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Mark Pedro believes in miracles, divine intervention—and even the second coming of Jesus Christ in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
Mark Pedro believes in miracles, divine intervention—and even the second coming of Jesus Christ in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
On some level, that’s what’s happened in the shadow of the Great Smoky Mountains, where Pedro has worked for a quarter-century in a building that has boasted a religious attraction for over 50 years.
First, there was Christus Gardens, which opened in 1960 next to the Gatlinburg Sky Lift. Pedro, 57, came to work for Christus Gardens in the 1990s, cleaning and painting scenes.
“I’ve always done Bible-related things since I was a little kid,” says this California native. “I always prayed that I could combine all three of those.”
Christus Gardens closed after the 2007 season. The exhibits were sold, and all appeared to end—with the property slated to become a condominium development. But the recession set in. “And the building sat empty,” Pedro says.
Like a miracle.
That’s because, in about a year, talk turned to re-creating Christus Gardens as “Christ in the Smokies.”
In 2009, a new organization moved into the old building and opened the newly-christened museum on Sept. 11.
Like an act of God.
“I believe so,” Pedro says. “We put it together very rapidly. It was all the right people coming together at the right time.”
For new exhibits, Pedro secured wax figures once at the Hollywood Wax Museum. Pedro, as an artist, worked on scenes of Christ’s life, like the Last Supper.
A near-replica of the concave sculpture of Jesus is also a big attraction.
Still, little more than seven years after opening, it appeared Christ in the Smokies was about to go up in smoke during the deadly wildfires of Gatlinburg in November, 2016.
That’s when flames scorched the Gatlinburg Sky Lift just above the museum. “And the hotel on one side burned down,” Pedro says. “Then the apartment building next to us burned.”
Fortunately, the flames stopped—just 12 feet from the edge of the museum.
Like a miracle.
“We did have smoke problems but nothing like anyone else,” says Pedro, who lives at nearby Jones Cove, Tennessee.
Smiling, Pedro adds, “We have both earthly and heavenly intervention.”
Christ in the Smokies, 510 River Rd., Gatlinburg, Tennessee. 865-436-5155/christinthesmokies.com
