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This from the newspaper: Chattanooga, Tenn. "Sign painter Clark Byers recently came out of retirement to put a 21st century spin on an American icon, painting "See www.seerockcity.com" on a barn at the base of Lookout Mountain. ..... Byers, 83, first painted "See Rock City" on the side of a barn in 1936 in a promotion that included a free barn painting for the consenting farmer.
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Hey Santo, thanks for the link and info. Growing up in So. Indiana I've seen some of those barns. The articles on the site are pretty interesting.
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Thanks Santo, man, I've seen a bunch of those barns over the years Little purple martin houses painted up like the big barns too. There was even a country rock song out in the seventies about a man painting "See Rock City" on barns. The painters used string to speed up their layout time. They had the string broken down into various barn sizes. Each line of copy had its own string, the string was knotted at the beginning and end of each letter. A well done one was a classic! Red barn, black roof, white letters really jumped out at ya, especially since most of the barns in the south barns go unpainted!
------------------ George Perkins Millington,TN. goatwell@ixlmemphis.com
"I started out with nothing and still have most of it left"
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Several years ago, a guy was restoring an old farmhouse near here. He had enough of the original drop siding to finish three sides of the restored house. After some discussion about what to do with the side that remained to be covered, his architect suggested a sign. I got the job of painting, you guessed it, "SEE ROCK CITY" on the side of the house. He even had flood lamps installed for night time viewing. The only thing peculiar is that the house is about 3 miles back in the woods and only the owner and his family ever see the sign.
------------------ Frisby Signs, Inc. El Dorado, Arkansas 870-862-5073
Posts: 902 | From: El Dorado, Arkansas, USA | Registered: Apr 1999
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when i was a kid me and my mom and dad visited "Rock City" (about 12 times) i remember the anticipation as we would ride by a barn that had the "See Rock City" sign on it's roof.
many years later after painting a rooftop, i could appreciate the work that went into those barn roofs.
those old signpainters climbing up on a corrugated barn roof and "slappin'" it out.
Little purple martin houses painted up like the big barns too. There was even a country rock song out in the seventies about a man painting "See Rock City" on barns. The painters used string to speed up their layout time. They had the string broken down into various barn sizes. Each line of copy had its own string, the string was knotted at the beginning and end of each letter. A well done one was a classic! Red barn, black roof, white letters really jumped out at ya, especially since most of the barns in the south barns go unpainted!
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