Walnut Street Bridge The Parks FoundationBridging the Generations Since 1891 | Connect with us on Facebook
The Walnut Street Bridge Fund was established by Chattanooga Venture, a community visioning group, to receive funds to be used with city funds to match a federal grant to restore the bridge. At the conclusion of the fundraising campaign and following the restoration project, there remained a small surplus of funds. These funds were held in a trust account by the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga in order to provide a source for additional improvements and enhancements to The Bridge. Those funds have been used for the replacement of the original plaques dedicated in the names of donors to the bridge that were damaged, vandalized or stolen.
With the recent launch of a new plaque campaign to replace the original plaques, the original group has been reorganized as The Parks Foundation. The Foundation not only continues the original mission, but has expanded beyond the bridge to include other public parks and spaces. Working with both the city and the county, the Foundation is committed to enhancements, improvements and programming to extend the utilization of all our parks and public space to the greatest number of people.
The Foundation’s ongoing new plaque campaign continues to offer new dedicated plaques on The Bridge, which it expects to fill by the end of 2011. For information on the plaques, click here.