CA 118

[Max Rockatansky]

By far the longest and most significant highway I traveled on this past weekend in the Ventura Area was CA 118, my photo album is located on the link below:

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmFRug7P

This one I'm looking forward to quite a bit with the blog series for several reasons:

-  The original eastern terminus was part of early US 99.
-  The history of transportation over Santa Susana Pass is fascinating.
-  The junction with CA 118 and CA 23 in Moor Park is bizarre with one designation continuing onward on a freeway grade.
-  Much of the surface part of CA 118 follows closely to rails.

Really though the Simi (yes, I know it technically Ronald Reagan) Freeway is a pretty nice drive through some of the more placid parts of San Fernando Valley east of Santa Susana Pass.  I really would like to come back to this one to explore some of Los Angeles Avenue and Santa Susana Pass Road if time permits the next time I'm around Los Angeles.

[sparker]

^^^^^^^^^
Visually, the Santa Susana Pass area (especially from the original highway) looks like the biggest pile of loose rocks that I've ever seen (outside the Craters of the Moon in Idaho).  Back around 1900 Southern Pacific took one look at that terrain and decided to put a long tunnel through the lowest possible elevation to avoid having to deal with the rocks -- although there are still plenty trackside.  Incidentally, my late cousin-in-law worked as an engineer at Rocketdyne; their test facility (firing off rocket engines back in the late '50's and early '60's) was just south of the summit of the pass in a canyon -- but when they fired one off, it could be heard as far as Canoga Park!   After Simi Valley started to see intensive housing and commercial development in the mid-60's, Ventura County politely but firmly asked the company to please move their facilities elsewhere (they ended up out in Mercury, NV). 

[Max Rockatansky]

Finished up the blog post from my recent drive down CA 118.  CA 118 is interesting for various reasons, namely that many segments of the corridor have historic significance.  Former CA 118 east of San Fernando on Legislative Route 9 (adopted during the 1909 First State Highway Bond Act) to Pasadena was the earliest alignment of US 99 which bypassed downtown Los Angeles.  CA 118 traverses Santa Susana Pass which saw early State interest in road building back all the way in 1859 when the Old Santa Susana Wagon Road was built.  The Simi Valley Freeway (Ronald Reagan Freeway) is among the more interesting freeway drives around the Los Angeles Area given the terrain and relative ease of travel. 

https://www.gribblenation.org/2019/08/california-state-route-118.html

[cahwyguy]

As I was looking at a 1991 THomas Guide, some interesting changes:

What is now Moorpark Road N of Read to Tierra Rejada is new. In 1991, Moorpark Road when along Read and what is now Sunset Valley Road

What is now Los Angeles Ave E of Spring Rd in Moorpark was New Los Angeles Ave. Los Angeles Ave (118) is now Princeton, Campus Park Drive, and Arroyo Dr. Thus, before the completion of Rte 118 W of Moorpark College. Los Angeles Ave was continuous into Moorpark proper, and then W to Somis.

[sparker]

^^^^^^^^
That's correct; prior to the completion of the 118/Simi/Reagan freeway and its connection to the north end of the CA 23 freeway, CA 118 continued west on Los Angeles Ave, which itself turned north in Santa Susana, crossed the (then) SP tracks (now Metrolink) and ran along the north side of the tracks all the way into central Moorpark, where it intersected CA 23 and turned south with that alignment to (New) Los Angeles Ave, where it turned west.   Originally CA 23 headed directly south from that point; it now turns east multiplexed with CA 118 to the freeway, where the routes split. 

[Max Rockatansky]

As I was looking at a 1991 THomas Guide, some interesting changes:

What is now Moorpark Road N of Read to Tierra Rejada is new. In 1991, Moorpark Road when along Read and what is now Sunset Valley Road

What is now Los Angeles Ave E of Spring Rd in Moorpark was New Los Angeles Ave. Los Angeles Ave (118) is now Princeton, Campus Park Drive, and Arroyo Dr. Thus, before the completion of Rte 118 W of Moorpark College. Los Angeles Ave was continuous into Moorpark proper, and then W to Somis.

Looks like I'll have to do some looking at some of the older maps that I used in the CA 23 blog.  I got the gist of the route correct but it doesn't explain the shift in Moorpark Road to a new alignment. 

[GaryA]

A reference to historical USGS topographical maps got me browsing, and I found one ("Hueneme", 1943, 62500:1) that has a single CA 118 shield in Camarillo, on Somis Rd (today's Lewis Rd, CA 34).  Presumably this would be entering from Somis in the north, and then ending at Ventura Blvd, US 101. This map doesn't extend as far north as current CA 118, so there's nothing there to compare.  There's no reference to CA 34 on this map -- this one CA 118 shield is the only numbered highway reference aside from US 101 and Alt US 101.

Is this just a map-o (I suspect so), or did CA 118 ever run into Camarillo?  The next available map ("Los Angeles", 1949, 250K:1) has CA 118 following Los Angeles Avenue to Telephone Rd in Saticoy, ending at US 101 in Ventura, as do several following maps.

[Max Rockatansky]

A reference to historical USGS topographical maps got me browsing, and I found one ("Hueneme", 1943, 62500:1) that has a single CA 118 shield in Camarillo, on Somis Rd (today's Lewis Rd, CA 34).  Presumably this would be entering from Somis in the north, and then ending at Ventura Blvd, US 101. This map doesn't extend as far north as current CA 118, so there's nothing there to compare.  There's no reference to CA 34 on this map -- this one CA 118 shield is the only numbered highway reference aside from US 101 and Alt US 101.

Is this just a map-o (I suspect so), or did CA 118 ever run into Camarillo?  The next available map ("Los Angeles", 1949, 250K:1) has CA 118 following Los Angeles Avenue to Telephone Rd in Saticoy, ending at US 101 in Ventura, as do several following maps.

CA 118 is defined as Pasadena-El Rio on the August 1934 CHPW:

https://archive.org/details/californiahighwa193436calirich/page/n286/mode/1up?view=theater

The map on this page shows the routing of CA 118 in detail:

https://archive.org/details/californiahighwa193436calirich/page/n276/mode/1up?view=theater

[GaryA]

A reference to historical USGS topographical maps got me browsing, and I found one ("Hueneme", 1943, 62500:1) that has a single CA 118 shield in Camarillo, on Somis Rd (today's Lewis Rd, CA 34).  Presumably this would be entering from Somis in the north, and then ending at Ventura Blvd, US 101. This map doesn't extend as far north as current CA 118, so there's nothing there to compare.  There's no reference to CA 34 on this map -- this one CA 118 shield is the only numbered highway reference aside from US 101 and Alt US 101.

Is this just a map-o (I suspect so), or did CA 118 ever run into Camarillo?  The next available map ("Los Angeles", 1949, 250K:1) has CA 118 following Los Angeles Avenue to Telephone Rd in Saticoy, ending at US 101 in Ventura, as do several following maps.

CA 118 is defined as Pasadena-El Rio on the August 1934 CHPW:

https://archive.org/details/californiahighwa193436calirich/page/n286/mode/1up?view=theater

The map on this page shows the routing of CA 118 in detail:

https://archive.org/details/californiahighwa193436calirich/page/n276/mode/1up?view=theater

Right, that looks like the LA Ave->Telephone routing I mentioned.  The legislative route references El Rio as an end point -- I've seen 118 described as using Vineyard (later CA 232) -- but the map you link to shows the end point close to the 101/126 junction, where El Rio would be close to or east of the 101/3 junction.

I know USGS maps aren't authoritative on highway routes, and was just wondering if there might be any reality behind that one stray shield.

[Max Rockatansky]

A reference to historical USGS topographical maps got me browsing, and I found one ("Hueneme", 1943, 62500:1) that has a single CA 118 shield in Camarillo, on Somis Rd (today's Lewis Rd, CA 34).  Presumably this would be entering from Somis in the north, and then ending at Ventura Blvd, US 101. This map doesn't extend as far north as current CA 118, so there's nothing there to compare.  There's no reference to CA 34 on this map -- this one CA 118 shield is the only numbered highway reference aside from US 101 and Alt US 101.

Is this just a map-o (I suspect so), or did CA 118 ever run into Camarillo?  The next available map ("Los Angeles", 1949, 250K:1) has CA 118 following Los Angeles Avenue to Telephone Rd in Saticoy, ending at US 101 in Ventura, as do several following maps.

CA 118 is defined as Pasadena-El Rio on the August 1934 CHPW:

https://archive.org/details/californiahighwa193436calirich/page/n286/mode/1up?view=theater

The map on this page shows the routing of CA 118 in detail:

https://archive.org/details/californiahighwa193436calirich/page/n276/mode/1up?view=theater

Right, that looks like the LA Ave->Telephone routing I mentioned.  The legislative route references El Rio as an end point -- I've seen 118 described as using Vineyard (later CA 232) -- but the map you link to shows the end point close to the 101/126 junction, where El Rio would be close to or east of the 101/3 junction.

I know USGS maps aren't authoritative on highway routes, and was just wondering if there might be any reality behind that one stray shield.

It does mention 126 ending in Santa Paula but the map shows it ending closer to Ventura.  The solid lines on the 1935 DOH Map represent state highways:

http://www.davidrumsey.com/ll/thumbnailView.html?startUrl=%2F%2Fwww.davidrumsey.com%2Fluna%2Fservlet%2Fas%2Fsearch%3Fos%3D0%26lc%3DRUMSEY~8~1%26q%3DCalifornia%20division%20of%20highways%20ventura%26sort%3DPub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No%26bs%3D10#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=0&r=0&xywh=2681%2C4859%2C548%2C899

From what I'm seeing here coupled with the above from the CHPW I would say 118 was on Telephone. 

[JustDrive]

118 used to run down Telephone. I saw an old ad for the now-demolished 101 drive-in and it explicitly said it was at the junction of the 101 and 118.

[kkt]

Any idea what "Bank Nite Friday Nite" means?

[skluth]

Any idea what "Bank Nite Friday Nite" means?

Did a little research and found this: Bank Night - A lottery event popular in the US during the Great Depression in which a member of a movie theater audience could win a cash prize if their name was called. The advert is obviously not from the Depression as Johnny Trumaine was a fictional Disney story during the American Revolution with a teen hero made in the 50's. But it wouldn't surprise me if that's what Bank Nite means.

[kkt]

Any idea what "Bank Nite Friday Nite" means?

Did a little research and found this: Bank Night - A lottery event popular in the US during the Great Depression in which a member of a movie theater audience could win a cash prize if their name was called. The advert is obviously not from the Depression as Johnny Trumaine was a fictional Disney story during the American Revolution with a teen hero made in the 50's. But it wouldn't surprise me if that's what Bank Nite means.

Thank you