MEMBER FOCUS: Larry Ruddell

Becoming a member of Common House Chattanooga was a bit of a homecoming for Larry Rudell. Every time he steps through the front doors, it’s like stepping back in time for him. Larry remembers a time when there was an indoor pool where our Fitness Studio is and he bunked in what’s now the guest room suite. In fact, he was sitting on his bed in that room the night that a peanut farmer named Jimmy Carter was elected president of the United States. 

Back then, the Italian Renaissance-style building was still a YMCA and Larry worked and lived in the building as a counselor with a community program for kids who needed extra support and positive influences in their lives.

“They would come here on Sunday and they'd stay here all week. And it was me and one other counselor who lived here,” Larry remembers. “In the morning, we’d get up and take the kids to school in two vans that we had. And then in the afternoon, we’d come back and pick them back up. And then we’d stay with them and hopefully not burn the building down.”

Mail addressed to 1517 Mitchell Avenue back when Larry resided there.

Clearly, the two counselors avoided any major mishaps, as the building is still standing. Although, as the Southside evolved over the years, Larry kept expecting his old workplace and residence to be razed to make room for new development. When he would drive up from Atlanta, where he currently resides, to catch up with friends in Chattanooga, he’d pass by 1517 Mitchell Avenue and say, “Its days are numbered.”

But on one of his visits, Larry and a friend discovered that the old building had new life. “We drove by here and it looked like this. We were like, ‘Oh damn!’ We couldn’t figure it out,” he recalls.

Now, the former counselor is a member and Larry has another excuse to visit Chattanooga as often as possible and enjoy the amenities at Common House. On a cold and rainy January Saturday, the University of Georgia fan strolled through the doors, still relishing the Dawgs’ recent national title win. He was meeting an old fraternity brother for lunch. “Having a meal here is amazing,” Larry says. “The food is really good. It’s amazing.” 

Larry has lived in a lot of places over the years — from Los Angeles to Bourbon Street in New Orleans. But in many ways, Common House will always feel like home. After becoming a member, he got the chance to revisit his old room. It looks a little different today, but one thing remains the same. “Looking off that balcony is something else,” he says. “The view out of the bedroom? Yeah, that's a million-dollar view.”