Roads Less Traveled – Leave the Boredom of the Expressway For the Rich History of the Scenic Byway

With the advent of the automobile at the beginning of the past century, Americans rediscovered their desire to explore the open territory which surrounded them. Transport that was originally achieved on horseback could now be accomplished from the cushioned seats of the horseless carriage. In contrast, the byways needed to use this latest transportation invention were not quite developed yet. Most road surfaces were composed of packed dirt, gravel, or even logs laid side by side. By the early 1920’s, new methods of road construction were resulting in surfaces of macadam, asphalt, and concrete. Unfortunately, the use of these surfaces originally focused on urban roads, leaving long distance automobile travel less than inviting.Despite the spread of more uniform and durable road surfaces, driving from Point A to Point B still remained an often insurmountable challenge. Roads were named haphazardly, changing from town to town and state to state. To illustrate the complexity of just a local excursion, I have included the following excerpt from the 1929 Automobile Green Book, outlining the directions from New Brunswick, N.J. to Paterson, N.J., a distance of 41 miles:0.0 New Brunswick. George and Albany Streets. Go north on George Street. 0.1 Go under railroad, then… Read full this story

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