East Ridge Built a Town Square on Tombras Avenue This Year, and November Ends There

Go from 1510 to 1529 Tombras Avenue and you pass the East Ridge History Center, the Community Center, City Hall with the city library inside it, and a new pavilion named for the year the city incorporated. A year ago, part of that block was still a construction site. Another part was a gym built in 1994 that had never had a major renovation. By this fall both were open, and the city's two biggest November gatherings are planned to finish on this block.

Ringgold Road gets most of the attention in East Ridge, and Camp Jordan handles most of the outdoor weekends. Tombras Avenue has become the place the city brings people indoors when the weather turns cold.

Four addresses within a short walk

The city's own listings put everything below on the same short stretch:

• East Ridge History Center, 1510 Tombras Avenue. It's in the Annex, library staff look after it, and you visit by appointment.
• East Ridge Community Center, 1515 Tombras Avenue. It sits beside City Hall and is open seven days a week, according to East Ridge Parks & Recreation.
• City Hall and the East Ridge City Library, 1517 Tombras Avenue. The library lends books, DVDs and devices, plus passes to museums and the aquarium.
• Venue 1921, 1529 Tombras Avenue. It's directly behind City Hall.

Seen as a group, these are a library, a gym, a history room, and a hall that seats 500, all run by the city and all close enough to park once and walk between. Not many towns this size keep that much under one name on one street.

February added a room big enough for the whole town

Venue 1921 started as a pavilion going up behind City Hall in 2025. It opened February 7, 2026. At the ribbon cutting, Mayor Brian Williams explained the name to WDEF: "the 1921 in the venue, that was the year that the city of East Ridge was incorporated." That makes the building 105 years younger than the city it's named for.

City Manager J. Scott Miller gave WDEF a short list of what the room could hold: "Farmer's markets, weddings, business luncheons, birthday parties." He said it seats up to 500. The venue's own site lists a main hall, a patio and lawn, styling suites, a catering kitchen, and tables, chairs and AV equipment for weddings, nonprofit events and community gatherings.

The market idea Miller mentioned in February got its first date on the calendar this month. Chattanoogan.com announced the venue's first-ever Fall Market & Trunk or Treat for Sunday, October 25. It was planned with more than 30 craft and curated vendors, food trucks, inflatables and face painting, with free admission and parking. It was the first public market the city scheduled for the new hall.

August finished the older building next door

The Community Center went up in 1994. The renovation that reopened it on August 22, 2026 was its first major one since then, so the gym went 32 years before this overhaul.

According to Chattanoogan.com, the work cost $2.6 million. A Local Parks and Recreation Fund grant from the Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation, awarded in 2023, paid $660,000 of it, about a quarter of the total. The renovation brought new flooring, HVAC and fire suppression, better ADA access, and remodeled restrooms.

The gym got the biggest change. It's 40 feet longer, and it can now be set up as one regulation basketball court, two half courts, or three pickleball courts. It also has new goals and upgraded bleachers. The kitchen is now a separate room designed to double as a teaching space. Under the name Anna B. Lacey Kitchen, the public can rent it year-round for a half day or a full day, and a rental can include access to the kitchen's tools and utensils.

Community Center Supervisor Hannah Spear told Chattanoogan.com what she hopes residents come to expect from the building: "I want our community to think of resources and fun stuff and assume it's here!" Parks and Recreation Director Shawnna Skiles told the same outlet she has "over 19 years of excitement built up for these changes," since her job with the city started in that building.

What a weekday on the block looks like now

Here's the current weekly schedule as Parks & Recreation posts it. Most of it happens in the gym that was just expanded.

The city says all program fees are currently waived. Pickleball is free play on a first-come, first-served basis, with no instructor. Open gym has two house rules worth knowing before you go. You need a Hold Harmless Agreement on file, and you have to use the center's basketballs because outside balls aren't allowed. Court times can shift around rentals and events, so the center asks people to check the current schedule before heading over.

Next door, the library is open Monday and Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. On a weekday, you could finish a noon pickleball game, pick up a museum pass on the way out, and still be home by mid-afternoon without moving your car.

November's two big dates are both planned for this block

The city has scheduled its two main gatherings of the season for this short stretch of Tombras Avenue, two days apart. Here's the order, using the dates on the Parks & Recreation special events page:

1. Thursday, November 5. Registration closes for parade entries. Local organizations, schools, churches, clubs and businesses are all invited. Floats need lights, and each float is limited to 10 walkers. School entries compete for cash prizes of $300, $200 and $100.
2. Saturday, November 21, 6:30 p.m. The Christmas Parade starts at Germantown Road, runs along Ringgold Road, and ends at Tombras Avenue.
3. Sunday, November 22, 3:30 p.m. This is the rain date if severe weather pushes the parade back. If the weather is still bad, the parade is canceled.
4. Monday, November 23. The free Community Thanksgiving Dinner is at the Community Center, 1515 Tombras Avenue. You can register for the meal or apply to volunteer through the QR codes on the city's events page.

The parade route ends on the same street as the renovated gym and the new hall, and two days later the Thanksgiving dinner is held inside that renovated building. The September monthly report lists those two events as its upcoming holiday programming.

If you're entering the parade with a school, church or business, send parade questions to Shawnna Skiles at the City of East Ridge, [email protected] or (423) 260-9190. Paper forms go to 323 Camp Jordan Parkway.

If you're getting ready to host family this month and want to talk through anything about your home or your East Ridge plans, I'm happy to help. You can reach Ricky Streeter anytime, and maybe I'll see you at the end of the parade route on the 21st. Let's Connect.