“See Rock City”

Posted on January 17, 2008 | Comments Off on “See Rock City”

There was a time, long ago in my vanished youth, when I would see these words painted in white on the sides of old barns on major arterial roads all over the South and as far north as Illinois. Dew on the Kudzu reminded me of it in a piece on the aging tourist attraction on Lookout Mountain, TN. The mountain, with its Lover’s Leap, drew my paternal grandparents on their Chattanooga honeymoon in the winter of 1904. I know because I still have a little sewing kit with a yellowed plastic cover over a fading colored paper insert on the top that my grandmother kept as a souvenir. Rock City opened later, in 1932, and it’s still trying to keep up with the times. Most of its painted ads have also vanished as the old barns have fallen down, but the place now has a Website, and a Webcam. Looks overcast this morning, up there in the clouds.

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0 responses to ““See Rock City””

  1. TheWhitedSepulchre | January 18, 2008 at 10:22 pm |

    Sir,
    You didn’t mention the birdhouses.
    I’m 46, and remember seeing them everywhere. It’s a shame about all the old barns.
    Went to Rock City 2 or 3 times as a kid. Enjoyed it, but can’t remember exactly what was there, other than great views.

  2. TheWhitedSepulchre | January 18, 2008 at 10:22 pm |

    Sir,
    You didn’t mention the birdhouses.
    I’m 46, and remember seeing them everywhere. It’s a shame about all the old barns.
    Went to Rock City 2 or 3 times as a kid. Enjoyed it, but can’t remember exactly what was there, other than great views.

  3. Dick Stanley | January 18, 2008 at 11:46 pm |

    I never saw a birdhouse advertising Rock City, but I’ll take your word. Guess I was driving too fast. Never been there, either, a mistake I plan to remedy one of these days.

  4. Dick Stanley | January 18, 2008 at 11:46 pm |

    I never saw a birdhouse advertising Rock City, but I’ll take your word. Guess I was driving too fast. Never been there, either, a mistake I plan to remedy one of these days.