Chattanooga
The Read House
An 1872 hotel rebuilt in 1926, which the hotel says is the longest continuously operating in the Southeast, and the home of the Room 311 legend.
- Built
- 1926Current 10-story building completed 1926, built while the older hotel stayed open; the Read House name on this site dates to 1872.
- Style
- Colonial Revival
- Architect
- Holabird & Roche
- Type
- Grand hotel
- Credentials
- Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
The story
The hotel traces its lineage to the 1847 Crutchfield House, which burned on September 10, 1867, and the Read House itself opened in 1872. The hotel says Grover Cleveland’s 1884 presidential victory was celebrated there and that Coca-Cola was first introduced in Chattanooga at its drug store. Rebuilt in stages without closing a day, the new 10-story, 400-room Read House, modeled on Chicago’s Palmer House and designed by Holabird & Roche, opened with a four-day celebration in 1926 at a cost of $2.5 million. Samuel Read ran it until his death in 1942, and Avocet Hospitality Group bought it on September 1, 2016 and restored its 1920s appearance.
The ghost story
The hotel itself relays the local legend of Annalisa Netherly, a guest whose tragic death is said to have occurred in Room 311 in the 1920s, and presents it as legend rather than verified fact. The room, restored to its 1920s look and also linked in the story to Al Capone, is offered for overnight stays only at select times.
Source: www.thereadhousehotel.com
Good to know
- Breakfast: available
- Parking: on-site paid
- Pets welcome
- Address: 107 W. M.L. King Blvd., Chattanooga, TN 37402
Sources (2)
Last verified October 2026. Details change; confirm with the inn before you book.