See Rock City

Rock City advertises itself as "an iconic attraction."  And so it is. I was six years old when my great aunt took me to Chattanooga to  see Rock City,  Ruby Falls and the Incline Railway.  Although I enjoyed all of the attractions, Rock City was far and above my favorite.

No one "discovered" Rock City. It has existed for millions of years.  But in 1823 a missionary named Daniel Butrick described the natural phenomenon as "a citadel of rocks." (Wikipedia).

The thing I most looked forward to about Rock City when I was a kid ended up being my biggest disappointment.  But the attraction offered more than enough pleasure and enchantment to make up for it.  My aunt told me and I saw signs on the way  that you can "see seven states."  I'm quite sure my aunt didn't say this to me, but I thought I would see the state lines like with my wooden US states puzzle. Even looking through the swivel telescope at Lover's Leap, all I could see was a river, buildings and trees.  It all looked the same. I'm not saying they were fibbing, but it looked like one state to me.

Several years ago I took a high school chorus to sing for their Enchanted Garden of Lights near Christmas.  A few weeks before the concert, a real nice lady  invited me to come to Rock City before the concert date. She escorted me around the grounds and showed me where the choir would be standing and singing.  To make polite conversation I asked, "So are you like the activities director here?"  She said, "No, I own it."  Before I could stop myself I exclaimed "YOU OWN ROCK CITY?!!  I thought the United States of America owned Rock City!", She said, "No, my husband and I bought Rock City several years ago. We own it."

A huge part of Rock City's success is what it provides for children. They call the place "enchanted" and it is.  You squeeze through Fat Man Squeeze and The Needle's Eye.  You can wonder at Balanced Rock. You can meander across the Swinging Bridge. You can peer at seven states from Lover's Leap. Or so they say. Although it was nearly sixty years ago, I remember walking through Fairyland Caverns  which includes black light responsive sculptures of gnomes, fairies and fairy tale characters. Back in 1959  it was a wonderland of joy.  And it is still quite wonderful.

Another large part of Rock City's success is its marketing. Many years ago somebody visualized "See Rock City" on the roof of barns all over the country. Here's the way it worked. The representative knocked on the farmer's door. He said to the farmer "I've got a deal for you.  If you will let us paint See Rock City on the roof of your barn, we will paint your barn."  Apparently thousands of farmers all over the world thought that was a good idea. You will also see "See Rock City" birdhouses all over creation. Within a 200 mile radius of Chattanooga you will see a multitude of billboards advertising various aspects of the attraction.   The closer you get to  Chattanooga the more you will see. Rock City is ubiquitous.

As recently as thirty years ago downtown Chattanooga closed at 5 o'clock pm on Friday and stayed closed until Monday morning.  There was absolutely nothing going on. Somebody had the foresight to hire a consultant from Boston to find a way to attract tourists from Lookout Mountain to downtown. This effort was somewhat controversial because of the cost.  He drove around town and walked around town and said, "You have a river running right through your city." The rest, as they say, is history. Chattanooga opened the Tennessee Aquarium in 1992 and the River Walk in the next few years. A multitude of hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions followed suit. Now downtown is bustling with activity and open for business all week and weekend as late as you want to stay.  Outdoor magazine recently rated Chattanooga as the #1 city in the country for recreation and enjoyment.

An irony that works well for Chattanooga is that most people think Rock City is a Chattanooga attraction when in fact Rock  City is located in Lookout Mountain, Georgia. Chattanooga is more than glad to leave that misunderstanding alone.

Although there is so much more to see and do now in northwest  Georgia and Chattanooga, Tennessee,  Rock City is still for me at the heart of tourism, beauty and enjoyment. I mean when is the last time you saw "See the Tennessee Aquarium" on a barn?