Norris Dam State Park, Tennessee

[Liv]

Good old Norris Dam. It's been over 20 years since I've set foot on her massive concrete walls. Built by the TVA (the Tennessee valley authority) in the 30's, it help bring jobs to thousands of unemployed following the stock market crash.



The most interesting thing about Norris dam is the city that is actually below the water behind the dam. When I was little and we would come to the park and vacation, they used to show a film that actually showed the town, and the filling of the dam. It was quite a sight. I was hoping they might have it on DVD when we visited the ranger station but, nope. Anyhow. this is still a magnificent sight, and thought of how, many peoples lives, were changed by this dam, and that still below the murky blue water sits homes, yards, trees, and maybe even cars, furniture and the remnants of peoples lives, preserved in time. Norris Dam is a beautiful example of spirit and perseverance of mankind.

[Liv]

Over 20 years ago, me and my parents used to drive down from where we lived in Ohio each summer to vacation in the Smokey Mountains. We'd attach our blue pop-up camper to my dad's brown 77 Nova and drive down to Norris Dam State Park, here in Tennessee. One of the thrills of being poor and camping was the playground. The playground at Norris is notorious, historical, and more importantly legendary as far as playgrounds go. The playground was built before lawsuits, and safety measures. Back in those days if a kid fell 18 feet, hitting her head on solid iron ore bars, then she was expected to get her butt up off of the jagged stones and get back up and play.



So you can imagine my surprise when we drove over to Norris Dam today and the playground of death was still there! Unbelievable as it was, when I caught sight of old woody, I was in disbelief. If you ever get to go back a re-live your child hood places, it's quite a feeling. The van was barely park, when I flung open the door, pushed my son out of the way and ran like crazy to the metal bars that lead into the belly of the beast. It all started coming back to me. I knew exactly how to get to the top, I remembered how we used to push out the top boards on the roof of the playground so we could climb on top. Did we have no fear? While this time the fit was a bit more snug, and I easily got out of breath, it was by all means, one hell of a mental trip.

[Liv]

See this picture. This used to be an Olympic sized swimming pool. More importantly it is where I learned how to swim. All that concrete? That's where the pool used to be. That grass? Used to all be pool people. This pool used to be huge! Don't get me wrong, this picture doesn't due the current pool justice. It's still big, but the old pool, Gigantic.

So what happened? I was nearly in tears when I realized the place of my child hood, was filled in and paved over here at Norris Dam state park.

We asked the park ranger who informed us, that several years ago everyone arrived at work to find the pool empty and a large hole in the pool leading into a cave. If you could comprehend the size of this pool, you'd realize this must have been something to see. The old pool literally was a football field long in size.

So the odd part is, for all those years of swimming and playing in the Tennessee sun, I was technically swimming over a dangerous cave that at any moment could have gave way and sucked me into the sub-terrain of the Norris Dam State Park. Weird huh?

[Liv]

Remember a few days ago when I posted this? I tried to find an original picture of the pool to give you some sort of size comparison, but wasn't able to find any. I'm sure I have some old photos laying around. But Anyways I found this picture...

This is the sink hole that was being repaired in the middle of the swimming pool. Can you just imagine coming to work, and finding that in your pool?

[Travis]

That playground is still there? Im a bit younger than you but I still assumed it would have gone the way of the dinosaur by now. Though it does seem to have been "scaled back" some from its former glory.

[Liv]

That playground is still there? Im a bit younger than you but I still assumed it would have gone the way of the dinosaur by now. Though it does seem to have been "scaled back" some from its former glory.

I know right? Totally nostalgic!!!

[Liv]

So the last few days of our vacation we met up with the kids and the grans at Norris Dam again. Spent the day swimming, doing camp fires and hanging out with the staff during various activities. Quite a bit of fun.

The bad news is they tore down my childhood playground. Apparently the state has decided despite it being there for 30 years, that because it's wood, it might turn into a fiery inferno and bake the kids in a wildfire. Several people complained that it's missing, many who had children 20+ or older. The state needs to replace it with a replica in my opinion made out of synthetics, or all will be lost.

Got to swim in the new pool. It's nice, though a bit weird knowing the steel girders installed a top of the sink-hole are all that hold you up. I miss the larger pool, but understand the reasons for the smaller pool.

For the most part the park was dead. It was nice for us, but sad for the park, however, most of the country was dead on our travels, likely because of the heat.

Best place to eat at Norris Dam? Drive down to Knoxville to Sweet P's BBQ... it's was awesome!

[CarlWillis]

Liv's post seems have become the focal point for nostalgic recollections of the old play structure at Norris Dam State Park. I grew up nearby in Oak Ridge in the 1980s, and in my many childhood weekend visits I certainly esteemed "Old Woody" a worthy architectural companion to the dam. It too was a symbol of grandeur, functionalism, and communal ambition, on a scale accessible to children. It too was "BUILT FOR THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES," worthy of the pride implicit in that dedication that graces all the TVA powerhouses. It was far from being an ordinary play structure. And sure enough, it was dangerous (maybe that's why we had so much fun?). Now I'm a resident of New Mexico; there's a good chance I'll never make it back through Norris, but it still pains me to learn that this wonderful structure lives on only in memory. Like Liv, I hope the park considers rebuilding!

[Liv]

We went back last year on the 4th, and it definitely didn't have the same pizzazz the park did in my childhood.

The pool is small, the playground is gone, and overall the place seemed dead. We took the boat trip out on the lake, and they didn't even take you into the cave like they used to.

It's just not that fun anymore.