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Does renovating a 1903 home prepare you for up-in-the-air restoration of a piece of treasured Americana?
Photo Above: Painters including Angela Minor elevate to work on a Rock City barn.
Photos Courtesy of Angela Minor.
History spread out before us as the hydraulic platform rose above the roofline of the old barn with a massive black metal canvas with oversized letters across the surface. The words, faded and weathered by time, once entreated passersby to See Rock City Today. And on this day, we would return a clever roadside icon to its former glory.
Under the guidance of career sign artist Troy Freeman (freeskystudios.com), this piece of Americana along U.S. 411 in rural northern Georgia was being restored. Now eight feet in the air with bucket in hand, I glanced at Freeman.
“Go ahead,” he said with a smile and a nod. So, I tapped my brush in the fresh white paint, took a deep breath and traced the rusty outer curve of the letter “d.”
From 1935 to 1969 some 900 “See Rock City” barns were painted by the hands of one man, Clark Byers. Traveling in his work truck across 19 states, Byers offered property owners a free paint job, passes to Rock City and promotional items in exchange for their ready-made advertising space.
According to Meagan Jolley, Rock City’s senior manager of public relations & social media, “Depression-weary Americans were just rekindling their love affair with the automobile,” and the country barn billboards “spread the word on Rock City’s charms.” Yet, this stroke of advertising genius became much more than marketing. It became part of the zeitgeist of roadside Americana.
“Good art is really a reflection of a specific time,” says Freeman. “Even though these barns are pretty basic, just black with white text, they are icons of this golden era of advertising when cars and travel and road trips were new. ”
Back on the ground, a small multi-generational group of onlookers had gathered. Camp chairs and picnic baskets dotted the field; cameras snapped; and, a buzz of conversation accompanied the event. Some told stories of family vacation travel memories that included Rock City barn spotting competitions. While others quoted a host of phrases they’d seen on different barns—“See 7 States from Rock City,” “World’s 8th Wonder,” “Bring Your Camera.”
As Freeman made the final touches, Jolley said, “We have repainted seven [barns] this year [2023], and the plan is to schedule several repaints a year.” To date, there are 47 Rock City barns known to still exist with the hope of finding more.
When I looked back at the freshly painted barn as travelers had done for decades, it occurred to me that I had touched history once again. Throughout my life I have refinished antique furniture, repaired vintage bird figures and renovated a 1903 Federal-style house. Yet, the opportunity to add my tiny contribution to a See Rock City barn seemed a singular experience. For this writer, to “save” even a piece of a word from our shared history was a privilege.
If you see or know of a Rock City barn succumbing to the ravages of time, join the conservation effort and report its location on the barn map tab at the website, seerockcity.com.
The story above first appeared in our January / February 2024 issue.
