MP 355.3 - 356.3 | NEAR THE BALSAM GAP OVERLOOK BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY A '30s serendipity The combined forces of the Great Depression and a great vision for public spaces came together in the 1930s to allow the building of a unique American treasure. The 469-mile roadway, begun in the 1930s as part of a Depression-era work project, exists today as America's Favorite Scenic Highway, featuring not just a roadway, but also visitor centers, hiking trails, lodging, interpretive programs and much more. Two new national parks - Shenan doah National Park in Virginia and Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina and Tennessee - needed a road to link them. The Great Depression provided large numbers of unemployed workers as well as a pool of highly trained but temporarily idled engineers and landscape architects. When young Stanley Abbott was appointed resident landscape architect for the new park-to-park road, he converted 469 miles of hodge-podge mountain land into the nation's most famous rural national parkway. He designed not only a parkway but also a total recreation program, incorporating visitor FOR PARKWAY CLOSURES (WEATHER/MAINTENANCE) nps.gov/blri/planyourvisit/roadclosures.htm 4 BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY Red Fox. The furtive canine is a rare treat to see.http://www.nps.gov/blri/planyourvisit/roadclosures.htm