the bus below. Marye informed us that we would be learning not only ghost history on the tour but Chattanooga history as well.
As we left the Aquarium plaza, we headed toward the interstate. As we drove across the Olgiati Bridge, Marye pointed out Lookout Mountain and told the story of Native American “Dragging Canoe” and his role in Chattanooga’s early history as well as his lingering ghostly presence in the mountains to this day. He also pointed out AT&T Field, where our Chattanooga Lookouts play. He told the story of Jackie Mitchell: “the girl who struck out Babe Ruth” and Lou Gehrig, too. After the bus left the interstate, we circled around the Cherokee Motel, where the story of John Ross and the Trail of Tears was started and continued on through the Stringer’s Ridge tunnel.
From there, the tour went across the Market Street Bridge, where those on the tour got a great view of the city lit up at night and heard a bit of the Riverfront Nights show that was playing. On the Market Street Bridge, Marye pointed out the Walnut Street Bridge and shared another ghost story. This one was about Ed Johnson, an African-American man who was lynched on the bridge. Johnson’s ghost is still said to haunt the bridge.
Continuing on, the bus passed the Chattanooga Choo-Choo, Miller Plaza, the Federal Court House where Jimmy Hoffa was tried, the Tivoli and the first Krystal Restaurant.
The bus stopped along Cherry Street to allow those on the tour to unbuckle their seat belts, stand and look over the side where the arches that are a remnant of underground Chattanooga can be seen. The bus also visited the Bluff View Art District before returning to the front of the Aquarium. Marye shared ghost stories surrounding underground Chattanooga, the famously supposed haunted Sheraton Read House, and the Confederate Cemetery within the UTC campus.
Although the tour missed some of my favorite ghost stories such as those surrounding Brock Hall and Patton Chapel on the UTC campus and ghosts at the Hunter Museum, I thought it was a fun, pleasant and informative tour. All the Double Decker tours except the ghost tour provide tour goers with a Double Cola and a Double Decker Chocolate Moon Pie, but on this ghost tour, we were all given the treat as well. Patrons can buy tickets for the attraction at the visitor’s bureau and online. The seating is first come first served, but those who buy online are given first preference of seats on tours that sell out.
The Double Decker tour with Eleanor and Marye was worth the wait, and the cool ride along the streets of Chattanooga sure does beat walking in this weather. The hour-long tour allows locals and tourists to see a lot of the city in a fun and educational way.
Email Erica Tuggle at reporter@hamiltoncountyherald.com.