Tamiami Trail (Fla.) Photograph Collection (VAM158)

Abstract

The J. B. McCrary Company, owned by Georgia Tech graduate Joseph Boyd McCrary, worked on the Tamiami Trail in Florida, which opened the frontier area known as the Everglades to commerce and settlement. These photographs document the early years of its construction, which was completed in 1928.

Biography of Joseph Boyd McCrary

Joseph Boyd McCrary graduated from Georgia Tech in 1891, with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. After graduation, McCrary worked for Moore and McCrary, a mechanical engineering company in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1916, Dade County Government (Florida) floated a bond issue for building the Tamiami Trail and contracted Joseph McCrary's firm to build thirty-two miles of road west of Miami. However, in 1923, the McCrary firm withdrew from the project after completing seventeen miles. The Florida State Road Department completed the trail in 1928.

Description

This collection consists of sixty-one gelatin silver prints, which are in good condition, with minimal silver mirroring; however, several photographs have experienced image color change from black to yellow-brown.