1979 Dolph Map of Tallahassee, Florida

A detailed 1979 Dolph Map Company city map of Tallahassee, Florida. It presents the city during a period of growth and dynamism, punctuated by the new state capitol, constructed in 1977.

A Closer Look

Tallahassee's city center is presented with surrounding neighborhoods. A grid surrounds the map, corresponding to a detailed street index on the verso. Streets, highways, railroads, schools (listed in an index at top), parks, golf courses, and other features, including 'places of interest' (also listed in an index at top), are labeled. Florida State University sits near the center, while Florida A and M (Agricultural and Mechanical) University is just south, and Tallahassee Community College to its west. The Tallahassee Municipal Airport (now Tallahassee International Airport) is situated towards bottom-left.

Verso Content

The verso includes a highway map of Leon County, a map presenting a continuation of Killearn Estates from the recto (this neighborhood in the city's northeast was its first planned community, built in the mid-1960s), and a view of the Florida State University Campus, with buildings labeled. This map was published soon after Bobby Bowden had become the head coach of the Seminoles' football team, beginning one of the most successful coaching runs in college football history.

New Capitol Building

Also on the verso is an inset of the state capitol center with individual buildings numbered, corresponding to an adjacent index. A new capitol building (number 17), constructed in 1977, was unusual in being a high-rise (22 stories and 345 feet tall) and is still one of the tallest state capitol buildings in the country. The adjacent old capitol building (constructed in 1845) was initially planned to be demolished but was saved and converted into a museum. Prior to the construction of the new capitol building, there was discussion of relocating Florida's capitol further south, closer to the state's geographic center and the bulk of its population, but the new building cemented Tallahassee's role as the state's administrative and legislative center.

Publication History and Census

This map was prepared and published by the Dolph Map Co. in 1979. Maps published by Dolph with this title date from between 1962 and 1997, but we are unable to locate any examples of this edition in the OCLC or in institutional collections.