Western Terminus of US 66

The west end of US 66, at least in popular culture, has always been at the Pacific Ocean, or at least close to it. Santa Monica Pier, at times, touts itself as the western end. The intersection of Ocean Blvd and Santa Monica Blvd also does the same. While both are scenic and somewhat obvious …

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Old State 136 near Keeler, CA

The Owens Valley in Inyo County, California is home to many fascinating highway relics. One road in particular toward the southern end of the Owens Valley southeast of Lone Pine, State Highway 136, had a very unique and rare feature – old railroad grade crossing markings. Until 1964, it was known as State Highway 190 …

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Original pavement remaining at Castaic Junction, CA on old US 99

Castaic Junction, located just north of Six Flags Magic Mountain in the Santa Clarita Valley was an important stop along US 99 and State 126 until the 1980’s. A Standard Oil gas station, one of the largest and busiest at the time, was located here in addition to Tip’s Restaurant. The restaurant was reported to …

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Historic Sign Revealed in Los Angeles

Either through heavy wind, corrosion, or a combination of the two, a section of “greenout” fell off a sign on the eastbound Ventura Freeway (State 134) recently at Victory Blvd. This sign, approaching the Golden State Freeway (I-5) has been there since 1961 when the freeway opened. In 1961, the Golden State Freeway was still …

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From the Archives – 1953

San Diego’s Mission Valley has changed quite a bit over the last century. It has gone from farms to condos. Dairys to grocery stores. Dirt roads to major freeways. In 1947, the first iteration of the current State 163 / I-8 interchange was completed as shown here. Left on and offramps were the order of the day. Challenge Dairy’s San Diego headquarters can be seen in the upper left corner of the interchange. Additional changes to the junction took place in 1959, 1978, and 1991. All of these bridges have been replaced but their legacy remains today with the outer ramps on either side of the 8.