THE AUTOMOBILE AGE
STANDARDS: The material in this unit may be used to address the
following Social Studies Standards:
H-1A-E3 H-1B-M14 H-1B-H6
H-1D-E2 H1A-M4 E-1B-M7
LOCATION: Entire state
TIMEFRAME: c. 1910 – present
IMPORTANCE: The automobile gave people extraordinary freedom through
their increased ability to travel where and when they wanted.
It also allowed farm families to escape the drudgery and
isolation of rural life.
The automobile changed landscape by requiring an
Improved Road System.
The paved road had been invented by 1920, but few
existed in Louisiana at that time.
In 1920, Governor John M. Parker began a program
to resurvey and then pave the state’s major roads.
Governor Huey P. Long continues road building.
The road system included bridges to cross rivers and
bayous, freeing people from dependence upon ferries
and the possibility of their vehicles becoming stuck in
muddy streambeds.
The improved roads and their maintenance were
financed by gasoline taxes, of which the public
approved.
The automobile also changed the landscape by
generating a whole line of roadside industries and
related buildings to service traveling Americans.
By pulling travelers and the business they brought
away from downtown areas, the automobile
contributed to the deterioration of central business
districts, especially in smaller towns.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:
Henry Ford first produced the Model T (the first low-priced
car for the masses) in 1908.
During the teens and 1920s, the common man took to the
road.
The exact date of the auto’s arrival in Louisiana is unknown.
However, the state’s residents began purchasing cars early
in the 20th century.
Automobile registration statistics for Louisiana:
1916 nearly 9,000
1920 less than 75,000
1925 208,779
1930 over 275,000
1940 nearly 375,00
1950 over 700,000
1960 more than 1,175,000
Parishes responded to the presence of automobiles by
passing ordinances to control registration and speed, and to
clarify the rights of pedestrians and horse-drawn vehicles.
EARLY AUTO ERA RESOURCES:
Motels:
A typical early motel was like a small village of single, free-
standing cottage-like cabins. Some were arranged in a
single line, others around a U or L shaped driveway. There
was often a central building containing bathroom facilities.
Later the cabins would be connected by perhaps carports
and later still would be totally joined to resemble today’s
motels.
Example: 3V Tourist Court (Historic View)
3V Tourist Court (Modern View)
St. Francisville, West Feliciana Parish
Diners:
Diners provided travelers with fast and convenient food so
they could quickly hit the road again. Many were small,
streamlined buildings that resembled railroad cars. Others
presented themselves in buildings suggestive of their
products, i.e. buildings shaped like chuck wagons, coffee
ports, and even hot dogs.
Example: Airline Motors Restaurant
LaPlace, St John the Baptist Parish
Gas Stations:
At first, gas pumps were installed at the curbside of an
existing business like a drug, feed and seed, hardware, or
grocery store. The next step was an unstyled drive-in
building resembling a shed. When people complained about
the appearance of these, gas companies responded by
constructing gas stations which resembled houses. Popular
styles included the bungalow, English cottage, and Mission
Revival. By the end of the 1930s, the "house" had given
way to the gleaming white streamlined box service station.
Today, few historic gas stations survive due to the corporate
practice of replacing stations every generation or so to keep
them looking modern.
Examples: Gas Station in Amite Historic District,
Amite,
Tangipahoa Parish
Cottage Type Gas Station, Lake
Charles,
Calcasieu Parish
Mission Revival Style Gas Station, St.
Charles
Avenue, New Orleans, Orleans Parish
Automobile Showrooms:
These buildings were designed to display and market the
automobile. They frequently featured automotive motifs in
their architecture, and many were quite grand.
Example: Wray-Dickinson Building (Exterior)
Wray-Dickinson Building (Detail)
Shreveport, Caddo Parish
Parking Garages:
These were multi-story buildings with interior ramps leading
from floor to floor. By placing vehicles above each other on
separate floors, they allowed temporary storage of numerous
vehicles in a relatively small space.
Examples: Auto Hotel, Baton Rouge, East Baton
Rouge
Parish
City Parking, Shreveport, Caddo Parish