White spades

[Quillz]

From my understanding, California's miner spade shields have gone through roughly four phases...

I: "Borderless" bear shields
II: "Bordered" bear shields
III: White spades
IV: Green spades

Focusing on III, I've read these existed from roughly 1959-1964, a relatively short time period. Which brings me to my question... Why do so few photographs of these exist? How many routes were ever fully remade with the white spades? Seems like the time every route would have been done, it was 1964 and they were already obsoleted. Most of the pics I've found online are pretty low-res and usually the same shields, but many here on the shield gallery seem to be modern day replicas.

That said, anyone know where they can still be found in the wild? I've read a few CA-126 white spades exist around Ventura, but I've yet to find them.

[myosh_tino]

From my understanding, California's miner spade shields have gone through roughly four phases...

I: "Borderless" bear shields
II: "Bordered" bear shields
III: White spades
IV: Green spades

Focusing on III, I've read these existed from roughly 1959-1964, a relatively short time period. Which brings me to my question... Why do so few photographs of these exist? How many routes were ever fully remade with the white spades? Seems like the time every route would have been done, it was 1964 and they were already obsoleted. Most of the pics I've found online are pretty low-res and usually the same shields, but many here on the shield gallery seem to be modern day replicas.

That said, anyone know where they can still be found in the wild? I've read a few CA-126 white spades exist around Ventura, but I've yet to find them.

Depends.

If you're talking about independent-mount shields like those found on Freeway Entrance or reassurance assemblies, like this...

... then I think you're out of luck.  I don't know of any in existence.

Now, if you're talking about shields found on guide signs, the only ones I ever saw photographed were for CA-118 (Link) and CA-134 (Link).

[Quillz]

Yeah, I was mainly trying to be on the lookout for independent markers. I'm wondering if they were just replaced very fast, or if some routes just never even had them, given how short the time period was they were a thing.

[sparker]

The last time I saw white 126 shields, they were on Telegraph Road (old 126) as part of a bannered Business 126 assembly; this was between Ventura and the Saticoy area, circa the early '80's.  The last time I was on this road in the late '90's, the shields were gone.  I'd suggest that if one were looking for "straggler" white shields, to check the business routes/old alignments of state route freeways built before the '70's (the 126 freeway in that area dated from about 1962). 

[myosh_tino]

Yeah, I was mainly trying to be on the lookout for independent markers. I'm wondering if they were just replaced very fast, or if some routes just never even had them, given how short the time period was they were a thing.

I think you're probably out of luck then.

[Max Rockatansky]

I've never seen any in my travels and I've been on the majority of the signed routes...a white one would have stood out.  About the closest thing I found is those solid white spades out in Yosemite Valley on the guide signs...but you already knew that...not like they are Caltrans anyways.

[andy3175]

Now, if you're talking about shields found on guide signs, the only ones I ever saw photographed were for CA-118 (Link) and CA-134 (Link).

Both of these are gone.

CA 118 location: https://www.google.com/maps/@34.2597316,-118.3204294,3a,75y,280.98h,72.72t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sRDTtdCxF97qHLaRwm6IL9w!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

CA 134 location:
https://www.google.com/maps/@34.1527923,-118.3715176,3a,75y,91.94h,78.87t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1swAKxFnZx748Zyr3J7pCV3A!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
(see more at https://www.aaroads.com/california/ca-134ea.html, which has the CA 134 sign in context just west of Vineland Avenue overpass)

[MarkF]

The only two I've ever seen was one in Vista pointing to an onramp for CA 78 (my avatar), taken in 1978 and long gone, and another on G St (at 16th?) for CA 94 in downtown San Diego.  I think that was also last seen in the late 70s.

[MarkF]

Here's one from a guide sign in Santa Barbara we saw at a MTR meet back in July, 2001:

[Quillz]

There's a black-on-white "END" banner below the CA-1 SB shield in Las Cruces. This is a holdover not only from when CA-1 once ended at the US-101 junction, but also the only evidence a white spade was once there (since otherwise, the banner would be green-on-white).

[bing101]

Here's one from a guide sign in Santa Barbara we saw at a MTR meet back in July, 2001:

Hawaii has a variation of the old California spades though. but Hawaii Highway shields are more curved at the bottom.


http://www.hawaiihighways.com/moanalua-freeway-exit3.jpg