Name/Title
Umbrella Rock from Point HotelEntry/Object ID
2021.023.007Description
Black and white photographic postcard of tourists visiting Umbrella Rock from the vantage of the Point Hotel. The photograph shows a brick wall and railing that are surrounded by vegetation at the bottom. There are two large signs, one "Union Occupation of the Summit" and the other, "Cobham's Brigade" at the base of the rocks and the bottom left of the photo. "Umbrella Rock from point Hotel" is written on the negative at the bottom right.
Umbrella Rock sits at the top of the photograph. There are a group of tourists around the formation, including three women, a man, a young boy and an infant.
Built in 1888, the Point Hotel was quite strikingly modern in appearance, with four levels of wraparound balconies that rounded at the corners and gave visitors an awe-inspiring panoramic view of the river valley and Chattanooga. The 58-room hotel sat strategically just below Point Lookout and the property of Mrs. Col. James A. Whiteside, who would later become an investor in the nearby Lookout Inn. Mrs. Whiteside was protective of her husband’s estate, and competitive feuding became so ruthless between the two hotels that she had the stairs leading to the point removed to keep Point Hotel patrons from easily reaching the summit of Lookout Mountain and the popular point.
Visitors would reach the Point Hotel by the 4,360-foot-long steam-powered Incline No. 1 to its west façade and upper station. The narrow gauge railway from the east could also take patrons on excursions to Sunset Rock and the popular Natural Bridge. Room rates ranged from $2.50 to $4 a night, and day visitors could ride the Incline, have a nice dinner, then return to St. Elmo for an inclusive price of $3. Hotel amenities included a billiard room, barbershop, running water in each guest room and a bathhouse.Photograph Details
Type of Photograph
Real Photo PostcardCollection
Lookout Mountain CollectionCopyright
Type of License
No Copyright - United States
