FORT PAYNE, Ala. — The building is called a survivor.
On Thursday, the roof of the old wooden hay barn received a new coat of paint from Rock City employees who restored two large signs that for 63 years have pointed visitors to the longtime Lookout Mountain attraction.
See Rock City Chief Executive Doug Chapin, whose family helped turn a garden into one of America’s best-known sites that is marking 90 years in business, said that repainting the Rock City signs on the galvanized metal roof helps extend the life of the barn.
“This is part of the legacy,” he said in an interview about the signature structures, which once numbered more than 900 but now just 44.
Chapin said the federal Highway Beautification Act, which was passed in 1965 and called for control of outdoor advertising, classified the barns as a sign and helped contribute to the decline in number. Also, he said, owners through the years have changed.