Titled “Point Washington,” this 1936 United States Geological Survey map presents a finely observed portrait of Florida’s Gulf Coast at a pivotal moment, long before the modern resort communities of Alys Beach, Rosemary Beach, Seaside, Watercolor, and Santa Rosa Beach transformed the shoreline. Drawn at a 1:48,000 scale, it offers a broader yet still richly detailed view of the coast, bays, inland tracks, and low relief landscape surrounding Point Washington. Its “advance” designation gives the sheet the character of a working governmental record: practical, precise, and immediate. With its spare black-line cartography on a warm beige ground, the map evokes the disciplined clarity of interwar American topographic mapping.

The United States Geological Survey, founded in 1879, became the nation’s foremost authority on mapping landforms, waterways, mineral resources, and the physical structure of the American landscape. By the 1930s, its topographic maps were indispensable to engineers, planners, conservationists, and local governments, especially in fast-changing regions such as coastal Florida. This sheet reflects that institutional mission: it is not decorative in the traditional sense, but its beauty lies in measured exactitude. Roads, trails, contours, shorelines, wetlands, and settlements are all rendered with a restrained graphic language that turns practical survey data into a lucid visual history of place.

The geography shown here is defined by the meeting of Choctawhatchee Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, two bodies of water that give the region its distinctive coastal character. The map records beaches, bay margins, lakes, smaller inlets, and the delicate transitions between upland, wetland, and shore. Contour lines are subtle but essential, tracing the modest elevation changes of a landscape shaped by sand, water, wind, and vegetation rather than dramatic mountains or deep valleys. In this low coastal terrain, even slight rises matter, influencing settlement, drainage, road placement, and views across the bay and gulf.

For viewers familiar with today’s celebrated communities along Scenic Highway 30A, the historical resonance is striking. Places now associated with architecture, leisure, beach culture, and carefully planned resort life appear here in an earlier landscape of sparse roads, open land, and coastal quiet. Seaside, Watercolor, Rosemary Beach, Alys Beach, and Santa Rosa Beach are now names with strong identities, but this map preserves the underlying geography before much of that identity was built. It reveals the foundational terrain beneath later development: the dunes, woods, waterways, and sandy corridors that shaped the possibilities of modern Gulf Coast living.

As a historical document, “Point Washington” captures a coast on the threshold of change. Its network of smaller roadways and trails suggests a region accessible yet still lightly imprinted, where human movement followed the logic of shorelines, bay edges, and natural passages through the landscape. The straightforward USGS style invites close looking: each line carries information, each symbol marks a practical relationship between people and terrain. For collectors drawn to Florida history, coastal topography, or the origins of beloved beach towns, this map offers a rare view of place before fame—a measured, elegant record of the Gulf Coast’s enduring natural framework.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Alys Beach
• Rosemary Beach
• Santa Rosa Beach
• Seaside
• Watercolor
• Choctawhatchee Bay
• Gulf of Mexico
• Water features, including lakes and smaller bays
• Adjacent land areas and their topographical characteristics
• Numerous smaller roadways and trails across the map

Historical context & cartographic details

• Published by the US Geological Survey (USGS), known for authoritative geographic and natural resource mapping.
• Created in 1936 as a historical 1:48,000 topographical map of the Point Washington area in Florida.
• Shows the region before extensive modern development, preserving a view of the natural coastal landscape prior to major urbanization and tourism growth.
• Uses a straightforward black-line style with a beige background, typical of USGS maps from the era.
• Includes contour lines representing elevation changes, along with symbols for land uses and natural features.
• Provides topographic detail for beaches, coastal lines, bay areas, and the surrounding Gulf Coast terrain.
• Marked with the special feature note “advance.”

Looking for a particular place? Review the detailed images to confirm that the town, landmark or feature you have in mind appears on the map. If you are unsure, ask our workshop to check before you order.

Detailed maps are especially rewarding at larger sizes, where names, boundaries and decorative features have more room to be appreciated. Use the close-up preview and size guide to choose the right scale for your wall.

This map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 50in (125cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please get in touch.

The model in the listing images is holding the 16x20in (40x50cm) version of this map.

Where personalisation is available, you can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. See personalised map examples.

Every piece is printed to museum-grade archival standards using fade-resistant pigment inks on acid-free matte paper. Choose an unframed map print, framed map or canvas using the finish options above. Framed maps use crystal-clear optical acrylic and arrive ready to hang.

With its rich detail and strong sense of place, this map makes a considered gift for a new home, anniversary, retirement or anyone with a personal connection to the area shown. Still deciding? Explore our collection of rare old and vintage maps to discover another place, period or style.

This map is also available as a float framed canvas, sometimes known as a shadow gap framed canvas or canvas floater. The map is printed on artist's cotton canvas and then stretched over a handmade box frame. We then "float" the canvas inside a wooden frame, which is available in a range of colours (black, dark brown, oak, antique gold and white). This is a wonderful way to present a map without glazing in front. See some examples of float framed canvas maps and explore the differences between my different finishes.

For something truly unique, this map is also available in "Unique 3D", our trademarked process that dramatically transforms the map so that it has a wonderful sense of depth. We combine the original map with detailed topography and elevation data, so that mountains and the terrain really "pop". For more info and examples of 3D maps, check my Unique 3D page.