HWY 301
From the late 1940’s until the early Seventies, Highway 301 was the lifeline from Baltimore, Maryland to Tampa, Florida. It’s construction coincided with the end of the war, the new found freedom afforded by the automobile and the G.I Bill, and an America that was just crazy to be on the move. Thousands used this pipeline to vacation in the Promised Land of Florida. And the small farm towns like Allendale and Callahan were transformed, and were more than willing to supply these travelers with cheeseburgers, motel rooms, beer, and swimming pools. There was a lot of excitement when you pulled that dusty station wagon loaded with kids into the Cresent motel, and every town just like Rocky Mount NC was as excited as the families.
But as quickly as it exploded, it expired. Interstate 95 ran over it, and left it for dead. Old 95 replaced the Paradise Restaurant with a McDonalds, the waitress’s were replaced by a speaker at a drive through, and The Cresent Motel was now a high rise condo. 95 homogenized the landscape. They hid the bland corporate chain stores off of the road, and all of them were identical from one exit to the next. Then the beaches and the outdoors of Florida became less attractive than Disney World. The journey, and all it entailed became less important than the Destination. And, in that mad dash to “Get There”, we lost something as a culture…