Art-O-Mat

Seen at about 100 tourist stops and similar places around the country, The Art-O-Mat is a vintage cigarette dispenser that now vends art. Visit their website at www.artomat.org/ Also, if you view this photo at the original size, you can somewhat see what some of the art options are. This particular machine was seen at Rock City inside the gift shop closest to Lover's Leap. Even the warning label has been rebranded "Sales of Art to minors are not forbidden by Law."

Higgins Moonlite Drive-In

Along U.S. 70S in Woodbury, TN

Henley Street Bridge - Now reopened in 2014

This historic bridge over the Tennessee River in downtown Knoxville was closed in 2011 for a complete rebuild. I drove over it on June 21, 2014 a few days after it reopened at a cost of $32 Million. The Open-Spandrel arch bridge originally completed in 1931 carries US441 and is the start of the Chapman Highway to Gatlinburg. For the full story:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henley_Street_Bridge

Philips Light Bulb neon sign - Cookeville, TN

Located along Jefferson Ave. (TN136) south of the Cookeville town square is this light bulb neon sign. The business with this sign is Williams Wholesale Supply and they apparently specialize in lighting fixtures. When I first learned of this sign, I did an internet search for Philips Light Bulb neon sign and this one was the only one I ever found, so maybe this store had it custom made.

I probably looked at my photos of this sign fifty times before I noticed this is a 130V incandescant bulb. I've been looking for a place that sells 130V bulbs, so maybe I should have actually gone in the store instead of just paying attention to the old neon sign like I usually do.

Highway TN62 in Morgan County

Here, the highway crosses White's Creek. A couple of decades ago, the highway descended into the valley over to the left.

2013 Coffee Co. Fair: Astro Wheel in the Day

For the photo shown here, the ferris wheel was photographed during the day, although during the "golden hour" close to an hour before sundown. For this photo, I have attached a variable neutral density filter to my camera, which explains the contrast in sky color from one side to the other (a Variable ND filter is two polarizers together, and depending on how it is set can be anywhere from an ND1 to ND64. Mine was positioned close to ND16 for this photo.) For the photos with the wheel in motion, I attempted a daytime blurred motion ferris wheel photo, which doesn't appear to have been tried very often.

In 2013, the Coffee County Fair in Manchester, TN had a midway provided by Kissel Rides and Shows. This is the text of the info marker at the Astro Wheel:
In 1967 the Astro Wheel was designed by Chance Manufacturing, and was built in their Witchita, Kansas facility in 1967. Only nine were ever made. The Astro Wheel was unpopular with Carnival owners of that era, due to the fact, the ride required multiple trailers to transport and the excessive amount of man-hours to assemble the seventy-three foot tall device. Only four are still known to be in existence.

This particular Astro Wheel is believed to be the first one ever manufactured. It was found in a closing amusement park and was headed for certain destruction. Purchased by Kissel Rides and Shows, in 1995, our Astro Wheel quickly became a Midway favorite. Although, 2004 brought about a sad change for the massive ride. The owner at that time decided to retire the machine and replace it with a smaller, more portable wheel. The unique amusement device was once again rescued when Kissel Rides and Shows was purchased in 2005. The new owners set things in motion to not only use the wheel, but to totally restore it to pristine condition.
Fast Facts:
1967 year of manufacture
73 feet tall
2 semi trailers to transport
6 men to assemble
65 kilowatts to power
750-800 passengers per hour
2009 year of renovation
6051 individual lights
153 gallons of paint
2 miles of electrical wire
6 tons of sandblast sand
$100,000
Please enjoy yourself while riding an American Classic.....
The Mighty Giant Astro Wheel

To see all my Astro Wheel photos, look here:
www.flickr.com/photos/brent_nashville/tags/astrowheel/

Omohundro Waterworks Lighthouse

In Tennessee, there are only two real lighthouses, but you wouldn't expect many from a landlocked state. Built in 1889, this lighthouse is on the Cumberland River in Nashville as part of the Omohundro Water Filtration Plant where it was also used to intake water. It is seen across the shore from Shelby Park. (The other one is in Decatur County on the Tennessee River)

The brick part at the top was the pump room, but the light also shone from a pole extending out of one of the windows. Originally, the brick was painted white but that has worn off by now. The water intake was in use until 1986 and in 1987 was added to the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Omohundro Water Filtration Complex District. It is in poor condition today with the holes in the roof.

Steam Train Panning - Southern #630 at TVRM Railfest 2013

Railfest is the annual celebration at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum in Chattanooga, TN. This year as part of the celebration, they offered Southern Railway 2-8-0 #630 as an excursion round trip to Cleveland, TN. This photo was taken as the train was returning to the station. This locomotive was built in 1904 by the American Locomotive Company Richmond Works. It was restored to operation at TVRM in 2011 and is now part of Norfolk Southern's 21st Century Steam program.

You can see quite a thorough collection of photos of #630, the Missionary Ridge Local with Southern FP7 #6133, and other rolling stock on the grounds. This gallery is on my website here:
seemidtn.com/gallery/index.php?album=chattanooga%2Frailfe...

Also, I took video and put it on youtube:
Just the steam train departure seen here: youtu.be/QVBCATNnTQI
That, and more footage of the steam train: youtu.be/85iljPK1TfY
All the steam footage, plus the Missionary Ridge local: youtu.be/AhCCpvO41iM

Nashville Skyline at Dusk 2014

Every time I decide to take a photo of the Nashville Skyline, there seems to be a subtle change. The most notable difference I see is that the CVS/Caremark building is now the Baker Donaldson building.

While I was taking this long exposure still photo, I had a second camera setup to take a time lapse video. See it here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GT_DhuMkNA

Technical details: This photo was taken on 2/1/2014 when sunset at 5:13 pm. This was at 5:58pm, 20sec., f/16, ISO200

65 Miles to Rock City

Rock City barn on US Highway 127 just north of Pikeville, TN (Also along the Worlds longest garage sale). You might find this area on your map called Ninemile, TN. US127 is also known as the Sgt. Alvin York Highway.

Greyhound Half Way Station - Jackson, TN

The subject of many images from my photostream is nostalgia, although rarely do any of these places outside of Nashville have any personal meaning to me before I photograph them. This is a rare exception.

Growing up, my family would spend every Christmas in the Dallas suburbs to be with my grandmother. In the Christmas of 1986, the rest of my family took the car because they were able to get away sooner leaving my dad and I needing alternate transportation when my school break came up. For the first (and so far only) time I traveled by bus alongside my dad. We departed downtown Nashville late and made a scheduled stop here close to midnight.

I am told this is the oldest functioning Greyhound Station in America, dating back to 1938. (It's even listed on the National Register of Historic Places.) As a kid making a stop here, that was lost on me. Today, I love the Art Deco architectural design of the place, but I don't think I would have even noticed back then.

The one thing I do remember from our midnight pit stop is my dad had to go to the counter to get a token for me to be able to use the bathroom. It was the first and almost certainly the last Pay Toilet I've ever been to. I would suspect most people my age and younger aren't even familiar with pay toilets.

Church Street Church of Christ - Lewisburg, TN

The city of Lewisburg was organized in 1836 and according to county history a church of Christ was established the same year. Their first building opened in 1845. When congregation growth meant they needed a new building, this one opened in 1886. The building is located about a block from the town square.

www.churchstreetchurchofchrist.org/index.php

Peaches For Sale - Clanton, AL

Located in Clanton, AL is a farmer's market of fresh fruits and vegetables. Peaches are what people come to Clanton for as there are several other farms that have stores in the area. Of course, what Headley's has that the other don't is they're located next to Alabama's Largest Peach which is Clanton's water tower shaped like a peach.

The Tivoli Theater - Chattanooga, TN

The Tivoli Theater is a historic theater and opulent landmark in downtown Chattanooga that opened in 1921 at a cost of $750,000. It was one of the first air-conditioned public buildings in the U.S. The theatre was named Tivoli after Tivoli, Italy, has cream tiles and beige terra-cotta bricks, has a large red, black, and white marquee with 1,000 chaser lights, and has a large black neon sign that displays TIVOLI with still more chaser lights.

Reflecting the Beaux Arts architectural style prevalent in late 19th century and early 20th century America, the theatre contains a high rose-and-gold coffered ceiling, the original box office, a grand lobby with a white terrazzo floor inlaid with forest-green marble and music-motif medallions, crystal chandeliers, an elegant foyer, and red velvet-plush chairs. The Tivoli opened on March 19, 1921 to a concert by the Tivoli Symphony, a screening of Cecil B. DeMille's 1921 film Forbidden Fruit, and a personal appearance by Forbidden Fruit's Mae Murray. The theater served Chattanooga well for several decades as the chief location for stage and film entertainment in Chattanooga, but went into a steady decline as modern movie theaters started to appear in Chattanooga in the 1950's.

The Tivoli was, at one time, owned by the ABC TV network and was later leased to Chattanooga as a performing arts facility. The theatre was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in April 1973. The city of Chattanooga purchased the Tivoli in 1976 for $300,000 after the theater had been in disrepair for some years; Chattanooga's Department of Education, Arts, and Culture currently owns and operates the Tivoli. After the Tivoli closed on June 5, 1987 for renovations, the Tivoli reopened on March 29, 1989 with a recital by Marilyn Horne.

Rocket Express Quality Fuel sign - Celina, TN

This old gas station sign is seen along Lake St. (which is a major road in town and probably used to be TN53). Sadly, they look to be out of business now

When You See Rock City, You See the Best

Located along highway TN68 in Cumberland County

Inn the news: Hallmark Inn makes the wrong kind of news

How do you tell your loved ones that they are staying at a cheap motel in a bad part of town?
Say it with a card!

W. Trinity Lane (U.S. 431) in North Nashville.

This motel made the news today because the cops had to padlock the place after they responded to 1600 calls in the last four years. For what it's worth, I took this picture six years ago.

Here's the story:
http://www.wkrn.com/story/25965324/police-raid-trinity-lane-motel

Southern #630 leaves the station

Railfest is the annual celebration at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum in Chattanooga, TN. This year as part of the celebration, they offered Southern Railway 2-8-0 #630 as an excursion round trip to Cleveland, TN. This locomotive was built in 1904 by the American Locomotive Company Richmond Works. It was restored to operation at TVRM in 2011 and is now part of Norfolk Southern's 21st Century Steam program.

You can see quite a thorough collection of photos of #630, the Missionary Ridge Local with Southern FP7 #6133, and other rolling stock on the grounds. This gallery is on my website here:
seemidtn.com/gallery/index.php?album=chattanooga%2Frailfe...

Also, I took video and put it on youtube:
Just the steam train departure seen here: youtu.be/QVBCATNnTQI
That, and more footage of the steam train: youtu.be/85iljPK1TfY
All the steam footage, plus the Missionary Ridge local: youtu.be/AhCCpvO41iM

Happy Independence Day!