1946 Pictorial Tourist Map of the American Southwest

This attractive 1946 pictorial map of the American Southwest was produced by the Fred Harvey Company, the concessioner for the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad. The map promotes not only the famous geological attractions of the Southwest, but also 'Harvey Car' cultural tourism to both Native American historic sites and living villages.

Harvey Car Tourism

At its peak, the Fred Harvey Company ran 84 hotels and restaurants along the railway from Topeka to San Francisco, with many locations in Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona. Later, the company expanded into demonstrations of Native American crafts and 'Indian Detours, which took tourists in private 'Harvey Cars' from rail stops into Indian Country. The present map dovetails with these promotions, combining verso imagery of Navajo and Pueblo artistic motifs with a map detailing attractions.

A Closer Look

The white-on-blue printed map spans New Mexico, Arizona, southern Colorado, Nevada, California, and southern Utah. Towns and cities are shown in relation to the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, the Southern Pacific, the Union Pacific, and the Rock Island Line. Throughout are illustrations of regional tourist attractions, ranging from natural features (the Grand Canyon Rainbow Bridge, Carlsbad Caverns) to Native American sites (Hopi Villages, Chaco Canyon, the Painted Desert, Mesa Verde) to modern wonders (Roosevelt Dam, Boulder Dam, and Los Angeles). An inset map details the Grand Canyon National Park. A table at the bottom compares the altitude of the attractions with that of major American cities.

Publication History and Census

This blue-printed 1946 edition of the map is scarce. We see eight examples cataloged in institutional collections. Eleven examples printed in the fifties and sixties can likewise be found; later editions are printed in brown rather than blue.