Savannah, Georgia: America’s First Planned City
Georgia was the last of the 13 original British colonies founded, with Savannah its first settlement. The city sits on a bluff above the Savannah River, a few miles upstream of the Atlantic Ocean. Savannah was laid out in 1733 and is considered America’s first planned city, having been cut out of a pine forest and established in a grid pattern centered around its still-iconic squares, the better to organize, defend, and govern the original settlers.
Washington, D.C.: America’s Greatest Planned City?
Our grandparents Leon and Mary Bell Grayson were each born and raised in Savannah, where Leon (1906-1993) toiled as a young lawyer during the Great Depression. In 1935 he accepted a temporary appointment in FDR’s Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., the federal capital laid out in the early 1790s. Broad avenues crisscross numbered and lettered streets forming equally-iconic circles and triangles surrounding a monumental central core. Leon and Mary (1909-2001) lived in Washington for the remainder of their long lives. Even so, Mary never lost her gentle southern accent, and their apartment decor spoke just as softly of their continued attachment to their coastal Georgia hometown, which they usually tried to visit once or twice annually.
Leon and Mary left us dozens of letters, several hundred photos and negatives, and a variety of other documents and remembrances. Among these latter are a few vintage tourist guidebooks and a stack of old road maps dating to the 1930s, each an fascinating snapshot in time. The text, illustrations, advertisements, prices, and other details reveal how much has changed – and what still endures.
1936 Minute Tourist Guide, Washington D.C.
“THE MINUTE TOURIST SERVICE extends a friendly greeting to all guests of the Nation’s Capital. Permit us to present, with our compliments, this illustrated and descriptive Guide Book of Washington, its principal attractions and historic environs. It is our desire and sincere hope that you will find it of service in helping you plan your tour of the most beautiful city in the world.”
“The World’s Greatest National Capital” and “the most beautiful city in the world.” Such are the claims of a 32-page tourist guide published in 1936 by Minute Tourist Service, “supported by contributions from leading business interests of Washington, Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.” An online 1925 historic photo shows “Minute Service Station #1” – a sheltered row of early gasoline pumps fronting auto-related storefronts attached to a parking garage – on the 1000 block of 17th Street N.W. The 1936 Minute Tourist Service Washington Information Center was located at “1014 SEVENTEENTH ST N.W.'” That their sightseeing arm was an outgrowth of their original auto business is not surprising, as automobile service stations of the era provided not only full service gasoline and tire and auto repair, but road maps and travel advice as well. Amoco, Citgo, Esso, Gulf, and Shell each published maps in our grandparents collection. The guide depicts “Minute Man Highway [Information] Station” on U.S. Route 1 about 12 miles northwest of Washington near Beltsville, Maryland. One assumes this was a service station as well.
1944 Junior League Guide to the City of Savannah
“One of the charms of Savannah to visitors is the surrounding country where century old live oaks, draped with Spanish moss, and great sweeps of tidal marshes and rivers make a background for the many interesting places within a day’s drive of the city.”
The Junior League of Savannah published this sixth edition of their text-heavy and beautifully illustrated 43-page city guide in 1944. It includes a city history, descriptions of streets and buildings along the river and atop the bluff, a tour of a handful of squares, histories of numerous historic homes and structures, and directions and highlights of 4 automobile area day trips.
Additional Guides
“Savannah is a highly civilized port city.”
- American Oil (Amoco) published the 72-page “Points Of Interest in And About Washington” in 1948.
- Christ Episcopal Church and the Historic Savannah Foundation published a quad-fold brochure advertising their “1978 Savannah Tour of Homes and Gardens.” Its introduction reads: “Savannah, Colonial capital of Georgia, is a highly civilized port city situated on a bluff overlooking the Savannah River.”
- A compact 3.5″ x 2.5″ 46-page booklet titled “Washington in Miniature” dates to the late 1940s. First published in 1926, its 21st printing was “Courtesy of Frank R. Jelleff, Inc.” One point of interest is illustrated on each page, followed by descriptive text. The last illustration depicts the 12-story Jelleff’s Department Store on “Fashionable F Street N.W.” The locally-owned retailer closed in the 1970s, though the building facade yet survives.1
In a unique way, each guide is a fascinating snapshot in time. The text, illustrations, advertisements, prices, and other details reveal how much has changed – and what still endures.
1 Frank Jelleff founded the first boys club in Washington. For years we, Leon and Mary’s grandchildren, attended Jelleff Boys and Girls Club every summer for low-cost swimming and recreation opportunities.
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