Short Route North-South From Canada to Miami Beach [with] Routes of Clarke Steamship Company

The Short Route to Miami Beach!

“As a service to our guests, we present this pictorial list of Recommended Hotels along the ‘short route.”

This fascinating bit of promotional ephemera was designed by the American Automobile Association and distributed compliments of Miami Beach’s LeRoy Hotel and Villas in 1938. The beachfront accommodations looked to establish itself among the highest echelons of North America’s finest hotels, including the Waldorf-Astoria, Hotel Nacional de Cuba, Château Frontenac, the Mayflower, and the Traymore. Clearly – they were hoping for an audience with deep pockets!

The actual directions given by the map are far from satisfactory – only a few numbered routes are specifically mentioned, with no connecting highways and a very brief mileage table. Services of the Clarke Steamship Company are also noted. The verso offers a short list of points of interest, a calendar of entertainment for 1938, and a small pictorial map of Miami Beach noting the position of LeRoy Hotels and Villas.