{"product_id":"old-road-map-of-st-thomas-us-virgin-islands-1960-charlotte-amalie-tutu-red-hook-cruz-bay-airport","title":"Old Road Map of St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, 1960: Charlotte Amalie, Tutu, Red Hook, Cruz Bay, Airport","description":"\u003cp\u003eRoad Map St. Thomas Virgin Islands, issued in 1960, is a spirited portrait of the U.S. Virgin Islands’ most storied isle at the threshold of modern tourism and investment. Commissioned for Tropical Real Estate by Ward and Virginia French and their daughter, Eleanor French Booraem, the map was designed to orient prospective buyers while conjuring the island’s allure. Its hand-drawn aesthetic pairs crisp, red-lined roads with playful vignettes of local flora and fauna, and it clearly marks the Charlotte Amalie city limits to frame the capital’s urban extent. Major routes are labeled for quick comprehension, linking coastal harbors to interior estates and hill towns. The result is both practical and aspirational: an invitation to explore neighborhoods, amenities, and prospects under unmistakable U.S. jurisdiction, all rendered with the charm and clarity of midcentury commercial cartography.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe anonymous cartographer left little biographical trace, but the patrons are vividly present in spirit. Ward French, a music executive with a flair for presentation, and Eleanor French Booraem, a café singer who entertained troops during World War II, imported a showman’s instinct to real estate. Their promotional map fuses stagecraft with place-making: a visual script that cues the viewer where to look, how to move, and what to imagine. The French Real Estate offices appear as reassuring anchors—fixed points in a landscape of opportunity—while the island’s cultural tempo resonates in the design’s upbeat, approachable style. In the optimism of 1960, this map became both guide and promise, fusing mainland networks, wartime-era charisma, and the magnetic rhythm of Caribbean life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt the heart of the composition lies connectivity. Clean red lines articulate the island’s road hierarchy, radiating from Charlotte Amalie to the interior around Tutu and onward to the east end at Red Hook. Each labeled route stages a sequence of destinations: schools and civic institutions, neighborhoods and estates, cafés and hotels. The high school in Charlotte Amalie is called out as a keystone of community life, while the airport—boldly marked—signals the island’s growing reach and the ease with which buyers might arrive. Estates march across the hills in orderly typography, evoking plantation-era legacies reframed as residential enclaves. The map suggests elevation and aspect by the sweep of the roads and placement of names, hinting at breezes, views, and morning light without relying on heavy topographic devices.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCharlotte Amalie, with its city limits cleanly outlined, commands the harbor and sets the map’s civic tone—streets and services coalescing around government, commerce, and culture. Eastward, the road to Red Hook promises a release into yachts, ferries, and clear-water coves, with Cruz Bay noted as a neighboring point of access across Pillsbury Sound. The interior around Tutu is treated as a connective basin where roads, estates, and amenities meet, illustrating a daily geography of work, school, and market. Cafés and hotels are flagged like friendly waypoints, previewing the island hours between arrival and settling in. By balancing capital, coast, and countryside, the map frames a day’s movement as an elegant loop—harbor mornings, inland errands, and an east-end sunset.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVisually, the sheet hums with midcentury confidence. Hand-lettered estate names and jaunty icons humanize distance; the red road network reads like a living circulatory system; and the flora-and-fauna embellishments elevate marketing into memory. The clear assertion of U.S. jurisdiction was itself a selling point in 1960, when the postwar real estate boom met the Caribbean’s glamour and the music industry’s storytelling power. In that intersection, this map found its voice: a cultivated blend of accuracy and aspiration. As a historical artifact, it preserves a pivotal moment when air travel shrank oceans, island planning professionalized, and the dream of a house in the tropics felt one drive away. It is a roadmap, and a narrative, in perfect step.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCities and towns on this map\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCharlotte Amalie — Largest city and capital (modern-day population approximately 18,000)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTutu — Census-designated place (modern population estimates around 7,000)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRed Hook — Town known for its ferry terminal (population near 2,000)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCruz Bay — On St. John; may be labeled as a point of interest for access\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNotable Features \u0026amp; Landmarks\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCharlotte Amalie City Limits — Outlined to indicate the boundary\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMajor Roads — Clearly delineated, with labeled routes showing connectivity across the island\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrench Real Estate Offices — Noted as key locations on the map\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHigh School — Identified as a significant institution in Charlotte Amalie\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAirport — Shown as a critical transportation hub\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEstates — Various estates and neighborhoods labeled throughout the island\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCafés and Hotels — Places of interest for tourism and accommodation\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHistorical and design context\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCreated in 1960 by an anonymous cartographer\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePrepared for Ward and Virginia French and Eleanor French Booraem, doing business as Tropical Real Estate\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDistributed as a promotional tool by the French family’s real estate company to appeal to potential buyers in St. Thomas\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWard French was a music executive; Eleanor French Booraem was a café singer in the 1930s–40s who entertained troops during WWII\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHand-drawn aesthetic with red lines indicating roads, complemented by illustrations of local flora and fauna\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eReflects the post–World War II Caribbean real estate boom and the intertwining of Caribbean culture with the music industry\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShows main roads, significant buildings, estates, and public amenities such as schools and an airport\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSt. Thomas, Virgin Islands, presented clearly under U.S. jurisdiction\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003ePlease double check the images to make sure that a specific town or place is shown on this map. You can also get in touch and ask us to check the map for you.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis map looks great at every size, but I always recommend going for a larger size if you have space. That way you can easily make out all of the details. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 90in (230cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please \u003ca href=\"\/it\/pages\/contact-us\"\u003eget in touch\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eThe model in the listing images is holding the 24x36in (60x90cm) version of this map.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe fifth listing image shows an example of my map personalisation service.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIf you’re looking for something slightly different, check out my collection of the \u003ca href=\"\/it\/collections\/all-old-vintage-antique-maps\"\u003ebest old maps\u003c\/a\u003e to see if something else catches your eye.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePlease \u003ca href=\"\/it\/pages\/contact-us\"\u003econtact me\u003c\/a\u003e to check if a certain location, landmark or feature is shown on this map.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis would make a wonderful birthday, Christmas, Father's Day, work leaving, anniversary or housewarming gift for someone from the areas covered by this map.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis map is available as a giclée print on acid free archival matte paper, or you can buy it framed. The frame is a nice, simple black frame that suits most aesthetics. Please get in touch if you'd like a different frame colour or material. My frames are glazed with super-clear museum-grade acrylic (perspex\/acrylite), which is significantly less reflective than glass, safer, and will always arrive in perfect condition.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Unique Maps Co.","offers":[{"title":"12x18in (30x45cm) \/ Map","offer_id":58249400746368,"sku":"UM00294851A","price":360.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x18in (30x45cm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":58249400779136,"sku":"UM00294852A","price":970.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x18in (30x45cm) \/ Framed canvas map","offer_id":58249400811904,"sku":"UM00294853A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Map","offer_id":58249400844672,"sku":"UM00294854A","price":360.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":58249400877440,"sku":"UM00294855A","price":970.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Framed canvas 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