Lost Attractions of the Smoky Mountains

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is among the most-visited national parks in the country and has seen countless attractions through the years around its borders.

From ersatz western towns and cartoonish concrete dinosaurs to misplaced Florida-type sea creature attractions and celebrity theaters, you will find them all preserved in this nostalgic book. Popular culture historian Tim Hollis showcases businesses that no longer exist through text and images (mostly color), from the motels of Cherokee and Ghost Town in the Sky on the North Carolina side, to the Hill-Billy Village in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg’s theme parks on the Tennessee side.

Other attractions featured include Porpoise Island, which showcased winsome hula dancers and handsome drummers; Magic World, which included a ghost grotto, “invisible people” and a dragon train; Jolly Golf with its imposing tyrannosaurus; and Maggie Zoo and Reptile Farm, where rattlesnakes were “milked for their venom.”

Paperback, 173 pages, $23.99.