Name/Title
Lookout Mountain HotelEntry/Object ID
2020.300.001Scope and Content
A cover from the Lookout Mountain Hotel on Lookout Mountain, Georgia.
The Lookout Mountain Hotel was built on top of Jackson Hill in 1928, a few miles south of Lookout Point on the Georgia side of Lookout Mountain.
The newly opened Scenic Highway, which connected Gadsden, Alabama, to Chattanooga, eventuated its construction. Nicknamed “The Castle in the Clouds,” the 200-room hotel included lavish amenities, such as red velvet carpet, heavy gilt floor candelabras, overstuffed loveseats, fainting couches, and the largest ballroom in the South. Adhering to the castle motif, a room named Knights of the Round Table was decorated with a large round table and medieval suits of armor standing guard in each corner.
The hotel struggled through the Great Depression but saw success in the 1940s and ’50s as a summer resort. The Tudor architecture was a perfect backdrop for outdoor activities such as tennis, swimming, and golf. Evening parties featured dancing, music, and hard liquor—which was not available in Hamilton County because of its dry status. Tunnels running under the Lookout Mountain Hotel (rumored to reach as far as Rock City) allegedly stored moonshine and other homemade hooch varieties for the Chicago Mob during Prohibition.
Hollywood legends Eddie Fisher and Liz Taylor are also rumored to have secretly spent their honeymoon in Room 531 after their 1959 Las Vegas wedding.
Since 1964, the Lookout Mountain Hotel has been home to Covenant College.Archive Items Details
Date(s) of Creation
11/2/1940Relationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Lookout Mountain HotelCopyright
Type of License
No Copyright - United States
