Early road memories where you can't identify the location

[FrCorySticha]

I remember being on I-15 in Idaho when it was just two-lane, but didn't know where it was until recently. Looking at Historical Aerials, looks like Idaho didn't completely grade-separate and put in the second set of lanes until mid to late 1980's, so it's very likely I had been on that road while it was still the old two-lane US 91.

[RobbieL2415]

In the summer of 1995, I visited my grandparents in St. Louis. We drove up to Massachusetts in August.

Our route happened to include a stop at West Point.

In that vicinity, we were on a road that went down a moderate hill to a creek/pond/lake that was crossed by a stone bridge. At the other side of the bridge was a cool looking stone house. I've been trying to find that area on GSV. I cannot for the life of me find it.

I'd need a medium to ask my grandfather where it was. He died in 2015.

That could possibly be the Bear Mountain Parkway and Bridge.  It runs right past West Point.

[sparker]

Had recurring recollections of childhood trips, taken with friends and family, to a particular restaurant in West Los Angeles from my home in Glendale (early '50's, pre-I-10, of course).  The main detail remembered were old-fashioned streetlights lining a multilane wide street.   Couldn't get it out of my mind completely, so once I got my drivers' license I'd make periodic trips to the area to try to jar my memories (my parents remembered the trips, but had forgotten the exact name and location of that restaurant -- but knew that they had gone there with neighbors of the place I lived in until I was seven near downtown Glendale.   Eventually I reconnected with the wife of the couple next door to that house -- her husband had passed away -- and it turned out the restaurant was an Italian place out at Olympic & Bundy owned by her husband's cousin -- and they had taken my folks there for dinner (with me tagging along) several times.  So I simply got onto Olympic near Western and took it all the way out to that area -- and, lo and behold, there were those old streetlights along a stretch of Olympic between Century City and Sepulveda.  But the restaurant was nowhere to be found; I did a little research and obtained the address -- and the building housing the restaurant was at that time a strip club (this is circa 1969)!   I declined to relay that information to the widow -- no use spoiling someone else's fond memories!   

[CapeCodder]

In the summer of 1995, I visited my grandparents in St. Louis. We drove up to Massachusetts in August.

Our route happened to include a stop at West Point.

In that vicinity, we were on a road that went down a moderate hill to a creek/pond/lake that was crossed by a stone bridge. At the other side of the bridge was a cool looking stone house. I've been trying to find that area on GSV. I cannot for the life of me find it.

I'd need a medium to ask my grandfather where it was. He died in 2015.

That could possibly be the Bear Mountain Parkway and Bridge.  It runs right past West Point.

I forgot to mention that the road we were on was a two-lane. The routing was I-81 to I-78 to I-287. We might have gotten off of 287 somewhere near the NY line and ventured towards the PIP. I remember after West Point, we went over the Tappan Zee Bridge and headed towards Mystic Seaport. If anything it was in an area from Ramapo to the PIP area.

[roadman]

One of my earliest road memories where I couldn't identify the location of for the longest time was being on a two lane road with lots of soft shoulder signs.  Several years ago, I finally identified the road as US 6 between Orleans and Provincetown.

[bandit957]

I just remembered something else, but I know I've mentioned it before. Back in 1976, just before I turned 3, we went on a trip to visit relatives in Philadelphia. Somewhere up that way, we drove past this weird device in the median of a highway. It was a big, tall pole that had a beak-like mechanism that constantly opened and closed.

I know I've mentioned it on one of the road forums before, and someone said it was on the Pennsylvania Turnpike and that it was old rail signal left over from the 1940s.

A long time ago, I made an animated GIF of it. This is what it looked like...

https://imgur.com/h7m19y5

[Mapmikey]

In the summer of 1995, I visited my grandparents in St. Louis. We drove up to Massachusetts in August.

Our route happened to include a stop at West Point.

In that vicinity, we were on a road that went down a moderate hill to a creek/pond/lake that was crossed by a stone bridge. At the other side of the bridge was a cool looking stone house. I've been trying to find that area on GSV. I cannot for the life of me find it.

I'd need a medium to ask my grandfather where it was. He died in 2015.

That could possibly be the Bear Mountain Parkway and Bridge.  It runs right past West Point.

I forgot to mention that the road we were on was a two-lane. The routing was I-81 to I-78 to I-287. We might have gotten off of 287 somewhere near the NY line and ventured towards the PIP. I remember after West Point, we went over the Tappan Zee Bridge and headed towards Mystic Seaport. If anything it was in an area from Ramapo to the PIP area.

How about here:
The bridge (need 2008 or 2013 gmsv as it has been replaced) - https://goo.gl/maps/WwP93MTUtRcyEsd19
The house - https://goo.gl/maps/yF74eqyKjuyWJYUp7

They are 0.7 miles apart and just off I-287 in the New York State line area...

[CapeCodder]

In the summer of 1995, I visited my grandparents in St. Louis. We drove up to Massachusetts in August.

Our route happened to include a stop at West Point.

In that vicinity, we were on a road that went down a moderate hill to a creek/pond/lake that was crossed by a stone bridge. At the other side of the bridge was a cool looking stone house. I've been trying to find that area on GSV. I cannot for the life of me find it.

I'd need a medium to ask my grandfather where it was. He died in 2015.

That could possibly be the Bear Mountain Parkway and Bridge.  It runs right past West Point.

I forgot to mention that the road we were on was a two-lane. The routing was I-81 to I-78 to I-287. We might have gotten off of 287 somewhere near the NY line and ventured towards the PIP. I remember after West Point, we went over the Tappan Zee Bridge and headed towards Mystic Seaport. If anything it was in an area from Ramapo to the PIP area.

How about here:
The bridge (need 2008 or 2013 gmsv as it has been replaced) - https://goo.gl/maps/WwP93MTUtRcyEsd19
The house - https://goo.gl/maps/yF74eqyKjuyWJYUp7

They are 0.7 miles apart and just off I-287 in the New York State line area...

You know, I think that's it. When we passed by there in '95 I was six years old and so everything just blended together. Funny thing about that trip: we did stay at the Econolodge in Breezewood. In '01 we stayed at the Best Western just down the road.

[mgk920]

I remembered a trip across central Wisconsin from when I was very young where we were on a fairly busy two lane highway with a mainline railroad paralleling it to the left, where the railroad suddenly veered off to the left and disappeared into a forested area.  That one befuddled me for many years.

Fast forward a couple of decades and I was now out exploring the state on my own, along with frequently poring over USGS topographic maps of pretty much the entire USA, and I was finally able to identify that location with a 100% level of confidence - (old) US 10 not far west of Stevens Point, WI and the railroad was the then SOO, later WC, now CN mainline.



Mike

[CapeCodder]

I just remembered something else, but I know I've mentioned it before. Back in 1976, just before I turned 3, we went on a trip to visit relatives in Philadelphia. Somewhere up that way, we drove past this weird device in the median of a highway. It was a big, tall pole that had a beak-like mechanism that constantly opened and closed.

I know I've mentioned it on one of the road forums before, and someone said it was on the Pennsylvania Turnpike and that it was old rail signal left over from the 1940s.

A long time ago, I made an animated GIF of it. This is what it looked like...

https://imgur.com/h7m19y5

Whereabouts on the Penna TPK was this, and does it still exist?

[bandit957]

Whereabouts on the Penna TPK was this, and does it still exist?

I think someone mentioned once that it was somewhere near Philadelphia, and that it no longer exists. I don't think anyone narrowed it down to an exact location.

My guess would be northwest of Philly, since we probably didn't use the turnpike east of there.

[thenetwork]

I remember once as a child going to California from New Jersey.  I remember a suspension bridge that had an arch through the towers that resembled the Brooklyn Bridge arch with the point.

About the only one I can think that even kind of resembles it is the western span of the Bay Bridge. 

The Roebling Bridge in Cincinnati was built by the same person who did the Brooklyn Bridge: 

[DJ Particle]

The other mystery is the street my Mom's cousin Claudia and her family lived on in far southeastern Minneapolis, before they moved. You could look south down her street and see an airplane parked outside the hangar at MSP airport, or at least see airplane movements. I believe it was always a Northwest airplane, FWIW. I suppose I could ask Mom, or perhaps my uncle Dave, but I like to think I could remember that.

There used to be an entire neighborhood along 66th St (and a few blocks north and south) east of MN-77, along with a city park and the Richfield Golf Course.  By the time I moved to the area (1998), the houses were all torn down.  A few years later, the golf links followed suit, and the airport expanded to its present size.  Perhaps said cousin lived in that neighborhood?  The neighborhood was called "New Ford Town", and was a bit split between Mpls and Richfield.

[bandit957]

I remember another interesting thing, but I was an adult when I saw it. In the early 2000s, I was somewhere in Cincinnati when I saw a small white building that had famous musicians painted on it. Most of them were R&B - I think Stevie Wonder was among them - but there were other musicians and singers too, such as Kenny Rogers. The musicians were painted in shades of gray, not in full color.

For the life of me, I don't know where this building was, other than somewhere in Cincinnati. I haven't seen it since, so it's probably torn down now.

[thenetwork]

I remember another interesting thing, but I was an adult when I saw it. In the early 2000s, I was somewhere in Cincinnati when I saw a small white building that had famous musicians painted on it. Most of them were R&B - I think Stevie Wonder was among them - but there were other musicians and singers too, such as Kenny Rogers. The musicians were painted in shades of gray, not in full color.

For the life of me, I don't know where this building was, other than somewhere in Cincinnati. I haven't seen it since, so it's probably torn down now.

Stab in the dark, but it might have been the old King Records studio.  A lot of R&B artists recorded there -- James Brown the most notable -- a google photo search shows the building, but more recently painted red.  Looks like the city is working to save and rehab the building, which has been abandoned for years.

[bandit957]

Stab in the dark, but it might have been the old King Records studio.  A lot of R&B artists recorded there -- James Brown the most notable -- a google photo search shows the building, but more recently painted red.  Looks like the city is working to save and rehab the building, which has been abandoned for years.

Apparently that was on Brewster Avenue. I'm not sure if I've ever been on that stretch of Brewster, especially back then.