Courtesy of your Navy Exchange Guantanamo Bay Visitors Map

Cold War era map of Guantanamo Bay.

The United States military has officially occupied Guantanamo Bay since 1903, when the Cuban government signed a “lease” granting the U.S. permission for a military base and coaling station. Since then, the base has grown to cover nearly 45 square miles at the southeast corner of the island.

This map was published in 1961, two years after the Cuban Revolution, and shows the available facilities and transportation routes surrounding the eponymous bay. Many locations, especially those related to recreation, are individually illustrated. Multiple gates note Restricted Entry, whereas whole sections are labeled as Fleet Personnel, Base Personnel, or Families.

Prior to the revolution, security restrictions were significantly more relaxed and hundreds of Cubans would commute to work each day on the base, as well as enjoy many of its opportunities for leisure. However, the ongoing Cold War would sharpen relationships between the new communist government and the U.S., and the island would erupt in controversy with the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.