This week’s post highlights photographs from RG 30, Records of the Bureau of Public Roads (BPR). These images come from series 30-RW and depict the construction of the Blue Ridge Parkway from the clearing of land to paving. The series begins with images from 1931 depicting the construction of Skyline Drive, a scenic road that connects to the parkway. There is extensive coverage of bridge construction, ditches, and other drainage features of the road. There are views of the Panorama Hotel Tea Room, Monticello, and the Knights of the Golden Horseshoe marker. A large portion of the negatives were taken by a W. D. Stanton who often photographed from various vantage points to get the best view of his subject.
The Blue Ridge Parkway, spanning 469 miles, is the longest road planned as a single unit in the United States. The plans for the first proposed section of Skyline Drive were approved on June 9, 1931 by the National Park Service and the BPR. Construction of the parkway began in 1935 and was eventually funded by the federal Public Works Administration as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. Although the location is unknown for the majority of the negatives, road signs and project signs provide location hints.
Are you the descendant of someone who helped construct the parkway? Let us know in the comments!
Note: The images used in this blog post will be available to download from the catalog in the coming weeks. This series is currently being processed by staff.