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1959 U.S. Civil Defense Evacuation Map of Washington, D.C.
WashingtonWarningMap-civildefense-1959$125.00
Title
Washington Warning Area Map I.
1959 (dated) 27.25 x 27.25 in (69.215 x 69.215 cm) 1 : 44000
1959 (dated) 27.25 x 27.25 in (69.215 x 69.215 cm) 1 : 44000
Description
This is a 1959 Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization map of Washington, D.C created during the height of the Cold War. The map depicts the city from Falls Church and Springfield, Virginia to District Heights and Randolph Village, Maryland. Created to inform citizens living in and around Washington, D.C. of evacuation plans if there was an incoming nuclear strike, evacuation routes are overprinted through the city in red ink. Arrows along these routes indicate the direction of traffic flow. Three different boundaries are illustrated on the map by rows of boxes, which dictate the direction in which the evacuees were to travel. The boundary represented by the green boxes changes, depending on whether the attack happened during the day or at night, while the boundary illustrated by black boxes is constant. The red stars throughout the map are locations where evacuees without cars can board trains out of the city. A key in the lower right corner explains all of the notations used.
Incredibly detailed, individual streets within Washington, D.C. and in the surrounding suburbs, including Alexandria are labeled. The U.S. Capitol, the White House, the National Mall, Arlington National Cemetery, Union Station, the U.S. Naval Observatory, the U.S. Soldiers Home, and Rock Creek Park are all labeled. Both Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling (Bolling Naval Air Station) are labeled along the Potomac River.
This map was created by the Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization and printed by the Government Printing Office in 1959.
Incredibly detailed, individual streets within Washington, D.C. and in the surrounding suburbs, including Alexandria are labeled. The U.S. Capitol, the White House, the National Mall, Arlington National Cemetery, Union Station, the U.S. Naval Observatory, the U.S. Soldiers Home, and Rock Creek Park are all labeled. Both Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling (Bolling Naval Air Station) are labeled along the Potomac River.
This map was created by the Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization and printed by the Government Printing Office in 1959.
Cartographer
The Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization (1958 - 1973) was created in 1958 during the Eisenhower administration. It was originally named the Office of Defense and Civilian Mobilization and was an office of the Executive Office of the President consolidating the duties of the existing Office of Defense Mobilization and the Federal Civil Defense Administration. The civil defense responsibilities of the Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization were transferred to the Department of Defense's Office of Civil Defense after August 1, 1961. The office was then renamed the Office of Emergency Planning from September 22, 1961 and was eventually renamed again as the Office of Emergency Preparedness on October 21, 1968. The office was abolished on July 1, 1973. More by this mapmaker...
Source
Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization, 'Guide for Civil Defense Action in the Washington Warning Area'. (Washington, D.C.) 1959.
Condition
Very good. Light wear along original fold lines. Washington Warning Area Map II on verso. Accompanied by original pamphlet 'Guide for Civil Defense Action in the Washington Warning Area'.
References
OCLC 17328109.