Once was a Rock City Barn

On Highway 41 between Adams and Springfield in Robertson County, this barn once had a painted ad for Rock City, but the barn was completely repainted in Red. That must have been a few years back because now the black and white Rock City paint barely show through. It might be slightly easier to tell in the next photo. I didn't know for certain that it was a rock city barn until I got home and found it in my book of Rock City Barns.

Atlanta Biltmore Hotel Neon Sign Radio Mast at dusk

Located in Midtown Atlanta is the 11-story Biltmore Hotel which opened in 1924. The most distinguishing faeture is the two towering radio masts, one on each end of the building, with vertical illuminated letters that spell out "BILTMORE". The top floor and radio masts broadcasted WSB-AM from 1925 until 1956. The hotel closed in 1981 and after sitting vacant for nearly a decade the interior was gutted and converted into office space. Even still, it's good to see the tower still standing and working.

In the news: Ben Morris's See Rock City Barn

Before I say anything else, I'd like to thank my brother and Sister-in-law Scott and Sherry for letting me upload their pictures of the barn. Due to the time-sensitive nature of the story, I am not able to get there quick enough. Fortunately, they live close enough to get there while the story is still relevant. I do hope to visit this on my own in the upcoming weeks.

A couple of years back, Ben Morris bought some farm land located along the old highway along the south side of Cumming, GA in Forsyth County. Part of the property included an old rusty and worn barn dating back to the 1930's. Mr. Morris hired a handyman to fix up the barn and while work was done on the metal roof, the handyman noticed the very faded message found on many old barns along the old roads from a bygone era: See Rock City. The Metal Roof was Repainted and restored as close to the original as possible.

While it must be great to discover you own a piece of Americana, at least one person had a problem with it. As it turns out, Forsyth County now has a regulation prohibiting rooftop advertisements and Mr. Morris received a citation in the mail. In theory, if the ad is older than the law, then the barn should be grandfathered in and the Rock City message would stay. The county's Director of Planning and Development looked at an older aerial photo of the barn and found the roof as rusty as the day Mr. Morris bought the barn. He was told he had to paint over the advertisement or the ordinance would dictate a fine of $1,000 and possible jail time.

Mr. Morris has been rallying the locals to help preserve the barn's historic heritage. He would be willing to pay the fine to keep the lettering intact, but before he gets to that he'll fight the county over the issue. On his behalf, he got a letter from a code enforcement officer who remembers the Rock City ad being there from many years ago. According to various reports, Mr. Morris has his day in court today, April 18.



Still, there is good news, and the tide is turning. Hundreds (if not thousands) of people have written to support the barn. County commissioners are thinking about removing or changing the law, so that this barn can stay as it is today. On a state level, the GA Senate passed a law unanimously which allows old barns such as this one with ads for Georgia tourist destinations or products to be preserved. Who knew an old nostalgic barn on the Old Atlanta Highway (State Route GA 9) could garner so much attention?

Here's the location on a Google Map: goo.gl/maps/1cojO

The Hours Passed - The Picture Stayed

In the "They Don't Make Them like they used to" category, I submit this vintage and restored wall mural for a Television manufacturer seen in downtown Birmingham. "The Hours Passed - The Picture Stayed" By that line, I guess that other TVs got fuzzy the longer you left them on.

The next thing I noticed about this mural is everyone is depicted wearing their nice formal wear. I suppose that having the chance to watch one of those newfangled moving picture boxes in the comfort of your own home was worth dressing up for. Then, you invite your neighbors and serve wine.

Collier General Store - Charlotte, TN

This building is located on the town square of Middle Tennessee's oldest courthouse. Christopher Collier's store was built in 1849 and was in business until 1895. This building is part of the district on the National Register of Historic Places

CN 5288 - Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum

This Locomotive was built by the Montreal Locomotive Works in 1919 for the Canadian National Railroad. It is known as a "Pacific" locomotive, having a 4-6-2 wheel arrangement: four small guide wheels in front, six large driving wheels, and two small trailing wheels under the locomotive cab. The very large driving wheels betray this locomotive as a high-speed passenger engine. Freight locomotives has smaller wheels, which gave them more pulling power for the long freight trains, while passenger engines had large wheels, which gave them less pulling power for the shorter passenger trains, but higher speeds.

David Crockett Motel - Lawrenceburg, TN

Lawrenceburg, TN along U.S. 64 east of the town square and next door to David Crockett storage warehouse.

Stuckey's

For someone like me who likes to wax poetic about all sorts of vintage nostalgia from a bygone tourist era, here's one diminishing thing that luckily is still around.

Stuckey's started off in Georgia by Mr. Stuckey, a Pecan farmer. During the golden age of Automobile tourism, the franchise grew to about 350 blue-roofed convenience stores mostly throughout the southeast. They were best known for their souvenirs and their candies, starting with the pecan log roll.

If you're driving on I-24 from Nashville to Chattanooga, this Stuckey's is located at the last exit (US64/TN50) before the trip up the mountain to Monteagle. All the way from about Manchester to this exit, you'll see about a dozen really old decrepit billboards for the Stuckeys, advertising the pecans, ice cream, hot dogs and novelties. At least the large billboard in their parking lot is still in one piece.

If you are a fan of Nashville's own Goo Goo Clusters and King Leo made by the Standard Candy Co., they also own the Stuckey's Candy Co. (However, each store is independently owned.)

Kingsport, TN: Steeples of Church Circle.

When the city planners got together to map out and develop the forthcoming city of Kingsport, they envisioned a central business district and a main street with the Passenger train station on one end and Church Circle on the other. Church Circle is comprised of four large brick buildings with tall steeples. Today, the Church Circle district is an entry on the National Register of Historic Places.

I suppose I have them shown here in backwards order, but it's the order I walked to each one. First is the Brethren Church, Then the Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church and the Baptist Church.

Painted Jack Daniels statue

Located in front of a souvenir store on the Lynchburg, TN town square.