1962 McGriff City Plan of Gainesville, Florida

This is a 1962 map of Gainesville, Florida, prepared by the Perry C. McGriff Co. and issued by the city's Chamber of Commerce. Among other features, the map reflects the rapid expansion of both the University of Florida and the city as a whole in the post-World War II period.

A Closer Look

Resembling a surveyor's map or a diazotype urban planning map, this piece covers the city of Gainesville, with city limits traced. State roads and streets are labelled throughout, as are rail lines (the Seaboard Airline and Atlantic Coast Line), government buildings, schools (including the University of Florida), lakes, and the Municipal Airport (also known as the John R. Alison Airport), which had been used by the U.S. Army during World War II but was turned over to civilian use in 1948. A small legend below the scale at right explains the street naming system used throughout the city.

Historical Context

Both Gainesville and the University of Florida were growing quickly at this time, as evidenced by groups of plotted out streets detached from the rest of the city (including an entirely undeveloped exclave to the east of the airport), a sign of expected future growth. This was largely the result of the Second World War. Not only did the war result in the building of Camp Blanding some 30 miles northeast of the city, which brought in money and migrants, but the G.I. Bill resulted in thousands of new students at the University of Florida in the years immediately after the war. Many of these student-veterans stayed in the area upon graduation (the population of Gainesville roughly doubled between 1940 to 1950). In the following years, the city continued to benefit from the general postwar economic and population boom in Florida, and the population of Gainesville more than doubled between 1960 and 1970, as the Baby Boomer Generation reached college age.

Publication History and Census

This map was prepared by the Perry C. McGriff Co. and issued by the Gainesville Chamber of Commerce in May 1962. Several editions appear to exist, all dating from the early-mid 1960s. Altogether, the various editions of this map are listed among the holdings of some fifteen institutions in the OCLC, but we only find this 1962 dated edition among the holdings of the University of Florida itself.