Road Map St. Thomas Virgin Islands, issued in 1960, is a spirited portrait of the U.S. Virgin Islands’ most storied isle at the threshold of modern tourism and investment. Commissioned for Tropical Real Estate by Ward and Virginia French and their daughter, Eleanor French Booraem, the map was designed to orient prospective buyers while conjuring the island’s allure. Its hand-drawn aesthetic pairs crisp, red-lined roads with playful vignettes of local flora and fauna, and it clearly marks the Charlotte Amalie city limits to frame the capital’s urban extent. Major routes are labeled for quick comprehension, linking coastal harbors to interior estates and hill towns. The result is both practical and aspirational: an invitation to explore neighborhoods, amenities, and prospects under unmistakable U.S. jurisdiction, all rendered with the charm and clarity of midcentury commercial cartography.

The anonymous cartographer left little biographical trace, but the patrons are vividly present in spirit. Ward French, a music executive with a flair for presentation, and Eleanor French Booraem, a café singer who entertained troops during World War II, imported a showman’s instinct to real estate. Their promotional map fuses stagecraft with place-making: a visual script that cues the viewer where to look, how to move, and what to imagine. The French Real Estate offices appear as reassuring anchors—fixed points in a landscape of opportunity—while the island’s cultural tempo resonates in the design’s upbeat, approachable style. In the optimism of 1960, this map became both guide and promise, fusing mainland networks, wartime-era charisma, and the magnetic rhythm of Caribbean life.

At the heart of the composition lies connectivity. Clean red lines articulate the island’s road hierarchy, radiating from Charlotte Amalie to the interior around Tutu and onward to the east end at Red Hook. Each labeled route stages a sequence of destinations: schools and civic institutions, neighborhoods and estates, cafés and hotels. The high school in Charlotte Amalie is called out as a keystone of community life, while the airport—boldly marked—signals the island’s growing reach and the ease with which buyers might arrive. Estates march across the hills in orderly typography, evoking plantation-era legacies reframed as residential enclaves. The map suggests elevation and aspect by the sweep of the roads and placement of names, hinting at breezes, views, and morning light without relying on heavy topographic devices.

Charlotte Amalie, with its city limits cleanly outlined, commands the harbor and sets the map’s civic tone—streets and services coalescing around government, commerce, and culture. Eastward, the road to Red Hook promises a release into yachts, ferries, and clear-water coves, with Cruz Bay noted as a neighboring point of access across Pillsbury Sound. The interior around Tutu is treated as a connective basin where roads, estates, and amenities meet, illustrating a daily geography of work, school, and market. Cafés and hotels are flagged like friendly waypoints, previewing the island hours between arrival and settling in. By balancing capital, coast, and countryside, the map frames a day’s movement as an elegant loop—harbor mornings, inland errands, and an east-end sunset.

Visually, the sheet hums with midcentury confidence. Hand-lettered estate names and jaunty icons humanize distance; the red road network reads like a living circulatory system; and the flora-and-fauna embellishments elevate marketing into memory. The clear assertion of U.S. jurisdiction was itself a selling point in 1960, when the postwar real estate boom met the Caribbean’s glamour and the music industry’s storytelling power. In that intersection, this map found its voice: a cultivated blend of accuracy and aspiration. As a historical artifact, it preserves a pivotal moment when air travel shrank oceans, island planning professionalized, and the dream of a house in the tropics felt one drive away. It is a roadmap, and a narrative, in perfect step.

Cities and towns on this map

• Charlotte Amalie — Largest city and capital (modern-day population approximately 18,000)
• Tutu — Census-designated place (modern population estimates around 7,000)
• Red Hook — Town known for its ferry terminal (population near 2,000)
• Cruz Bay — On St. John; may be labeled as a point of interest for access

Notable Features & Landmarks

• Charlotte Amalie City Limits — Outlined to indicate the boundary
• Major Roads — Clearly delineated, with labeled routes showing connectivity across the island
• French Real Estate Offices — Noted as key locations on the map
• High School — Identified as a significant institution in Charlotte Amalie
• Airport — Shown as a critical transportation hub
• Estates — Various estates and neighborhoods labeled throughout the island
• Cafés and Hotels — Places of interest for tourism and accommodation

Historical and design context

• Created in 1960 by an anonymous cartographer
• Prepared for Ward and Virginia French and Eleanor French Booraem, doing business as Tropical Real Estate
• Distributed as a promotional tool by the French family’s real estate company to appeal to potential buyers in St. Thomas
• Ward French was a music executive; Eleanor French Booraem was a café singer in the 1930s–40s who entertained troops during WWII
• Hand-drawn aesthetic with red lines indicating roads, complemented by illustrations of local flora and fauna
• Reflects the post–World War II Caribbean real estate boom and the intertwining of Caribbean culture with the music industry
• Shows main roads, significant buildings, estates, and public amenities such as schools and an airport
• St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, presented clearly under U.S. jurisdiction

Please double check the images to make sure that a specific town or place is shown on this map. You can also get in touch and ask us to check the map for you.

This map looks great at every size, but I always recommend going for a larger size if you have space. That way you can easily make out all of the details.

This map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 90in (230cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please get in touch.

The model in the listing images is holding the 24x36in (60x90cm) version of this map.

The fifth listing image shows an example of my map personalisation service.

If you’re looking for something slightly different, check out my collection of the best old maps to see if something else catches your eye.

Please contact me to check if a certain location, landmark or feature is shown on this map.

This would make a wonderful birthday, Christmas, Father's Day, work leaving, anniversary or housewarming gift for someone from the areas covered by this map.

This map is available as a giclée print on acid free archival matte paper, or you can buy it framed. The frame is a nice, simple black frame that suits most aesthetics. Please get in touch if you'd like a different frame colour or material. My frames are glazed with super-clear museum-grade acrylic (perspex/acrylite), which is significantly less reflective than glass, safer, and will always arrive in perfect condition.

This map is also available as a float framed canvas, sometimes known as a shadow gap framed canvas or canvas floater. The map is printed on artist's cotton canvas and then stretched over a handmade box frame. We then "float" the canvas inside a wooden frame, which is available in a range of colours (black, dark brown, oak, antique gold and white). This is a wonderful way to present a map without glazing in front. See some examples of float framed canvas maps and explore the differences between my different finishes.

For something truly unique, this map is also available in "Unique 3D", our trademarked process that dramatically transforms the map so that it has a wonderful sense of depth. We combine the original map with detailed topography and elevation data, so that mountains and the terrain really "pop". For more info and examples of 3D maps, check my Unique 3D page.

Many of our maps and art prints are chosen as thoughtful gifts for homes, offices, studies and meaningful places.

Choose a framed option for the easiest ready-to-hang gift, or choose an unframed print if the recipient may prefer to select their own frame.

We make orders locally in 23 countries around the world, so gifts can often be produced close to the recipient. This helps them arrive faster, travel more safely, and avoid customs or import duty surprises.

• We can deliver directly to the recipient
• Framed pieces arrive ready to hang
• Unframed prints are carefully packed in a strong protective tube
• Almost every order is made locally, for faster, safer gifting
• 90-day returns give the recipient time to decide

If you are not sure what to choose, please contact us. We can help you pick the right map, size, finish or delivery option.

Most orders are made locally and delivered in around 2–3 working days, depending on the product, size and destination.

We print and frame maps and artwork in 23 countries around the world, so your order is usually made close to you or your recipient. That means faster delivery, less time in transit, and no customs or import duty surprises.

Personalised and customised pieces usually take an extra 1–2 working days, because we prepare your design and send it to you for approval before printing.

Very large framed orders can take a little longer, as they need extra care in production and delivery.

Every order is carefully packaged: unframed prints are sent in a strong protective tube, while framed pieces are securely packed with protective materials around the frame.

If you need your order by a particular date, please contact us before ordering. We’ll check the best production route and delivery option for your location.

Express delivery is available at checkout for most countries. Next-day delivery is available in the UK, US, Singapore and the UAE.

Your order is covered by our 90-day returns policy and 10-year guarantee.

Read our full delivery and local production guide

Our standard frame is a gallery-style black ash hardwood frame, with a simple, modern look. It is approximately 20mm (0.8in) wide. You can also view some lovely customer photos of framed maps and art.

We use super-clear acrylic glazing, also known as Perspex or Acrylite, instead of traditional glass. It is lighter, safer, and has lower reflectivity, giving the artwork a clearer, cleaner appearance.

Six standard frame colours are available at no extra cost: black, dark brown, dark grey, oak, white, and antique gold. Custom framing and mounting/matting is also available for customers looking for something more specific.

Most maps, art prints, and illustrations are also available as a framed canvas. We use matte cotton canvas, stretch it over a sustainably sourced wooden box frame, and then float the piece within a wooden outer frame. The finished result is beautifully presented, with no glazing between you and the artwork.

All frames are supplied ready to hang, with either string or brackets fitted to the back. Very large frames will include heavy-duty hanging plates and/or a mounting baton. If you have any questions, please get in touch.

We can also supply old maps and artwork on canvas, foam board, cotton rag, and other materials.

If you would prefer to frame your map or artwork yourself, please read our size guide before ordering.

My maps are extremely high quality reproductions of original maps.

I source original, rare maps from libraries, auction houses and private collections around the world, restore them at my London workshop, and then use specialist giclée inks and printers to create beautiful maps that look even better than the original.

My maps are printed on acid-free archival matte (not glossy) paper that feels very high quality and almost like card. In technical terms the paper weight/thickness is 10mil/200gsm. It's perfect for framing.

I print with Epson ultrachrome giclée UV fade resistant pigment inks - some of the best inks you can find.

I can also make maps on canvas, cotton rag and other exotic materials.

Learn more about The Unique Maps Co.

Map personalisation

If you're looking for the perfect anniversary or housewarming gift, I can personalise your map to make it truly unique. For example, I can add a short message, or highlight an important location, or add your family's coat of arms.

The options are almost infinite. Please see my map personalisation page for some wonderful examples of what's possible.

To order a personalised map, select "personalise your map" before adding it to your basket.

Get in touch if you're looking for more complex customisations and personalisations.

Map ageing

I have been asked hundreds of times over the years by customers if they could buy a map that looks even older.

Well, now you can, by selecting Aged before you add a map to your basket.

All the product photos you see on this page show the map in its Original form. This is what the map looks like today.

If you select Aged, I will age your map by hand, using a special and unique process developed through years of studying old maps, talking to researchers to understand the chemistry of aging paper, and of course... lots of practice!

If you're unsure, stick to the Original colour of the map. If you want something a bit darker and older looking, go for Aged.

See some amazing examples of Aged maps.

Se non sei soddisfatto del tuo ordine per qualsiasi motivo, contattami per un rimborso senza problemi. Si prega di consultare la nostra politica di reso e rimborso per ulteriori informazioni.

Sono molto sicuro che ti piacerà la tua mappa restaurata o la stampa d'arte. Lo faccio dal 1984. Sono un venditore Etsy a 5 stelle. Ho venduto decine di migliaia di mappe e stampe d'arte e ho oltre 5.000 recensioni reali a 5 stelle.

Utilizzo un processo unico per restaurare mappe e opere d'arte che richiede molto tempo e lavoro. Trovare le mappe e le illustrazioni originali può richiedere mesi. Utilizzo tecnologia all'avanguardia e incredibilmente costosa per scannerizzare e restaurarle. Di conseguenza, garantisco che le mie mappe e stampe d'arte siano superiori alle altre - ecco perché posso offrire un rimborso senza problemi.

Quasi tutte le mie mappe e stampe d'arte sembrano fantastiche a grandi dimensioni (200 cm, 6,5 piedi+) e posso anche incorniciarle e consegnarle a te, tramite un corriere speciale per oggetti di grandi dimensioni. Contattami per discutere delle tue esigenze specifiche.