Market Street Bridge & Aquarium

Chattanooga Landmarks: Market Street Bridge & Chattanooga Aquarium

Seen from across the Tennessee River soon before sundown.

Pulaski Gobbler

More and more cities are coming up with a town mascot, which is then being made into artistic statues. It used to only be big cities that did this, like Nashville and the catfishes. Then, some of the smaller towns did it, also, such as Pulaski, TN and their Turkeys, since they have large flocks of wild turkeys walking around the countryside.

When I first found these, there was a website where I could look up the name of each painted turkey, but I can't find that link any more.

Rock City Barn at Legacy Farms

First of all, I would like to thank my best friend Will C. for letting me upload his photo. While I am eager to visit this place and take a photo like this, it might be a while before I ever get the opportunity to visit this venue.

Legacy Farms is often used as a wedding venue south of Lebanon, TN along highway US231. I am not sure if it is the featured attraction out here, but this barn with a Rock City advertisement makes for quite an interesting photographic spot at their farm. Looking over their website, many professional photos are taken with this as the backdrop.

Rock City is well known for their advertising program of hand-painted barns, but they had plenty of hand painted billboards over the years, such as the one seen here which has now been affixed to this barn at Legacy Farms. As is frequently the case with hand-painted billboards, the message changed at some point over the years and as the newer message begins to fade, some of the older words are showing through.

See Rock City topped by a curved rainbow was commonly used as their logo in the 1980's, often on a pastel background like powder blue of yellow. Rock City's billboard program dates back to 1946, but Alvin the mascot, who is part of the older advertisement, wasn't created until the 50's. The older message includes "Fun in your future at..." Along the bottom, it says "Kids love Mother Goose Village" which is the large room at the end of Fairyland Caverns and was finished in 1964.

Savannah Theater - Savannah, TN

The historic theater is located on the court square behind the Hardin County Courthouse.

Leucistic Peacock

This peacock was seen at the Jackson, MS Zoo. Since it was all white in color, I figured it was an albino. However a true albino peacock would have a pink colored eye and be quite rare. It is more common to be Leucistic which means it is mostly white but not all white.

Waterfalls of Fall Hollow in Lewis County

When travelling the Natchez Trace Parkway through Lewis County, TN, there is a small parking area for a small scenic stop known simply as Fall Hollow.

From the parking lot, it's a 100 foot walk along a paved sidewalk to a wooden observation deck. From here, you can see the upper half of the Fall Hollow Waterfall, where you can see the water tumble about 30 feet. There is a second stream right next to it that tumbles just as far and they meet just a few feet below.



The official paved trail stops here, but in another 5 minutes of steep hiking, there is much more to see. As you leave the overlook, and walk along the top, unless it's dry season you'll see another 30 foot waterfall of side drainage. From here you can make a steep decline to the area below and if you make a left, you get to a small bridge crossing the tiny trickle and look up at this smaller falls.

Still at the base but off in the other direction, you see what I think is the best site here. The two streams that we saw merge from the observation deck now free falls 20-25 feet into a small pool below. Behind this is a small grotto where you can walk behind the falls.

Hartford & Slocomb Railroad #913

Hartford & Slocomb was a shortline that operated 22 miles of track near Dothan, AL until 1992. Now, this engine is seen at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum in Chattanooga. This Alco RS-1 was built in 1950 and was one of ten built originally for the Atlanta and St. Andrews Bay Railroad.

Welcome to Tennessee: Ardmore AL/TN Border at Christmas

The town of Ardmore lies on the Tennessee / Alabama border, although more of the town is in Alabama. At this spot, State Line Rd, (also TN7 and old US31) crosses under the train tracks at the state line. In 2000, This sign and an Alabama sign on the other side of the tracks were placed.

For Christmas, the town adds a decoration up the hill, going with the train track theme. With the Santa Railroad, he has his own tinsel train.

Christmas Tree at Opryland Hotel lobby

This Christmas tree is made up of red and white flowers that spiral to the top. It is located inside the lobby of the main entrance to Gaylord Opryland Hotel.

Cades Cove: Cable Grist Mill

Cades Cove at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most popular destination in the United States most visited national park. The isolated valley was the home to many early settlers and today several of those sites are well preserved. An 11-mile, one-way loop road circles the cove, offering motorists the opportunity to sightsee the wildlife, scenic beauty and historic district structures on the National Register of Historic Places at a leisurely pace.

One of the most successful -- and enduring -- grist mills in the cove was the John Cable Mill, built in 1867-68. He had to construct a series of elaborate diversions along Mill Creek and Forge Creek to get enough water power for the mill's characteristic overshot wheel. The mill, which processed logs, wheat and corn and was originally operated by millwright Daniel Ledbetter, continued to function in some fashion until the 1920s, and was still in use when the Park was formed.

Eldorado Motel - Nashville, TN

The historic Eldorado Motel sign is perhaps Nashville's least known neon treasure. I was unaware of this gem until reading Historic Nashville Inc.'s Civil Rights Walking Tour Brochure where it is stop #27.

This is located at 2806 Ed Temple Blvd. (Down the road from the Ted Rhodes Golf Course.) The actual motel was torn down ca. 2011 and only the sign remains. Go see it while you can - I had to park at the golf course and walk. It's also off the road a bit, so it's easy to miss.

Dr. Martin Luther King and Harry Belafonte spent the night here in Sept. 1961. King's Southern Christian Leadership Conference had arranged for Belafonte to perform at the Ryman Auditorium and they spent the night here.

Even if there was no associated history, it's also a fantastic neon sign. It's a little worn down but most of the neon tubes are intact. There's a couple of flags up top. The neon word Pool is on a pool shaped part of the sign. Likewise, the neon T.V. is on an old black & white television set.

The last Sassafras Mill Boiler in the U.S.

This is located along highway TN18 in the small Hardeman County, TN town of Hickory Valley. According to the marker:

Sassafras Mill
1920 - 1974
This is the boiler portion of the sassafras mill that operated in Hickory Valley. It took native sassafras roots and processed them into an aromatic oil used in medicine, perfume, and flavoring. A man with a mule regularly dug a ton of roots a day and was paid $14.00. One owner promoted the mill by paying his workers with bills dipped in the oil. In its final years of operation, the Hickory Valley sassafras mill was the only one in the United States.

Opryland Hotel Christmas: Musical lights

Located in the Opryland Hotel Garden Conservatory are these large decorations hanging from the ceiling. They are a large music symbol surrounded by a ring of white Christmas light strands.

Central Christian Church - Murfreesboro, TN

This church building is on the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing property to the East Main Street Historic District in Murfreesboro, TN. Here is a description of this house from the brochure entitled "Explore Historic Murfreesboro - A Walking Tour"

404 East Main Street
The Central Christian Church (1912) is the town’s best example of Neoclassical design, including the dome, Ionic columns, and pedimented entrances. The sanctuary is a perfect square with semicircular seating rather than the usual center aisle arrangement. The floor is canted (sloped downward) as in a theater to focus on the altar and chancel area.

Owen Bradley Park - Music Row - Nashville

Located in a small park at the Music Row Roundabout is this bronze piano-playing statue to prominent songwriter Owen Bradley. The statue to the architect of the Nashville Sound was dedicated on October 19, 1999 and was created by artist Gary Ernest Smith. The statue is in the middle of a circle made of bricks, with the titles of his famous songs around the edge. The sheet music in the statue highlights two songs, Sweet Dreams and Crazy.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owen_Bradley

Maxwell's Big Star - Bolivar, TN

Apparently, Maxwell's Big Star was at one time a chain of grocery stores in and around west TN, but the location in Bolivar at the town square seems to be the only one still around.

Merry Christmas from Smyrna

Every year, my hometown puts this decorative Santa lighting upon their welcome to town sign on the south side of town along US41.

Remains of Lockeland Spring Water bottler

In the pioneer days of Nashville, Col. Robert Weakley built his mansion at a spring. His mansion was named Lockeland in honor of his wife's family name, and the community that sprung up around here became Lockeland Spring. (The mansion was where Lockeland Elementary School is today, where there is also a historic marker.)

At the beginning of the 20th Century, businessmen wanted to sell the water. at the St. Louis Exposition in 1904, the Lockeland Springwater won a prize for its "unique mineral composition and salubrious quality." Eventually, the springwater company went out of business, and the bottling plant went out of business, and this spot remained vacant for many decades.

In 2010, the property was deeded to the Metro Nashville Parks Department with a goal of making this historic site a place to be visited again. Only the foundation of the building remains today. Much of the overgrowth has been cleared out, nature trails have been established and a couple of footbridges over the stream have been built.

The best way to get here today is at the entrance along South 19th St. @ Oakhill Dr. where there is room for a couple of cars to park on the side of the street. While there is no parking, there is an entrance for locals at the end of Woodland St. There may be an entrance from the back of Lockeland Elementary School. There are also plans to extend a trail from Shelby Park around the golf course into this area.

B.B. King Statue - Memphis

This 1996 statue of B.B. King, as well as a statue of Elvis are located inside a visitors information center in downtown Memphis.

Hazel Path Mansion - Hendersonville, TN

Hazel Path is a mansion on the National Register of Historic Places located in Hendersonville, TN. An office park has surrounded in just off of US31. Today, the mansion is used for lawyer offices.

Here is the history from a Civil War Trust marker:
Hazel Path Mansion is associated with the beginnings and legacies of the Civil War in Tennessee. The home of Confederate Gen. Daniel Smith Donelson, completed in 1857, became a camp for escaped slaves during the war.

Donelson was the grandson of Pioneers Daniel Smith of Rock Castle and John Donelson of Nashville. From the age of three, after his father's death, Daniel Donelson lived with his uncle, Andrew Jackson, at Jackson's Hermitage plantation. Donelson graduated from West Point in 1825 but served less than a year in the U.S. Army.

Before Tennessee seceded in 1861, Gov. Isham G. Harris appointed Donelson a general of state troops and asked him to locate sites for fortifications. Fort Donelson, on the Cumberland River, was named for him. He became a Confederate General in July 1861 and served under Gen. Robert E. Lee in western Virginia. Donelson then served under Gen. Braxton Bragg in the 1862 Kentucky campaign and led a brigade at the Battle of Stones River at the end of the year. On April 17, 1863, Donelson died of natural causes while in charge of the Department of East Tennessee. He is buried west of here at the Presbyterian Church on Gallatin Pike.

Donelson's widow. Margaret Branch Donelson, returned in July 1865 to find the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands (Freedmen's Bureau) occupying the plantation, which had been a contraband camp since the Battle of Nashville in December 1864. About 900 former slaves had lived there, growing crops, cutting timber, and operating a sawmill. Mrs. Donelson petitioned President Andrew Johnson for the return of her property. Johnson agreed because her father, North Carolina Gov. John Branch, had been kind to him in his youth. The Berry family owned the house from 1886 to 1978.

Opryland Hotel Christmas: Guitar Decoration

Suspended from the ceiling at Gaylord Opryland Hotel's original Garden conservatory are four large guitars.

Looking for last minute Christmas presents with one of my photos set to a Bible verse? Check out this link to my Zazzle store. Available as Prints, posters or greeting cards.

Lindsley Avenue Church of Christ - Nashville, TN

Lindsley Avenue Church of Christ is a historic church at 3 Lindsley Avenue in Nashville. The Late Gothic Revival building designed by architect Robert Sharp was built in 1894 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. According to the Register's nominating form, "The Lindsley Avenue Church of Christ, a late Victorian Gothic-style building with a great deal of ornate architectural detailing, is unique in Nashville for its decorative exuberance on a church of its scale."

Cairo Rosenwald School

This historic school house has worn down a little bit, but I think the building looks happy.

The historic marker is seen next to the school in the picture, but it must have originally been located at the intersection of highway TN25 and Ziegler Fort Rd. The school is down the road from the entrance to Bledsoe Creek State Park in Sumner County. Here is the text of the marker:

Located 2.6 miles south of here is the Cairo Rosenwald School. Completed in 1923, it provided educational opportunities for African-American children until 1959. Funding for the school's construction was provided by the Rosenwald funds. The architectural plan followed the standard Rosenwald School design for a one-teacher African-American school. Closed in 1959 due to the consolidation of schools, this building has remained in use as a community center. The Cairo School building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

U.S. Post Office - Nashville Arcade

The Nashville Arcade is a downtown shopping center that dates back to 1902. It is modeled after an Italian shopping arcade as it's a bunch of shops along this two-story alley with a roof but open air. There are a few restaurants and retail stores along with a vibrant arts community. Then there is this post office labelled as Uptown Station with an Art Deco facade.

Nashville's 2010 Christmas Tree & Courthouse

Every year, the city's Christmas Tree is in the Public Square and the Davidson County Courthouse and Public Building is in the background.

For more info on this Courthouse, look here:
www.flickr.com/photos/brent_nashville/3358741495/

Main Street Trading Post - Oakland, TN

Oakland is a small town in Southwest Tennessee in Fayette County.

Stone Hall - Nashville, TN

Stone Hall was built by Dempsey Weaver Cantrell soon after the "1916 Great Fire" of Edgefield in Nashville. The home is constructed of hand-hewn pure dove limestone quarried on the Cantrell farm. Stone Hall takes its name from the sixteenth century home of the Cantrell ancestors in England. (Of course, there is a double meaning since the home is made of limestone and it overlooks the Stones River.)

Today, the 1918 Colonial Revival home is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was acquired by Metro Parks in 2007 and connects to the Stones River Greenway.

Gibson GuitarTown - Carter Family

In 2004, Gibson Guitars started the Nashville GuitarTown project which placed decorated Guitar statues (such as this one) around town. Then in 2006, the guitars were auctioned off for charity.

The Carter Family guitar is named "They Started it!" which is written down the neck. Other messages are "Keep on the Sunny Side" and "You owe us Big!" The Artist was Sheila Bartlett and was originally placed in 2004 in front of the CMT building on Commerce St. Now, it appears along Music Row in front of Curb records next to the Johnny Cash guitar.

Christmas Tree at Huntsville's Big Springs Park

Seen at Huntsville's Big Springs Park in 2015, where several local companies and organizations have decorated trees.

Huntsville Turntable & Blue Boxcar

Located at the Huntsville Depot Museum is this vintage railroad turntable. Just to the right is the depot's roundhouse which has been converted to an event venue. Also shown here is a blue boxcar.

Fisk Memorial Chapel

According to the historic marker:
Fisk Memorial Chapel, designed by New York architect William Bigelow, was erected in 1892 in memory of General Clinton B. Fisk, a founder of the University. The religious and cultural center of the campus, the Chapel has welcomed foreign dignitaries, outstanding concert artists, and renowned lecturers, such as Booker T. Washington and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.



The Chapel is the home performance site for the famous Fisk Jubilee Singers. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Fisk University Historic District.

To learn more, here is the history section on their website:
fiskmemorialchapel.com/History/History_of_the_Chapel/

Mary Kate Patterson Home - LaVergne, TN

West of the Old Nashville turnpike stands the home of Mary Kate Patterson, a Confederate spy. She assisted Capt. Henry B. Shaw's Coleman's Scouts, a Confederate cavalry unit and spy network that served the Army of Tennessee, from 1862 to 1865. She befriended Federals and obtained passes to Nashville, where she secured supplies and messages to smuggle to the Scouts in her buggy's false bottom. Her brother, Everard Patterson, also served in the Scouts. Her family sheltered and fed Confederate soldiers, signaling them by an arrangement of louvers and lanterns in the windows when it was safe to come in for medical help and hot meals. She was among the last to see neighbor and fellow spy Sam Davis before he was captured and killed in November 1863. She lived at this house until her death in 1931.

For her full story, check this story from the Murfreesboro Post:
www.murfreesboropost.com/the-unsinkable-mary-kate-cms-27343