RECREATION WITHOUT HUMILIATION: the PRESERVATION of TRAVEL GUIDE RESOURCES in PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA by AUDREY THOMAS (Under the D
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RECREATION WITHOUT HUMILIATION: THE PRESERVATION OF TRAVEL GUIDE RESOURCES IN PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA by AUDREY THOMAS (Under the Direction of Wayde Brown) ABSTRACT The rise of the automobile occurred during Jim Crow in the United States. This was a time in which African Americans faced legal discrimination and violence on a regular basis, making travel particularly difficult. Many business owners either refused service to African Americans or provided substandard service. In order to ease these difficulties, guide books were published for the African American community beginning as early as 1930. These books served as directories to catalog safe businesses, such as hotels, gas stations, and restaurants, for traveling African Americans. This thesis examines travel guide resources in Portsmouth, Virginia to investigate what they reveal about the history of segregated travel in America and to discuss the future of preservation for these sites. INDEX WORDS: African American History, Segregation, Travel, Automobility, Travel Guides, Green Books, Victor Green, Portsmouth, Virginia, Historic Preservation RECREATION WITHOUT HUMILIATION: THE PRESERVATION OF TRAVEL GUIDE RESOURCES IN PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA by AUDREY THOMAS B.S., Appalachian State University, 2015 A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF HISTORIC PRESERVATION ATHENS, GEORGIA 2018 © 2018 Audrey Thomas All Rights Reserved RECREATION WITHOUT HUMILIATION: THE PRESERVATION OF TRAVEL GUIDE RESOURCES IN PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA by AUDREY THOMAS Major Professor: Wayde Brown Committee: Scott Nesbit Chana Kai Lee Dinah Walters Electronic Version Approved: Suzanne Barbour Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia May 2018 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank Dr. Wayde Brown for his advice, direction, and encouragement during the entire process of completing this thesis. I would also like to thank Dr. Scott Nesbit, Dr. Chana Lee, and Mrs. Dinah Walters for their participation on my committee. Finally, I would like to thank Mae Breckenridge-Haywood and Juan Fagan for their invaluable help with this research and their willingness to share their knowledge and experiences. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... iv LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... vii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................1 Methodology ................................................................................................3 Literature ......................................................................................................4 Chapter Summaries ......................................................................................5 2 AFRICAN AMERICAN TRAVEL DURING SEGREGATION .....................8 Summary ....................................................................................................20 3 AFRICAN AMERICAN AUTOMOBILITY ..................................................21 Summary ....................................................................................................28 "[Click here and type Subheading]" # 4 SEGREGATION ERA TRAVEL GUIDES ....................................................30 Summary ....................................................................................................40 5 PRESERVATION OF AFRICAN AMERICAN RESOURCES ....................41 Summary ....................................................................................................50 "[Click here and type Subheading]" # 6 TRAVEL GUIDE RESOURCES IN PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA ...............51 Portsmouth History ....................................................................................51 Travel Guide Resources in Portsmouth .....................................................54 Lost Travel Guide Resources in Portsmouth .............................................57 v Extant Resources in Portsmouth, VA ........................................................74 Fagan’s Seafood Restaurant .......................................................................82 Summary ....................................................................................................92 7 PRESERVATION OF TRAVEL GUIDE RESOURCES ...............................93 Ongoing Preservation Efforts ....................................................................93 Minority Resources, Travel Guide Resources, and the National Register 96 Beyond the National Register ..................................................................114 Summary ..................................................................................................124 8 THE LEGACY AND FUTURE OF TRAVEL GUIDE RESOURCES ........126 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................134 APPENDICES A TRAVEL GUIDE RESOURCES LISTED IN PORTSMOUTH, VA ..........146 B TRAVEL GUIDE RESOURCES IN PORTSMOUTH MAP .......................148 C EXTANT TRAVEL GUIDE RESOURCES IN PORTSMOUTH MAP ......150 vi LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 4.1: Ebony’s Annual Vacation Guide, 1961 ...........................................................31 Figure 4.2: Hackley and Harrison’s Hotels and Apartment Guide, 1930 .........................33 Figure 4.3: Travelguide, 1949 ............................................................................................33 Figure 4.4: Victor Hugo Green .........................................................................................34 Figure 4.5: The Negro Motorist Green Book, 1937 ...........................................................36 Figure 4.6: The Green Book, 1962 .....................................................................................37 Figure 6.1: Original plat of Portsmouth, Virginia..............................................................51 Figure 6.2: Current Boundaries of Portsmouth, Virginia ..................................................52 Figure 6.3: Advertisement for The Taxi Tavern in Grayson’s Guide in 1949 ..................57 Figure 6.4: Dr. Jackson’s house on Effingham Street .......................................................59 Figure 6.5: Southwest corner of London Street and Effingham Street ..............................60 Figure 6.6: South Street looking west from Chestnut Street, 1950s ..................................62 Figure 6.7: Southwest corner of Effingham Street and South Street .................................62 Figure 6.8: The YMCA on Chestnut Street .......................................................................64 Figure 6.9: A group of African American teenagers socializing at the YMCA, 1950s .....64 Figure 6.10: Omicron Hotel on Green Street .....................................................................65 Figure 6.11: Rev. E.W. Davidson’s Residence, East Elevation, 2017 ..............................76 Figure 6.12: Rev. E.W. Davidson’s Residence, North Elevation, 2017 ............................76 Figure 6.13: Advertisement for Durant Bayside Cottages in Ebony, 1960 .......................78 vii Figure 6.14: Raymond Durant’s Residence, East Elevation, 2017 ....................................79 Figure 6.15: Raymond Durant’s Residence, South Elevation, 2017 .................................79 Figure 6.16: Marshall’s Cities Service Station, East and South Elevation, 2017 ..............81 Figure 6.17: Marshall’s Cities Service Station, East Elevation Entry, 2017 .....................82 Figure 6.18: Willie Mae Fagan outside the original Fagan’s Restaurant, 1954 ................83 Figure 6.19: John Fagan outside the original Fagan’s Restaurant, 1954 ...........................83 Figure 6.20: Expanded restaurant area seating area, late 1950s to early 1960s .................83 Figure 6.21: Willie Mae and a sister-in-law in the kitchen, late 1950s to early 1960s .....85 Figure 6.22: Customers at Fagan’s Restaurant, late 1950s to early 1960s ........................86 Figure 6.23: Willie Mae Fagan at the bar, between 1979 and 1986 ..................................87 Figure 6.24: John and Willie Mae Fagan at the cash register, between 1979 and 1986 ....88 Figure 6.25: John Fagan in the renovated seating area, between 1979 and 1986 ..............88 Figure 6.26: Willie Mae Fagan in the renovated seating area, between 1979 and 1986 ...89 Figure 6.27: 935 Portsmouth Boulevard, South Elevation, 2017 ......................................91 Figure 6.28: 935 Portsmouth Boulevard, East Elevation, 2017 .........................................92 Figure 7.1: 3016 S. Elm Ave Sanborn Map, 1954 .............................................................99 Figure 7.2: 3016 S. Elm Ave Tax Assessor, 2017 ...........................................................100 Figure 7.3: Historic S. Elm Avenue .................................................................................100 Figure 7.4: 2306 Chestnut Ave Sanborn Map, 1954 .......................................................101 Figure 7.5: 2306 Chestnut Ave Tax Assessor, 2017 ........................................................101 Figure 7.6: Recent construction next to 2306 Chestnut Ave, 2017 .................................102 Figure 7.7: 1808 Portsmouth Boulevard Tax Assessor, 2017 .........................................102 Figure 7.8: