1966 Boucher Placemat Map of Block Island, Rhode Island (Surf Hotel)

This is a c. 1966 W. Boucher pictorial map of Block Island created as a placemat for The Surf Hotel, a Block Island landmark.

A Closer Look

A map of Block Island occupies most of the sheet. The North Light and Southeast Lighthouse are illustrated by pictorial vignettes. Settlers Rock, Black Rock Point, Harbor Pond, Sands Pond, Fresh Pond, and Chagum Pond appear. A dot between Old Harbor and Harbor Pond places The Surf Hotel. A vignette of The Surf Hotel occupies the lower left, while a view of the harbor from the hotel's appears in the upper right.

The Surf Hotel

The Surf Hotel started as the building on the right side of the illustration. This structure was built in 1873 by Dr. Thomas Mann, an American Civil War veteran and Block Island's doctor. Dr. Mann and his family lived in the 'Surf Cottage', and he ran a drug store and news office out of the ground floor. Dr. Mann and his family left Block Island in 1876, and the building's new owner, Charles Willis (Block Island's postmaster), turned it into a small hotel. Willis then added the central three-story addition in 1884 and then the four-story addition on the left in 1888. Eventually Willis sold the hotel, and it exchanged hands several more times. The building fell into disrepair and the hotel closed for seventeen years before the Cyr family bought it in 1956. Today, The Surf Hotel is owned by Lark Hotels and is part of a resort called Block Island Beach House.

Publication History and Census

This placemat was created by W. Boucher for The Surf Hotel c. 1966. This is the only known cataloged example.