![]() ![]() Roosevelt had served under Daniels as Secretary of the Navy when Daniels was Defense Secretary under Woodrow Wilson, and the two men were friends. Ambassador to Mexico, Josephus Daniels, to lobby on their behalf. The Asheville contingency employed the influential U.S. ![]() An intense campaign began in Washington with the states of Tennessee and North Carolina each vying for a different path for the Parkway. ![]() The Asheville Chamber of Commerce and other city leaders joined forces to lobby against the proposed route in favor of a road that passed through their city. The decision was met with great controversy, particularly by the city of Asheville, NC, which found itself in dire economic straits at the height of the Great Depression. A study was conducted to determine the best route for the Parkway with the recommendation being a leg of the highway from the Blowing Rock, NC, area extend over the Unaka Mountains into Tennessee, connecting with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. With a budget of $16 million, Ickes hired Stanley Abbott, a New York landscape architect, to oversee the project, and Abbott’s vision of a chain of parks and recreational areas with preserved viewsheds began to take shape. On November 24, 1933, Interior Secretary Harold Ickes approved this “park-to-park” highway as a public works project. Roosevelt convened the governors of Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee and asked that a planning team be created. Senator Harry Byrd of Virginia suggested to the president the road should be extended to connect with the recently established Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The idea for the Blue Ridge Parkway was born when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt visited the newly constructed Skyline Drive in Virginia in 1933. Rock wall construction in early days of building the Blue Ridge Parkway ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |