Simpkins Grocery Store - East Nashville

Located at the corner of Shelby Ave and 17th St., this building was originally the home of S.W. Simpkins Grocery Store. About 15 years ago, the store was abandoned and falling into disrepair.

Around 2010, the building underwent a refurbishment. The long-gone Coca Cola mural on the side of the building was also repainted about 2015 to look as it did in the past. As of 2018, the building is now home to Shelby Ave. Bicycle Co.

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UT Barn - Orlinda, TN

Located a block from the middle of town, along highway TN49

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Central Presbyterian Church - Chattanooga

This 1921 building located in Chattanooga at the corner of McCallie and Orchard Knob. In the year 2000, the congregation sold the building to what is today the Richmont Graduate University.

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Tennessee Central Caboose 11744 - Monterey, TN

This caboose is located at the Monterey Depot Museum in Eastern Putnam County. On the day I took this photo in 2022, it was behind a fence as the build a ramp for the visitors.

Tennessee Central was headquartered in Nashville - that property is now a museum. They occasionally run excursions all the way to Monterey.

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Big Chief Motel neon sign

This was originally used at the Big Chief Motel along highway US11W in Bean Station, TN.

This is located north of Dandridge, TN at a restaurant called Miller's Creek Café. The owners of the property went to significant effort to decorate the grounds of the restaurant with vintage memorabilia. However, it appears they never finished the project, never opened, and they never will. (Best I can tell, when the family patriarch passed away, the rest of the family was unable to fulfill his vision. Online info is limited. It probably would have been great.) The restaurant building is next door to Mill Dale Farm and their 1843 Mill house.

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Umbrella Rock - Lookout Mountain, TN

Umbrella Rock is a distinctive feature at Point Park atop Lookout Mountain. For decades, it was one of the top photo ops in the area - climb up a rock and the Moccasin Bend of the Tennessee River down below becomes your backdrop. (A quick Google search will show many examples of this.)

However, today the government won't let us have any fun. (Or, they don't want any pesky lawsuits from someone getting seriously injured from falling off a mountain in a federal park.) Today, this is locked behind a fence and this is the best view you can usually get. However, on rare occasions, the park will have event where you can get a selfie next to it, but you can't climb it anymore.

On the right is the Ochs Museum, and you can also get a view looking down upon it. www.google.com/maps/@35.0125735,-85.3438457,2a,75y,311.55...

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Dolly's Tennessean Travel Stop: Main Entrance Logo

Want more? See the full gallery here: www.seemidtn.com/album/county/3se/marshall/dolly/index.html

Dolly Parton’s Tennessean Travel Stop opened in 2026 along Interstate 65 at the US31A exit near Cornersville in southern Middle Tennessee, offering travelers a sparkling roadside destination. Outside, visitors find a tour bus display, the Doggy Parton dog park, and a welcoming courtyard near the rear entrance. Inside, the eye is drawn to a prominent chandelier crafted from guitars, mandolins, and banjos, each adorned with jewels and sequins. Food options include a full-service restaurant, a grab-and-go station, and the Cup of Ambition coffee shop. The interior is filled with lively details: large wall portraits of Dolly, guitars fashioned from license plates of famous musicians, and a general store stocked with exclusive Dolly merchandise ranging from shirts and purses to drinkware and souvenirs.

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Charlie Daniels Caboose - Mt. Juliet, TN

"I just thank God I can make a living doing something I enjoy as much as playing music"

This Caboose is located at Charlie Daniels Park in Mt. Juliet, TN. Originally, it was a simple red caboose to celebrate the town's railroad heritage. In recent years, a mural of Charlie Daniels was painted on the caboose as well as a TN Music Pathways marker was added just off the right side.

See this photo on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/brent_nashville/54442357709/

Studebaker neon sign - Columbia, TN

I stumbled across this sign. I assume it is a restored vintage neon sign, but I can't confirm it. However, it is new to this location. It was manufactured by Walker & Company of Detroit, which was a prolific sign maker of the big car companies.

In Columbia, Woodland St. between 7th and 8th historically has been home to several auto shops and mechanics. Now, after some redevelopment, this block is Colombia's Motor Alley.

This sign is at 806 Woodland St. I don't know if the building itself ever had a connection to Studebaker, but the building has a restored garage door. The actual business here now is Hazelwood Laboratories, which specializes in Audio equipment.

Update: The building and sign is owned by Mike Wolfe of American Pickers fame. It's on the same block as Columbia Motor Alley (Wolfe's current project).
Learn more about Hazelwood Laboratories here: https://youtu.be/ewbaJZIC55M

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