[Strip Map][Advertising] Shortest Route New York--Florida via Raleigh

Item Details

[Strip Map][Advertising] Shortest Route New York--Florida via Raleigh, No Tolls--No Ferries--Wider Roads and Bridges --Safest--Scenic--Quickest. Raleigh, NC: Robert Meyer Hotels, nd, but probably circa late 1930s. 

Unfolded, the strip map measures 4 x 22 inches; ocean and rivers colored green; the names of the five featured hotels are overprinted on the map in red. Unbroken circular punch abrasion near the Hotel Stacy-Trent [NJ] site title; three horizontal fold lines. Overall, in Very Good condition.

The map shows U.S. Hwy 1 from Boston in the north extending all the way down the Atlantic seaboard to Miami, Florida. From Raleigh, NC south, various alternative routes (scenic and/or quicker), including highways 15A, 17, and 301, would take the automobile driver to Jacksonville, Florida. The five featured hotels along the way were The Stacy-Trent in Trenton, NJ; The Emerson in Baltimore, MD; Hotel Sir Walter in Raleigh, NC; Hotel Windsor in Jacksonville, FL; and The Roosevelt, also in Jacksonville. A penciled note along the edge by The Roosevelt description states, "Renamed Roosevelt in 1937". Other Robert Meyer Hotels are mentioned in Roanoke, VA, Nashville, TN, Knoxville, TN, and Atlanta, GA.

A clue to the late 1930s date of this strip map comes from that penciled notation. The Roosevelt was originally named the Carling. Built in 1926, the hotel was acquired around 1937/38 by the Robert Meyer Hotels chain and renamed The Roosevelt. Unfortunately, the hotel gained notoriety in late December 1963 when a major fire broke out and killed many people, making it one of Jacksonville's most deadly days.