KINDRED CAMPAIGNS
When planning and landscape design for the Blue Ridge Parkway began back in 1933, folks were also seeing this magazine in print for the first time.
Miles of pages and pavement later, both the Our State readers and motorists are still on the road to a love affair with
North Carolina.
In late-September that same year, the Asheville Citizen carried an article titled, “Byrd Outlines Park Road Plan.” This was the first mention in print of the future Blue Ridge Parkway.
Originally published in Our State Magazine
By November, Ickes had approved a “park-to-park highway” for federal funding under the Public Works Administration and hired Stanley L. Abbot, a landscape architect with New York’s Westchester County, to oversee planning. Abbott, who would become known as the “father of the Parkway,” had aninnovative plan to create a chain of parks and recreation areas while preserving the stunning views and Appalachian culture.
After much debate about the routing, construction began in September 1935. Extensive building projects were carried out for two decades by a mix of private contractors, Works Progress Administration workers, CCC crews, and staff from the Emergency Relief Administration. By 1966, the Parkway was complete but for 7.7 rugged miles around Grandfather Mountain. With the addition of the revolutionary Linn Cove Viaduct, the entire route opened to the public in 1987
Today, it's the most visited national park in the country. Labeled “America’s Favorite Journey,“ the Blue Ridge Parkway is a classic roadway that carries as much North Carolina lineage as Our State. With 252 of the parkway's 469 miles passing through North Carolina, this shared history makes for beloved Tar Heel traditions, both on and off the road