Old, Abandoned TN Rock Quarry Was Once a Bed & Breakfast

The entire bed & breakfast industry--if you can call it that--was turned on its ear with the advent of Airbnb and, later, Vrbo. Traditional B&Bs still dot the landscape and remain attractive to travelers and should. But perhaps because of the online aspect, Airbnb and Vrbo properties have upped their games considerably over the years.

We stayed in an Airbnb this summer while on vacation, and it was very nice. But many of them are themed or come packed with fascinating history. I think about "what might have been" with a particular structure in east Tennessee's Monroe County. It's an old silo that actually DID operate as a bed & breakfast in the 1950s, but longevity for the business wasn't mean to be.

The Roundhouse -- an Abandoned Rock Quarry and Bed & Breakfast

The Roundhouse is a rather bizarre and infamous location in my native East Tennessee. Once a storage silo for an area slate mining operation, it was transformed into a bed and breakfast by an eccentric physician. It has been abandoned since 1958. Cherokee National Forest, Tennessee.
byu/TheArcherofRed inurbanexploration

It was back in the 1920s when the Tennessee Rock Products silo structure--later redubbed "The Roundhouse"--was operating as a rock quarry. And that was its purpose from 1920 through 1928. Long about 1956, it was converted into a seven-story house by Dr. William Rogers. A bed & breakfast was the goal. It even had a restaurant by 1958. This old silo has had one seriously active life, hasn't it?

The Roundhouse was forced to close decades ago because it had no fire escape, but it still stands today as a monument to...well, multi-tasking?

EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to inherent dangers, Townsquare Media discourages the investigation of abandoned property.