Also a classic
tourist trap on Lookout Mountain, GA, next to
Chattanooga, TN. See 7 states! Fairyland Caverns!
Mother Goose Village! Once a beautiful private park with a trail through unusual natural formations and past waterfalls and scenic views. They opened to the public in the 20s. In the
50s they added fairy-tale/mother-goose-themed installations to attract families travelling to and from
Florida. Phenomenal
kitsch:
dioramas of various sizes depicting
Red Riding Hood and the like, painted with
phosphorescent paint under
black lights. Scultpures of
Gnomes 'hiding' among the natural scenery. The entrance to Fairyland Caverns is a man-made tunnel with quartz crystals and
geodes lining the walls and dozens of
Barbie dolls in home-made fairy costumes hanging from the ceiling by fishing line. Hard to imagine any child actually interested in this place.
For decades Rock City employed a guy who travelled around the South offering to paint people's barns, if they were close enough to the highway, for free, but they had to agree to allowing him to pain the walls red and the roof black with 'See Rock City!' on it in big white letters. This one man painted thousands of barns, and hundreds can still be found along rural highways throughout the South. Rock City pioneered long-distance tourist trap roadside advertising, inspiring but never surpassed by Wall Drug and South of the Border. They also managed to get people to buy miniature See Rock City! barn birdhouses and place them in their front yards around the world.
See Rock City!