Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;ScanticAntiques, post: 42786, member: 339&quot;]&quot;Published reports say 14-year-old Curt Goerke began taking photos of tourists with the rock in the 1890s, charging 25 cents apiece. Demand for photos was so high that his father, Paul Goerke, bought Balanced Rock and nearby Mushroom Park for $400.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Within a few years, they built a photography shop, attached to adjacent Steamboat Rock, where they processed the photographic wet plates and developed prints. Business was lucrative and they opened a concession stand, sold photo supplies and even cut stairs into Steamboat Rock and erected a telescope on top.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>As cameras became cheap and popular with tourists, Curt Goerke built a tall wooden fence, estimated at two miles long, surrounding his property and Balanced Rock to prevent freeloading. He charged 25 cents admission and put dozens of signs advertising the “wonders” inside the fence, prompting complaints from area residents and visitors who wanted access and who objected to the commercial nature of the site.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Read more at <a href="http://gazette.com/balancing-act-iconic-rock-destined-to-fall-but-when-and-how/article/131306#AGf76rz3UUwKIEBT.99" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://gazette.com/balancing-act-iconic-rock-destined-to-fall-but-when-and-how/article/131306#AGf76rz3UUwKIEBT.99" rel="nofollow">http://gazette.com/balancing-act-iconic-rock-destined-to-fall-but-when-and-how/article/131306#AGf76rz3UUwKIEBT.99</a>&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Maybe it&#039;s a photo by Curt Goerke who began taking them in the 1890&#039;s?[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in