Automobile Map and Guide, Hotel Virginia, Long Beach "By the Sea" California [1920's California Road Map]

Virginia Hotel, 1925. Acceptable. Automobile Map and Guide issued by The Virginia Hotel, Long Beach "By the Sea" California. No date listed, circa 1925. Single sheet (16 x 10") folded into 8 panels (4 on each side). Folded sheet measures 4 x 10". In acceptable+ condition with a few 1" tears along edges of folds and a few smaller nicks and tears along edges. Light overall aging and soiling. One full side (4 panels) is a detailed driving map of Southern California which includes the Santa Monica and San Gabriel mountains to the northwest and Murrietta and Banning to the East. The undated map is copyrighted by Guy R. McHenry and includes the 1920 census figures beneath each city throughout. Two panels are black and white with red coloring photo reproduction of the entrance to the Hotel Virginia with a car and an attendant in front. 2 panels give detailed driving directions to various destinations, many "on paved or oiled roads all the way." An amazingly detailed snap shot of the road system in California during the mid 1920's. Hotel Virginia, located on the south side of Ocean Avenue at Magnolia, opened on April 1, 1908, and was the social center of the area for many years. Originally named the Bixby Hotel, it was renamed the Virginia Hotel after a construction accident in 1906 resulted in fatalities. The hotel did not survive the stock market crash of 1929 and closed on October 10, 1932. The building was demolished after the March 10, 1933 earthquake. The architects were John C. Austin and Frederick G. Brown. The landscape architect was Belle S. Angier. The hotel had six stories and two wings with a total of 400 rooms.