The first hotel on the site was the Old Crutchfield House, named for the Crutchfield family who built it. It was located directly across from the railway. During this time in Chattanooga, the railways were the main source of business and imports. This constant flow of business is what allowed the Old Crutchfield House to prosper. The house doubled as an inn as well and a hospital for Union soldiers traveling through the city during the Civil War. The inn caught fire and burned to the ground in the year 1867. After the fire, the Crutchfield family chose not to rebuild. This left room for John T. Read to step in and build a new hotel in place of the old inn. The new Read House Hotel opened on New Year's Day 1872. In 1926, the hotel was torn down and a new hotel constructed based on the design from the two architects Holabird and Roche to have a Georgian style with 10 stories. One more renovation occurred in 2004. The hotel dropped its affiliation with Sheraton in November 2015, and the official name is now The Read House Historic Inn & Suites. On August 30, 2016 the hotel was purchased by Avocet Hospitality Group of Charleston, SC. An 18-20 million dollar renovation is scheduled to begin in 2017.
Famous visitors
Being in the heart of Chattanooga, the Read House has come onto contact with many familiar faces. Among those are Oprah Winfrey, Gary Cooper, Winston Churchill, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and one of the more well known, Al Capone. Capone stayed in the Read House a short time during his federal trial in the early 20th century. Custom iron bars were added to the windows in the room Capone resided in, and remained there until a renovation in 2004.
Room 311
Perhaps the thing the Read House is most known for is the haunting of room 311. Many believe the room harbors the spirit of a woman named Annalisa Netherly. There are many legends as to who this woman was and how she became the famous spirit to haunt the hotel, but it is most well known that Ms. Netherly was a prostitute in Chattanooga during 1920s and 1930's. She supposedly resided in room 311 for an extended time. While details are hazy, Ms. Netherly in fact died in that very room. Some legends have it that she was found soaking in the tub with her head almost completely decapitated- more than likely done by a jealous lover or husband. Other legends say that as she took a gentleman suitor to her room and he later directed his time and attention elsewhere to another woman. This supposedly left her broken hearted and suicidal, and it was then that Ms. Netherly took her own life. People who have stayed in room 311 say that Ms. Netherly hates men, especially those who smoke. Many guests that have stayed in the room, including Al Capone, have made it through the night without any paranormal activity, while others report it being heavy during their stay.
