A remarkable collection of materials belonging to renowned Southern architect Reuben Harrison Hunt has been discovered in Nashville, providing new insights into the man behind some of Chattanooga's most iconic buildings. Hunt's great-grandchildren recently examined this treasure trove of documents, photographs, and personal items while sharing their memories of the architect whose legacy remains visible throughout the South despite his death in 1937.
Reuben Harrison Hunt stands as perhaps Chattanooga's most celebrated architect of the past century, having designed landmark buildings including the Hamilton County Courthouse, City Hall, the Carnegie Library, and what is now the Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences. His architectural influence extended far beyond Tennessee, with his work appearing throughout the Southern United States until his death. However, while Hunt's buildings have been extensively documented and celebrated, the personal memories of his descendants have remained largely private until now.
Three of Hunt's great-grandchildren – brothers Ed Street, Tom Street, and David Street – recently gathered at Rembrandt's coffee and pastry shop to discuss their limited but cherished memories of their famous ancestor. The brothers are sons of Mary David Houston Street and Thomas G. Street Jr., and grandsons of Louise Hunt Street, Hunt's only child, who lived to be 103 years old when she died in 1998. Louise's husband, Thomas G. Street Sr., was also an architect, continuing the family's connection to the profession.
The family members admit they weren't told many detailed stories about their great-grandfather while growing up, and they don't have access to his original architectural plans, some of which are held in the collection of Franklin and Associates Architects. "Grandma used to tell us about his buildings as we'd drive around," Tom Street recalled. "We'd be driving through Chattanooga, and she would point out some of his buildings he had done."
Despite Hunt's highly successful architectural practice, the descendants indicate that no substantial inheritance was immediately passed down through the family. However, they have heard stories suggesting Hunt's generous nature may have contributed to this. According to family lore, Hunt's wife once criticized him for being too generous in helping others, to which he jokingly replied that she wasn't hurting for anything.
The brothers' knowledge of their great-grandfather paints a picture of a compassionate and caring man. "He was a very nice man," Ed Street said, based on stories passed down through the family. During the Great Depression, Hunt would reportedly leave food on his back porch for those in need. The family has also heard that he would design smaller church buildings for free or at discounted rates, a practice that would later be confirmed by discovered documentation.
One particularly touching family story involves Hunt's dedication to his daughter Louise's happiness. When they lived in a home on Oak Street, Hunt had designed a third-floor room as a small ballroom, but he converted it into a roller-skating rink for Louise and her friends. Later, he drew plans for his own home on Missionary Ridge at 37 S. Crest Road, which was similar to one he designed for his daughter at 212 S. Crest Road. Both homes featured thick walls designed to make them fireproof.
Hunt's personal life was deeply rooted in Chattanooga. His wife, Katherine, came from the DeGeorgi family, which operated a popular confectionery store in downtown Chattanooga and had immigrated from Sardinia. Hunt was the oldest of nine siblings, and his youngest brother, Ben F. Hunt, was also an architect. After R.H. Hunt's death, there was reportedly some disagreement between Louise and Thomas G. Street Sr. and Ben Hunt over the use of the R.H. Hunt name in their architectural work. The two architects had dissolved their partnership in 1944, creating what Ed Street described as "some ill feeling" – a situation the family found particularly sad given R.H. Hunt's reputation as a caring Christian man who was actively involved at First Baptist Church.
None of the three great-grandchildren followed their ancestor into architecture, though they all studied engineering at Georgia Tech. David, a Chattanooga City High graduate, worked as a computer programmer for Texaco in Houston before retiring to Lookout Mountain. Tom pursued electrical engineering before teaching community college mathematics in Northwest Georgia. Ed, a McCallie graduate, worked as a chemist in Atlanta and later for Chattem in Chattanooga, where he met his wife Pat, a City High and UTC graduate, at a McCallie reunion.
Despite pursuing different careers, the descendants maintain deep appreciation for their great-grandfather's legacy. "I get to see his name in several places," Tom Street noted. "Covenant College, which is just a half mile from our house, has got a plaque in their lobby with his name on it since he designed the main building on campus" – Carter Hall, which was formerly the Lookout Mountain Hotel. David added simply, "I don't know that much about my ancestors, but I do happen to know of my great-grandfather, the famous architect."
The family's connection to Hunt's legacy gained new depth when Pat Street contacted Louise Reagan of Murfreesboro, a daughter of Louise's daughter Katie. Reagan possessed a box of Hunt memorabilia and items, leading to a significant discovery. Pat and Ed Street traveled to Nashville to meet with Louise Reagan and her brother Alf Sharp, along with Alf's wife Kathy, where they uncovered what can only be described as a goldmine of historical artifacts.
The Nashville collection revealed an extraordinary array of materials that provide unprecedented insight into both Hunt the architect and Hunt the man. Among the treasures were photographs showing Hunt at various stages of his life, including images from when large sideburns were fashionable around the turn of the 20th century. Personal items included a small notebook containing Hunt's handwriting, a luggage tag, and pocket-sized books of Bible verses, reflecting his deep spiritual convictions.
The collection also contained several books given to Hunt, including one written and autographed by noted local suffrage leader Abby Crawford Milton, indicating his connection to significant social movements of his time. However, the most valuable discoveries were three particularly significant items: a typed collection of memories written by his daughter Louise, old marketing catalogues featuring sketches of buildings with price information, and approximately fifteen high-quality cards with printed architectural renderings of his out-of-town buildings.
The architectural rendering cards proved especially fascinating, particularly those featuring churches Hunt designed across the South. These included Polk Street Methodist in Amarillo, Texas; McFarlin United Methodist in Norman, Oklahoma; First Christian Church in Tampa's Hyde Park; First United Methodist in downtown Dallas; Austin Avenue Methodist in Denton, Texas; First Baptist Church in Durham, North Carolina; Central United Methodist in Knoxville; and First Presbyterian Church in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Remarkably, all of these buildings remain standing today, testament to Hunt's enduring architectural vision.
Some of these churches have even outlasted societal changes and denominational splits. The Polk Street and Austin Avenue churches, for example, have transitioned from United Methodist to Global Methodist and independent Methodist respectively, adapting to changing religious landscapes while maintaining Hunt's architectural integrity. The Dallas United Methodist Church, now surrounded by modern skyscrapers, still presents beautifully in contemporary photographs, as do Hunt's other church designs.
An interesting historical note emerged regarding Hunt's Tuscaloosa Presbyterian Church design. Kurt Schmissrauter, who played football at Alabama in the early 1980s, revealed that this PCUSA church was where legendary coach Paul "Bear" Bryant would take the team for collective worship on "Squad Sunday." While Coach Bryant was apparently United Methodist himself – his 1983 funeral was held at First United Methodist in Tuscaloosa – he chose Hunt's Presbyterian church for team worship services.
The collection also featured a card with a printed sketch of the McFarlin Memorial Auditorium on Southern Methodist University's campus in Dallas, where Hunt maintained an office. Despite featuring different brick work and slightly varied design elements on the exterior, the building's shape bears striking resemblance to Memorial Auditorium in Chattanooga and likely dates from the same general era, suggesting Hunt's consistent architectural vision across projects.
Other significant cards included detailed sketches of an expanded Chattanooga High School featuring several additional wings and buildings that were never constructed, and a Monte Sano development planned for Huntsville that resembled the Lookout Mountain Hotel near Covenant College but was never built. One particularly historically significant card showed the Leflore County Courthouse in Greenwood, Mississippi, where one of the Emmett Till hearings was held in 1955, connecting Hunt's work to pivotal moments in American civil rights history.
Additional architectural renderings included a tall building in Huntsville and the original Bob Jones College campus in the Panama City, Florida area. The college campus was largely demolished over time, with online sources indicating that some of the bricks were salvaged and used in area homes. Historical records suggest it's unclear whether the entire 1920s-era campus as envisioned by Hunt was ever fully constructed.
The photographic collection provides intimate glimpses into Hunt's personal life, including images of him at different ages and a notable photograph from the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. His wife Katherine and daughter Louise appear in several pictures, offering rare glimpses into the family life of this prominent architect.
Perhaps most revealing was a three-page typed remembrance of R.H. Hunt written by his daughter Louise when she was 86 years old. This document provided unprecedented personal insights into the man behind the buildings. Louise revealed that her father despised his first name Reuben and strongly preferred to be called R.H. She speculated that he and his brothers were named after sons of Jacob from the Old Testament, and believed he became Baptist due to an ancestor who was a well-known Anabaptist preacher.
Despite appearing to be largely self-taught as an architect in an era before strict educational requirements for the profession, Hunt designed the now-demolished First Baptist Church sanctuary in Chattanooga at the corner of Oak Street and Georgia Avenue, where he served as both member and elder for many years. His daughter confirmed the family stories about his generosity, writing that "he provided free plans for small churches all over the South" and adding that "he was known for his generosity and kindness to those in trouble, and stories are told about the acceptance of many less than valuable items as payment for services, including swamp property in Florida."
Louise's written memories also revealed the personal toll of her father's final years. She noted that he suffered physically in his last year and was bedridden, with medical officials believing he had arthritis, though she suspected additional ailments may have been present. "The stark pictures that remain in my memory when I think of him make me very sad, because he was such a vibrant human being," she wrote, capturing the poignant contrast between Hunt's dynamic professional life and his difficult final period.
The discovery of these materials has given Ed Street and his wife Pat a much deeper appreciation for R.H. Hunt as both architect and humanitarian. "He must have been the most generous person in the world," Pat Street observed. "He was very spiritual, and with all these churches and schools he designed, he probably felt like he was doing something for others." Ed Street, already impressed by how his great-grandfather became such a distinguished architect with only an eighth-grade education, added, "I am absolutely amazed at him. And he did a lot of things right because Grandma Street was a really wonderful person."
This remarkable collection serves as more than just historical documentation – it provides a window into the character of a man whose architectural legacy continues to shape Southern cityscapes nearly a century after his death. Like Hunt himself for much of his life, his buildings remain vibrant and appreciated today, not only in Chattanooga but in distant towns by people who might not even know who R.H. Hunt was. The Nashville discovery ensures that both his architectural genius and his humanitarian spirit will be remembered and celebrated for generations to come.
The timing of this discovery is particularly significant as debates continue about the preservation of Hunt's Medical Arts Building, which faces demolition by its owner, First Presbyterian Church. Ed Street has joined the chorus supporting preservation efforts, stating, "I hate to see history destroyed like that. A lot of his buildings are very beautiful. They are probably expensive to fix up, but if we tear everything down, there is not going to be any history left." The newly discovered materials provide additional context for why preserving Hunt's architectural legacy remains so important to both his family and the broader community.
