With age some instincts are quite simply nurtured, and built upon. Yet, in those rare moments of perfection, when you're right on the money with a vision or an epiphany, that's when instinct didn't steer you wrong.
In March 1910, a young restaurateur by the name of Louis Bush refurbished an old Mack Truck chassis, painted it blue and gray and began offering sightseeing tours around the city of Washington, D.C. Little did he know, his earnest endeavors helped establish the world's leading sightseeing tour company, known today as Gray Line.
By 1926, Gray Line had expanded to other booming cities including New York, Chicago, Detroit, New Orleans, Los Angeles, San Francisco, as well as internationally to Toronto and Havana. With peacetime following World War II, Harry J. Dooley, a former Gray Line employee, acquired the company and helped re-establish Gray Line Chicago. Dooley soon became president of Gray Line and is today considered the father of the sightseeing industry.
With the advent of jet travel and increased gateways in the late 40's and early 50's, Dooley expanded Gray Line's market throughout the United States and established Gray Line companies in Canada, Mexico, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. The sudden popularity growth in motorcoach sightseeing helped position Gray Line as the leader in the sightseeing industry for decades to follow.
2011 marks a major milestone in the history of travel, as Gray Line celebrates its 101st year of providing the best in sightseeing tours across the globe.