Crime Syndicate
When the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was established in 1926 the town of Gatlinburg was less of a town and more of a remote village. According to tnmagazine.org only a year prior in 1925 was the first semblance of a road between Gatlinburg and the outside world constructed. At this point Gatlinburg was still in it's hillbilly days of shine stills and shootouts. By around 1928 the aura of the Smokey Mountains began to draw visitors in, it was noted at this point by the Oakland Tribune that Gatlinburg now had; "A fine new church, two excellent summer hotels, many new homes, three general stores, a barber’s shop, two small gift shops, and two antique shops".
Among these newly erected buildings was the Mountain View Hotel, built in 1926 it was described in a postcard as "The pioneer hotel of the Smokies. It offers and ideal base for full enjoyment of the unexcelled beauties and recreations of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This Inn is open the year around, affording opportunity to see the blue-veiled Smokies in their Spring and Summer freshness, in Autumn's gorgeous colors and in Winter with their snow-capped mountains. Mountain View Hotel is strictly modern, with steam heat and bath in every room and a spacious dining room where delicious Southern meals are served.".
As time progressed more and more people began to flock to the Smokey Mountains and in turn Gatlinburg. Eventually people simply became bored of relaxing in nature, after all it just isn't the American way to visit something that doesn't have bright lights and tourist traps. In the 80s Pigeon Forge's Silver Dollar City became Dollywood, after the switchover the park boasted 1.3 million visitors the first year, it had quickly become evident that this area had major potential for the amusement and entertainment industry which drew in investors from around the world. In 1993 the historic Mountain View Hotel was demolished to make way for a brand new amusement park, because after all who needs history when you can have bumper boats and cheap midway games!
Fun Mountain was constructed on the site of the former Hotel by Reagan Resorts. The park was more of a fair or fun center than what we typically imagine an amusement park to be. The park featured many small rides like Bumper Cars, Go Karts, Miniature Golf, Bumper Boats, Tilt-A-Whirls, an Electric Train Ride, a large arcade, chairlifts, and even a small ferries wheel.
Most websites claim the park closed in 2000 however, Fun Mountain was still listed on Reagan Resorts website until mid 2004. After it's closure the park sat vacant until 2008 when it was partially demolished. All the rides were torn out and auctioned off to other parks. After the rides were removed the arcade and every building except the chairlift and a warehouse were demolished.
Unfortunately to access the site I had to drive into a paid parking area, I don't remember the exact price and honestly I never checked. Because I didn't feel like paying for a parking ticket or fine I didn't stick around for very long and just grabbed a few shots before leaving. After all every time I am in Gatlinburg to begin with its on a trip with family members so urbex is usually my last priority.
After roughly 15 mins of walking and driving around I quickly exited the lot without ever paying, I never did receive a ticket for that however the car was also not registered to me so sorry to whatever family members car I was using if they ever got a random ticket.
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