20 june 1968 & visa: the int'l visitor's guide to washington debuts
#OTD 20 June 1968 The inaugural issue of visa: the international visitor's weekly guide to washington was being distributed throughout the city and abroad. visa was founded by two white Yale University juniors, Bruce Bluedorn (publisher) and Garry Trudeau (art director), and Martin Oppenheimer (editor), also white.
The founders informed its readers: "The Washington Visa is aimed specifically at the international visitors and diplomatic personnel in Washington, DC. Visa is distributed every other Friday to major hotels and tourist agencies, to the Washington diplomatic corps, and to tourist information offices both in Washington and abroad."
According to the Evening Star newspaper, "VISA is the the newest magazine on the Washington Scene" and was produced from a "slightly zany alley apartment on New Hampshire Avenue. The idea for the magazine came as the result of a Wall Street Journal story in February on the appointment of a presidential task force to study promotion of travel in America."
The other staff members for this issue were:
Ann Ashbridge
Jeanne Braune
Marie-Christine Chadinet (translation)
Gerald Clow
Lynn Dorsey (translation)
Edith Dunn
Joan Eames
Charlotte Kirk
Isabel Loque (translation)
Susan MacGregor
Penny Moorhead (entering Radcliffe College)
Gus Oliver
James Phillips
Charles Pillsbury
Nancy Pittman (Oberlin College).
This issue featured general visitor info, points of interest, an article on shopping in Georgetown, upcoming events, a map of the "central area" in DC, art exhibits and galleries, an article on Rock Creek Park and the National Zoo, a review of 2001: A Space Odyssey, films this week, dining options, and entertainment, including a photo of the Supremes who would perform at Carter Barron 24-28 July. There were also ads from:
Little Caledonia of Georgetown (1419 Wisconsin Ave, NW)
Mandarin Imports (3220 O St, NW)
National Car Rental
Rand McNally Map Store (1636 Eye St, NW)
Dorothy Stead (3216 O St, NW)
Taj Mahal Indian Restaurant (1327 Connecticut Ave, NW)
TWA
Washington Sightseeing Tours (1101 K St, NW)
The Wooden Indian (3207 O St, NW)
Your comments are welcome below. Did you, a family member or neighbor work for visa? Do you remember seeing visa around the city? Did you read it? Do you have copies of visa? You may comment privately here.
Source: Courtesy Marya McQuirter collection. I bought it on ebay on 11 March 2017.
Betty Beale, " Jackie Hostess to Onassis," Evening Star 7 July 1968.
