1994 Pictorial Map of Jacksonville Florida welcoming U.S.S. Saratoga

A scarce 1994 pictorial map of Jacksonville, Florida. This map was issued to celebrate the return of the U.S.S. Saratoga, a CV-60 class aircraft carrier to Mayport Naval Base in Jacksonville. The view looks loosely east on Jacksonville from a fictional highpoint to the west. The Intercostal waterway and Jacksonville beaches are evident at the top of the map. The St. John's River flows on the left, cutting through the city. The map is rife with brightly colored advertisements representing prominent local business - the sponsors of the map. The Saratoga herself is situated at center, with her complement of crew.

U.S.S. Saratoga

The Saratoga is a CV-60 class aircraft carrier built for the U.S. Navy in the early 1950s and commissioned in 1956. The aircraft carrier was mostly stationed in the Mediterranean, but also participated in the Vietnam War (1955 - 1875) and the first Gulf War (1991). Saratoga was decommissioned at the Naval Station, Mayport, Florida, on 20 August 1994, and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register the same day. There was a drive to establish the ship as a naval museum in Jacksonville, - which this map is meant to support - but the needed funds never materialized. She was scrapped in Brownsville Texas in March 2019.

Publication History and Census

This view is not dated and no publisher named, but it was made for the USS Saratoga Museum Foundation, an organization established to set up the Saratoga as a Museum Ship in Jacksonville Harbor. The note in the lower left congratulating the U.S.S. Saratogaon '38 years of commissioned duty' and the active dates of the USS Saratoga Museum Foundation, clearly date the piece to 1994. As the efforts of the USS Saratoga Museum Foundation ultimately failed, this map had a very ephemeral nature and, although not old, is extremely rare, this being the only cataloged example.