Photos: Gatlinburg through the years

New visitation records are expected to be set in Gatlinburg, pictured April 25, 1982, as Knoxville gets ready to host the World's Fair. A 25 percent increase in visits is estimated for the village of 3,000 which hosted more than 10 million visits in 1981. (Knoxville News Sentinel Archive)

Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers and firefighters try to control unruly crowds on Sept. 30, 1979, in Gatlinburg. City Police Chief J.A. Kelly said police had "closed the city" as over 100,000 people were in town for an unsanctioned hot rod convention. (Knoxville News Sentinel Archive)

Larry and Debbie Warren enjoy the amenities in a Sweetheart Villa on Jan. 27, 1990, at Condo Villas of Gatlinburg. (Knoxville News Sentinel Archive)

Store owner Bob King helps a customer on Dec. 23, 1979, at McCutchan's Candy Kitchen in Gatlinburg. King said he bought the business in 1964 from Jack McCutchan, who had taken over from Ruth and Nat Barker, who launched it in 1945. (Knoxville News Sentinel Archive)

Gatlinburg Parking Lots Supervisor Jim Scott, left, and City Manager Joe Yarbrough are pictured on March 30, 1980, with a new tourist trolley bus. The city purchased six buses for $49,000 each in an effort to get tourists to park their cars. (Knoxville News Sentinel Archive)

Downtown Gatlinburg is pictured June 11, 1997. (Knoxville News Sentinel Archive)

Ski director Hans Woldrick and Pi Beta Phi 'Fairest of the Fair' contestant Joy McCutchen are pictured on June 3, 1961, at the Gatlinburg Winter Resort, the forerunner of Ober Gatlinburg. (Knoxville News Sentinel Archive)

The 'Pop Goes America' cast poses for a publicity photo July 13, 1980, at Gatlinburg Place. (Knoxville News Sentinel Archive)

Gatlinburg Police Department Officer Heath Soehn directs traffic on Aug. 9, 1998, at the U.S. 321 and the Parkway intersection. (Knoxville News Sentinel Archive)

A new tourist trolley bus pictured April 24, 1980, in Gatlinburg. (Knoxville News Sentinel Archive)

Pat Huff, left, and Mary Steele are pictured on June 3, 1961, during an event to kick off construction of the Gatlinburg Winter Resort, the forerunner of Ober Gatlinburg. (Knoxville News Sentinel Archive)

The Great Street Rodders' Show is pictured on Friday Sept. 26, 1980, in Gatlinburg. Authorities concluded that despite considerable trouble there was less disturbance than during last year's event. (Knoxville News Sentinel Archive)

Cars parade during the two-day Great Street Rodders' Show on Friday, Sept. 26, 1980, in Gatlinburg. Authorities concluded that despite considerable trouble there was less disturbance than during last year's event. (Knoxville News Sentinel Archive)

Smiling Christmas packages help kick off Gatlinburg's Twelve Days of Christimas Festival on Nov. 29, 1980. Pictured are Stephanie Cardwell, 7 of Sevierville, Amanda Hannah, 4, of Pittman Center, Denise Lewis, 6, of Sevierville, Denise Hannah, 7, of Pittman Center, and Melody the Friendly Bear. (Knoxville News Sentinel Archive)

A three-wheeler cruises on the Parkway during the two-day Great Street Rodders' Show on Friday, Sept. 27, 1980, in Gatlinburg. Authorities concluded that despite considerable trouble there was less disturbance than during last year's event. (Knoxville News Sentinel Archive)

Tires squeal during the two-day Great Street Rodders' Show on Saturday, Sept. 27, 1980, in Gatlinburg. Authorities concluded that despite considerable trouble there was less disturbance than during last year's event. (Knoxville News Sentinel Archive)

Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers provide crowd control during the two-day Great Street Rodders' Show on Saturday, Sept. 27, 1980, in Gatlinburg. Authorities concluded that despite considerable trouble there was less disturbance than during last year's event. (Knoxville News Sentinel Archive)

The Space Needle is pictured on March 19, 1971, in Gatlinburg. Among the businesses shown is the Red Coach House (successor to the Al Hirt Sandwich Saloon) at right. (Knoxville News Sentinel Archive)

Mr. and Mrs. Jim Trotter, left, show their new Roundette Apartments development to Chamber of Commerce manager Zeno Wall March 19, 1971, in Gatlinburg. (Knoxville News Sentinel Archive)

Gatlinburg in 1960. (Knoxville News Sentinel Archive)

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Superintendent Randy Pope helps dedicate the new Gatlinburg Welcome Center on Feb. 25, 1993. (Knoxville News Sentinel Archive)

The Xanadu house of the future is pictured June 13, 1982, in Gatlinburg. The 7,600-square foot tourist attraction, built of polyurethane foam, cost $350,000 to construct and is being called by critics "that thing on the Parkway." (Knoxville News Sentinel Archive)

The Gatlinburg Parkway in 1984. (Knoxville News Sentinel Archive)

Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers try to control an unruly crowd on Sept. 30, 1979, in Gatlinburg. City Police Chief J.A. Kelly said police had "closed the city" as over 100,000 people were in town for an unsanctioned hot rod convention. (Knoxville News Sentinel Archive)

A cottage on River Road is damaged after a flash flood Sept. 2, 1951, in Gatlinburg. (Knoxville News Sentinel Archive)

Howard Webb shovels mud that flowed into his mother's home after a flash flood Sept. 2, 1951, on River Road in Gatlinburg. (Knoxville News Sentinel Archive)

The bridge to the Greystone Hotel shows damage on Sunday, Sept. 2, 1951, after a flash flood the previous night in Gatlinburg. (Knoxville News Sentinel Archive)

Mud covers a yard after a flash flood Sept. 2, 1951, in Gatlinburg. (Knoxville News Sentinel Archive)

Downtown Gatlinburg in January 1985. (Knoxville News Sentinel Archive)

Liquor, slot machines, two racehorse machines, and two punchboards seized in Gatlinburg are displayed on Aug. 18, 1963, at the Sevier County Jail in Sevierville. The officers are Sheriff Ray C. Noland, left, Deputies R.F. Cox, David Wadley, Tommy Pitner, and Kates Ogle. The liquor and gambling devices were seized at the Elks Club and the Gatlinburg Ski Club. (Knoxville News Sentinel Archive)

With 18 swimsuit-wearing beauty contestants looking on, Gatlinburg Ski Corp. President Dick Whaley gives a champagne christening to a bulldozer on June 3, 1961, to kick off construction of the forerunner of Ober Gatlinburg. (Knoxville News Sentinel Archive)

Gatlinburg Ski Resort, forerunner of Ober Gatlinburg, viewed Dec. 3, 1961, from the top of the advanced run on Mt. Harrison. Gatlinburg is in the background. (Knoxville News Sentinel Archive)

Gatlinburg Mayor Mike Werner stands in front of his business, Camp Thunder, on Nov. 30, 2001. Werner lost his home and a condo business in the wildfires that swept Gatlinburg. (Knoxville News Sentinel Archive)