Pacific Highway and Tributaries Leading East: Automobile Club of Washington, 1924

This highly detailed brochure is a remarkable artifact from the early days of American motoring, designed to guide travelers along the Pacific Highway and its connecting routes. The front serves as a detailed travel guide, beginning with the title "Pacific Highway and Connecting Roads" and listing the club's branches throughout Washington, where visitors could obtain touring information. It features a mileage table, allowing motorists to calculate distances between major cities such as Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, as well as key destinations like Vancouver, B.C., and Sacramento. Offering vivid descriptions of the scenic highlights and attractions travelers would encounter from Vancouver, B.C., down to California, including city parks, mountain vistas, historic sites, and natural wonders. Each city and region—such as Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, and San Francisco—is given a brief, enticing summary, emphasizing the beauty and unique experiences awaiting motorists. There is also an enthusiastic invitation to "Come West and Visit This Charmed Land," promoting the Pacific Highway as both a summer and winter playground, and underscoring the Automobile Club of Washington's role in supporting and enhancing the travel experience.

The reverse side of the map presents a meticulously drawn, large-scale map of the western United States and southern British Columbia, with the Pacific Highway prominently traced from Vancouver, B.C., through Washington, Oregon, and California, all the way to the Mexican border. The map is rich with detail, showing the intricate network of highways, tributary routes leading east, and major towns and cities along the way. Circles with numbers indicate highway routes, while other figures provide mileage between key points, making it a practical tool for trip planning. The map also highlights connections to famous trails such as the Yellowstone Trail, Lincoln Highway, and Midland Trail, reflecting the era’s growing network of cross-country roads. The overall design is both functional and evocative, capturing the spirit of early automobile tourism and the pioneering work of the Automobile Club of Washington in promoting safe, enjoyable, and adventurous travel throughout the Pacific region.

Background on Creator

The Automobile Club of Washington, now known as AAA Washington, is a historic and influential motor club serving the state of Washington. Established in 1904 as the Automobile Club of Seattle, it began as a social club for early automobile enthusiasts and quickly became a leading advocate for better motoring conditions and road laws. At a time when automobiles were rare and roads were designed for horses, the club played a key role in promoting improved infrastructure and helping to draft Washington State’s first traffic code in 1905, which introduced vehicle registration, safety equipment requirements, and speed limits. The club’s influence grew as it helped establish the Washington State Highway Patrol in 1926 and began offering emergency roadside assistance, personal injury insurance, and travel services to its members.

Over the years, the club expanded through mergers, notably joining with the Inland Automobile Club in 2002, and became known as AAA Washington. Today, it is one of the largest regional AAA clubs in the United States, serving hundreds of thousands of members with services including travel planning, insurance, vehicle financing, roadside assistance, and auto repair programs. AAA Washington’s long legacy includes shaping the state’s transportation infrastructure, promoting road safety, and providing essential support to motorists throughout the region.