Category Archives: Los Angeles County

August Presentation

On August 3, 2021 at 6 pm, the Historic Highway 99 Association of California will have a guest speaker. Please join Historian Evan Decker; President of Mentryville, California Inc for a presentation and Q & A on the History of Mentryville, California on August 3rd at 6pm. Mentryville is a historic ghost town known as the site of the “birthplace” of the Oil Industry in California in 1876 with the drilling of California Star Oil No. 4. Q & A to follow.

Register using the link below:

https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMkd-2hqDoqEty9IHOFgyUWO0ns2_ZKrq_7

For more information:

https://www.mentryvillecalifornia1876.com/

Featured Image – 4/7/2021

Today’s featured image is a video. This was taken just a few days ago on the Old Ridge Route near Swede’s Cut. A rockfall in January 2021 has partially blocked the roadway with more material coming down in the near future. The rock, located in the Ridge Route member of the Ridge Basin Group, isn’t all that stable. Landslides still plague I-5 despite more modern construction methods.

For additional information check out the
Ridge Route Preservation Organization

Air Raid Sirens

Curious about those sirens around Los Angeles? This person mapped them all and has information about each one as well.

http://wirechief.com/sirens/map.htm

Ridge Route Alternate Presentation

On Tuesday, April 6 at 6pm, I will be giving a presentation via Zoom on the Ridge Route Alternate section of US 99 during the regular monthly meeting of the Historic Highway 99 Association of California. It will cover the history of the roadway from its original construction through to its replacement by I-5 from Castaic to Tejon Pass. The presentation will include some rarer photos of the route and have time at the end for questions. Come join us and learn a bit about the history of US 99 in Southern California!

To register for the presentation, use the link below:

https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwlf-6srDIqHdRkYBHsG8jzi8D68Gtys-dF

Featured Image – 2/8/2021

1970 view of the I-5 / SR-14 Interchange construction. This “build” would partially collapse on February 9, 1971 while still incomplete. Courtesy – Caltrans

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the February 9, 1971 M6.6 Sylmar / San Fernando Earthquake, our featured image shows the construction work in progress on the I-5 and State 14 interchange in 1970. This work would be halted abruptly in the early hours of February 9, 1971. After this, it would be reconstructed two more times. The earthquake changed the way freeways such as this were built and did further seismic codes throughout the state.

For further information about the interchange: