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U.S. 66 in California

Started by Alex, August 28, 2010, 12:19:44 AM

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english si

And, while on the route,

and the nearby (much better) touristy sign, was never the end.


Max Rockatansky

Personally I always Olympic was always good point to end 66 at, it was actually kind of strange it got extended west of Los Angeles to begin with.  It probably made more sense when the terminus was at US 101A but even CA 1 isn't half bad considering the stature in roadgeekdom it tends to hold.  It's pretty much just the fandom of the route that put it to the Santa Monica Pier...it never would have made sense to have a sudden swing on Colorado Avenue like that just to get the actual ocean on the route.

NE2

Does anyone know the exact date US 66 was extended to Santa Monica? Until the McClure Tunnel opened on February 1, 1936, SR 3/US 101A stayed on Lincoln and hit the coast at Santa Monica Canyon (West Channel Road). So if US 66 was designated before this, it likely ended at Santa Monica and Lincoln.
pre-1945 Florida route log

I accept and respect your identity as long as it's not dumb shit like "identifying as a vaccinated attack helicopter".

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: NE2 on November 13, 2016, 12:36:38 PM
Does anyone know the exact date US 66 was extended to Santa Monica? Until the McClure Tunnel opened on February 1, 1936, SR 3/US 101A stayed on Lincoln and hit the coast at Santa Monica Canyon (West Channel Road). So if US 66 was designated before this, it likely ended at Santa Monica and Lincoln.

Cahighways.org has the change being approved on June, 17th 1935 with it becoming effective on on January 1st, 1936:

http://www.cahighways.org/065-072.html

For the sake of relevancy here is the direct quote from site:

PROPOSED EXTENSION OF US 66 DISTRICT 711 TO SANTA MONICA

"Beginning at the intersection of North Broadway and Sunset Boulevard, the junction of US 66, US 99, and US 101, in the City of Los Angeles; thence, northwesterly over Sunset Boulevard (State Highway Route 2) and US 101 to Santa Monica Boulevard; thence, westerly over Santa Monica Boulevard (a city street) to Myra Avenue, the junction of State Highway 162 [LRN 162] and Sign Route (2) [Route 2]; thence, continuing westerly over Santa Monica Boulevard (State Highway Route 162 [LRN 162]) and Sign Route (2) [Route 2] through the Cities of Los Angeles and Beverly Hills to the intersection of Santa Monica Boulevard and Lincoln Boulevard, in the City of Santa Monica; thence, southerly along Lincoln Boulevard to the terminus at Pennsylvania Avenue, a total distance of approximately 13.00 miles.

Remember, in 1935, Olympic Boulevard had been approved as LRN 173, but had not been constructed. This road was later marked as Route 26. If, however one was to draw a line from Pennsylvania Ave. to the junction of LRN 162 (Route 2 and US 66) with LRN 60 (Route 1 and US 101A) at Lincoln Blvd., the points would match. The highway department obviously used Pennsylvania Ave. as the point of reference since Olympic Blvd. did not yet exist."

So it looks like US 66 just went to where Olympic was going to be at....so much for a temporary measure. 

NE2

Oh nice...I had forgotten about that. I wonder if US 66 had a temporary signed end at Santa Monica and Lincoln until the tunnel opened.

It's interesting that US 66 ended at Broadway and Sunset. A 1934 map shows that Broadway was not all state-maintained, while the 1934 official shows a zigzagging route to the west to reach Figueroa (it's proposed in 1936). I think the 1934 official shows some alignments as 'unimproved' that were not actually maintained.
pre-1945 Florida route log

I accept and respect your identity as long as it's not dumb shit like "identifying as a vaccinated attack helicopter".

AndyMax25

Quote from: andy3175 on November 13, 2016, 12:16:37 AM
Quote from: AndyMax25 on November 12, 2016, 12:03:11 AM
City of Santa Monica has posted historic Route 66 signs along Santa Monica Blvd and Lincoln Blvd. Here is a photo with an end tab at the original official end at Olympic. This where US66 ended at US101A.

Great! Glad to see the endpoint of Historic US 66 signed at Lincoln and Olympic. I'll bet you had something to do with its placement. This is more accurate than the "End of Trail" sign on Santa Monica Pier, since US 66 itself never extended onto the Pier itself.



Yes, we finally got these up in time to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the route coming to Santa Monica. We will be adding a begin tab along the NB side of Lincoln and arrow tabs at Santa Monica Blvd and Lincoln.

The Ghostbuster

If I remember correctly, California was the first state to decommission its portion of US 66. The eastern end of the highway was not retracted until the late 1970's, and the whole shebang was decommissioned in 1985.

english si

It would be great if the signs on the pier weren't so awful - get some US shields!

With the signed route now not beginning/ending at the Ocean, it means the pier is on the route, and this OTT British Pub sign isn't the first bit of Americana on the route (the OTT nature of it being very American).

emory

Quote from: english si on November 16, 2016, 10:09:47 AM
It would be great if the signs on the pier weren't so awful - get some US shields!

They have US shields! On literally everything else on that pier!

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: emory on November 16, 2016, 01:05:45 PM
Quote from: english si on November 16, 2016, 10:09:47 AM
It would be great if the signs on the pier weren't so awful - get some US shields!

They have US shields! On literally everything else on that pier!

There is a whole glass display in the middle of the pier that has some in it and around the general area.  Granted they are for show...it would be great if they could get a real sign and it put behind some sort of display glass.

english si

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on November 16, 2016, 10:00:14 PMThere is a whole glass display in the middle of the pier that has some in it and around the general area.  Granted they are for show...it would be great if they could get a real sign and it put behind some sort of display glass.
The terrible sign is far more prominent. And, as you say, the display case is more show than reality.

Max Rockatansky

Not to revive a dead thread...but I finally found my picture of the CA 66 shield I was referring to when it was actually still posted:


capt.ron

I have a question for those that know their US 66 history: What year did the 4 lane (at the time) section of US 66/91 open up between Barstow and Victorville? Some are saying 1958, or 1959 or 1964. Of course, that section became I-15 not much later.

NE2

Quote from: capt.ron on January 10, 2017, 02:19:30 PM
I have a question for those that know their US 66 history: What year did the 4 lane (at the time) section of US 66/91 open up between Barstow and Victorville? Some are saying 1958, or 1959 or 1964. Of course, that section became I-15 not much later.
December 13, 1958:
http://archive.org/stream/cavol3738liforniahighwa195859calirich#page/n431/mode/2up/search/victorville
http://archive.org/stream/cavol3738liforniahighwa195859calirich#page/n535/mode/2up/search/victorville
pre-1945 Florida route log

I accept and respect your identity as long as it's not dumb shit like "identifying as a vaccinated attack helicopter".

coatimundi

Quote from: capt.ron on January 10, 2017, 02:19:30 PM
I have a question for those that know their US 66 history: What year did the 4 lane (at the time) section of US 66/91 open up between Barstow and Victorville? Some are saying 1958, or 1959 or 1964. Of course, that section became I-15 not much later.

I'm not clear on it from your question, but I want to make sure there's the understanding that this section that opened in 1958 between Barstow and Victorville was new ROW. It opened as 4-lane divided. It wasn't just newly divided on existing ROW like the section south of Victorville was. There was also a period just before that where the Victorville bypass section was constructed up to the railroad and Mojave River, but it stopped there, at an interchange with the existing 66.

capt.ron

Quote from: coatimundi on January 10, 2017, 06:17:21 PM
Quote from: capt.ron on January 10, 2017, 02:19:30 PM
I have a question for those that know their US 66 history: What year did the 4 lane (at the time) section of US 66/91 open up between Barstow and Victorville? Some are saying 1958, or 1959 or 1964. Of course, that section became I-15 not much later.

I'm not clear on it from your question, but I want to make sure there's the understanding that this section that opened in 1958 between Barstow and Victorville was new ROW. It opened as 4-lane divided. It wasn't just newly divided on existing ROW like the section south of Victorville was. There was also a period just before that where the Victorville bypass section was constructed up to the railroad and Mojave River, but it stopped there, at an interchange with the existing 66.
Yeah, that's what I was asking. I know the old alignment veered northwest (and then north, north-northeast) towards Oro Grande and  Helendale and was decommissioned. I was just trying to pinpoint the year in which it opened.

Desert Man

Quote from: agentsteel53 on August 30, 2010, 10:12:53 PM
what the Hell, we suddenly have the money to replace bridges on old 66?  What's next, we'll replace the culverts on Chuckwalla Valley Road?  Or the abandoned section of 101 with a redwood tree growing out of the deck???

I've driven on Chuckawalla Valley road to a place called...Hell (and back)...I believe it was former US 60/70. Also I been to another "hell": Anza, the proposed "incorporated town" of 3,000 people on SR 371. And my travels on old route 66 in Fontana and San Bernardino which are served by I-10, Victorville, Barstow, even in lil' Amboy and Needles is like a trip back in time to before I-15 or I-40.
Get your kicks...on Route 99! Like to turn 66 upside down. The other historic Main street of America.

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: Desert Man on November 23, 2017, 11:25:08 PM
Quote from: agentsteel53 on August 30, 2010, 10:12:53 PM
what the Hell, we suddenly have the money to replace bridges on old 66?  What's next, we'll replace the culverts on Chuckwalla Valley Road?  Or the abandoned section of 101 with a redwood tree growing out of the deck???

I've driven on Chuckawalla Valley road to a place called...Hell (and back)...I believe it was former US 60/70. Also I been to another "hell": Anza, the proposed "incorporated town" of 3,000 people on SR 371. And my travels on old route 66 in Fontana and San Bernardino which are served by I-10, Victorville, Barstow, even in lil' Amboy and Needles is like a trip back in time to before I-15 or I-40.

Hell is long buried under I-10, Chuckwalla Valley Road is still around but closed nowadays:

https://flic.kr/s/aHskUEtdfH

paulthemapguy

So are there no CA 66 shields left in the field?  I'm looking on GSV for one and I can't find any.
Avatar is the last interesting highway I clinched.
My website! http://www.paulacrossamerica.com Now featuring all of Ohio!
My USA Shield Gallery https://flic.kr/s/aHsmHwJRZk
TM Clinches https://bit.ly/2UwRs4O

National collection status: 361/425. Only 64 route markers remain

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: paulthemapguy on March 13, 2018, 02:18:33 PM
So are there no CA 66 shields left in the field?  I'm looking on GSV for one and I can't find any.

They were all removed a couple years back.  Word was they were very popular for signage theft. 

NE2

pre-1945 Florida route log

I accept and respect your identity as long as it's not dumb shit like "identifying as a vaccinated attack helicopter".

sparker

I believe Rancho Cucamonga and Upland have yet to request relinquishment of CA 66/Foothill Blvd, leaving the segments through those cities under Caltrans parvenu (sans signage except for the BGS's on I-15 as shown.  The last time I was through there on that route was in the summer of 2012; the only CA 66 signs remaining were at the Euclid Ave./CA 83 intersection -- and the WB signage was in the form of -- unusual for CA -- a "unisign" with the 66 and 83 shields on one black-background sign with directional banners printed below.  Otherwise, I don't recall seeing any standalone CA 66 signs in District 8 (D7/L.A. County never erected any; even at the CA 210/previous CA 30 Foothill Blvd. interchange in San Dimas).   

I'm wondering if the "unisign" mentioned above still exists?  When I was living in D8 (2004-12) it always seemed like there was one or another "oddball" sign in various places (including the reassurance shield for CA 259!) that wouldn't have existed in another district -- although some of them didn't stay up for long.

andy3175

Quote from: sparker on March 16, 2018, 01:38:46 AM
I believe Rancho Cucamonga and Upland have yet to request relinquishment of CA 66/Foothill Blvd, leaving the segments through those cities under Caltrans parvenu (sans signage except for the BGS's on I-15 as shown.  The last time I was through there on that route was in the summer of 2012; the only CA 66 signs remaining were at the Euclid Ave./CA 83 intersection -- and the WB signage was in the form of -- unusual for CA -- a "unisign" with the 66 and 83 shields on one black-background sign with directional banners printed below.  Otherwise, I don't recall seeing any standalone CA 66 signs in District 8 (D7/L.A. County never erected any; even at the CA 210/previous CA 30 Foothill Blvd. interchange in San Dimas).   

I'm wondering if the "unisign" mentioned above still exists?  When I was living in D8 (2004-12) it always seemed like there was one or another "oddball" sign in various places (including the reassurance shield for CA 259!) that wouldn't have existed in another district -- although some of them didn't stay up for long.



This was at that intersection in 2010. I don't know if it's still there or not.
Regards,
Andy

www.aaroads.com

emory

Quote from: andy3175 on March 17, 2018, 01:10:45 AM
Quote from: sparker on March 16, 2018, 01:38:46 AM
I believe Rancho Cucamonga and Upland have yet to request relinquishment of CA 66/Foothill Blvd, leaving the segments through those cities under Caltrans parvenu (sans signage except for the BGS's on I-15 as shown.  The last time I was through there on that route was in the summer of 2012; the only CA 66 signs remaining were at the Euclid Ave./CA 83 intersection -- and the WB signage was in the form of -- unusual for CA -- a "unisign" with the 66 and 83 shields on one black-background sign with directional banners printed below.  Otherwise, I don't recall seeing any standalone CA 66 signs in District 8 (D7/L.A. County never erected any; even at the CA 210/previous CA 30 Foothill Blvd. interchange in San Dimas).   

I'm wondering if the "unisign" mentioned above still exists?  When I was living in D8 (2004-12) it always seemed like there was one or another "oddball" sign in various places (including the reassurance shield for CA 259!) that wouldn't have existed in another district -- although some of them didn't stay up for long.



This was at that intersection in 2010. I don't know if it's still there or not.

I don't think it is. That segment of CA 83 north of I-10 was deleted.

mrsman

Quote from: emory on March 17, 2018, 08:08:50 PM
Quote from: andy3175 on March 17, 2018, 01:10:45 AM
Quote from: sparker on March 16, 2018, 01:38:46 AM
I believe Rancho Cucamonga and Upland have yet to request relinquishment of CA 66/Foothill Blvd, leaving the segments through those cities under Caltrans parvenu (sans signage except for the BGS's on I-15 as shown.  The last time I was through there on that route was in the summer of 2012; the only CA 66 signs remaining were at the Euclid Ave./CA 83 intersection -- and the WB signage was in the form of -- unusual for CA -- a "unisign" with the 66 and 83 shields on one black-background sign with directional banners printed below.  Otherwise, I don't recall seeing any standalone CA 66 signs in District 8 (D7/L.A. County never erected any; even at the CA 210/previous CA 30 Foothill Blvd. interchange in San Dimas).   

I'm wondering if the "unisign" mentioned above still exists?  When I was living in D8 (2004-12) it always seemed like there was one or another "oddball" sign in various places (including the reassurance shield for CA 259!) that wouldn't have existed in another district -- although some of them didn't stay up for long.



This was at that intersection in 2010. I don't know if it's still there or not.

I don't think it is. That segment of CA 83 north of I-10 was deleted.

As of May 2017, the sign is still on GSV.

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.106882,-117.6517326,3a,75y,78.46h,92.92t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s3K0i-hVYEQtq4IiRCGIK5g!2e0!7i13312!8i6656




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