A Look Into The Past: Roads in California in 1940

[adventurernumber1]

I have finally been able to put together this awesome thread. California has been the location of some very significant, interesting road history. California was notorious for decomissioning US Highways by the masses when the Interstate Highway System came around in the 1950s and 1960s. U.S. Routes that went through California that were completely decommissioned in their entirety include US 466, US 399, US 299, US 99, US 66, and US 48 (the original). U.S. Routes that were truncated to the point where no part of it remained in California any longer (being fully decommissioned in the state of California) include US 40, US 60, US 70, US 80, and US 91. U.S. Routes that were truncated but still remained in California, even if only just a little bit, include US 6, US 50, US 395, and US 101 (Note: most of US 101 still remains, and it does pride itself as the most widely known, loved, traveled, and significant US Highway that still exists in California). U.S. Routes in California that have pretty much stayed the same include US 95 and US 97. US 99W and US 99E were split suffixes of U.S. Route 99 that traversed the land in California between Sacramento and Red Bluff. These were, of course, along with US 99 as a whole itself, decommissioned in the 1960's.

As can be seen, California is a place that contains very rich road and Highway history. Following this first post will be a long series of photos to visually showcase this history. If possible, hold off on replying until all the photos are posted (it's not the end of the world if one does, but preferably that may not happen as the beginning of the thread will be much less complicated). There will be a follow-up post, also including references, that will be informative as to when all photos are posted, unless I decide to add even more later on. I will be following the Forum Guidelines that say to limit a post to no more than ten pictures. Also, I ended up posting a lot of informational and historical stuff (not just photos), so the Staff may move or keep this thread in any sub-forum at their discretion (as I am no longer 100% certain if this is the board at which it belongs).

[adventurernumber1]

All of the following photos are being uploaded from Tapatalk. All of the following photos are from my 1940 Rand McNally Atlas. They have full credit of this material. Also, US 48, US 101W, and US 101E (with the latter two having had been split suffixed U.S. Routes in the Bay Area) are not visible in this map, since it is from 1940 (after all of those Highways became defunct in California).



The roads in the Los Angeles Metro Area, zoomed out:




A zoomed out view of the roads in the Los Angeles and San Diego areas. Here it can be seen how far south US Highways 101 and 395 used to go, and the former existence of US Highway 80 in California:



A close up, now, of this very sight:




Here you can see a closer view of Los Angeles. Here you can see how US 66 and US 6 made their ways into the Los Angeles area back in the day, after their respective treks across the country. You can also see US Highway 99 back when it was in existence, and how it traversed that part of the land - regarding that, you can even see the multi-lane section of US 99 that was right directly south of Bakersfield, which itself is not visible in this specific picture - of course, way back then, multi-lane Highways were much, much rarer across the country (according to this very Atlas) and would have definitely been a special treat to see. US 101 ALT is also visible (as well as US 101 itself, of course), and it presumably followed the route that California Highway 1 traverses today in that area (according to how it looks on the map). Much more than even all that is visible as well:




Here you can see a very close view of Long Beach. Here you can see Highways such as US 6 and US 101 ALT:




Here you can see the part of the Los Angeles Metro Area that encompasses Anaheim, Whittier, and more. In the top left corner of the picture, you can see a lot of different US Highways, as this is near downtown Los Angeles:




Here you can see a close up of Ontario. Here you can see roads such as US 60, US 70, US 99, US 66, and California Highway 71:




Here you can see a close up of Glendale, Pasadena, Burbank, downtown Los Angeles, and more:




Here you can see the Coast just southwest of downtown Los Angeles. Here you can see Santa Monica, which was the western terminus of US Highway 66 (and it is also the western terminus of Interstate 10 now in the modern day):




Here you can see a close view of Bakersfield. Here you can see US 99, US 399, US 466, and more:






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[adventurernumber1]

Here is a look at Fresno, and the Highways that traverse the area, such as US 99, CA SH 180, and CA SH 41:




Here is a look at Stockton and Modesto and the surrounding area:




Here is a look at Sacramento. The road (red line) that runs due south southeast from downtown in this picture is US 50/US 99:




Here is a look at Eureka, and roads such as US 101 and US 299:




Here you can see US 99W and US 99E, a little ways north of Sacramento:




Here you can see the Monterey area. Here you can see roads such as US Highway 101 and California Highway 1 (and Big Sur):     




Here you can see US 99 and US 97 at the northern edge of the state of California, and you can even see a little bit of Oregon:




Here is a more zoomed out view of the northwestern corner of the state. Here you can see US 299, US 199, US 97, US 99, US 101, and you can even see US 99W and US 99E. US 199 is the road that splits off from US 101 and goes northeast in the far northwest corner of the state. US 299 is the east-west Highway that traverses from Eureka (at US 101) to points east - it eventually ends at US 395 in the northeastern corner of the state:




Here is a slightly zoomed out view of the southeastern part of the Los Angeles Metro Area, including San Bernardino and Riverside:




Here is a closer view of Santa Monica and the western side of Los Angeles:






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[adventurernumber1]

Here is a look at the Barstow area. Back then, there was US 395, US 91, US 66, US 466, and more. In the modern day, this is known as the place where I-40 and I-15 meet - and California Highway 58 is to the west, and it is a somewhat competent candidate for an I-40 extension in the future:




Here is a close-up view of where US 66 and US 95 meet in Needles, California, which is extremely close to both the Nevada and Arizona borders:




Here is a look at the southern edge of California. Here you can see roads such as US 80, US 60, US 70, US 99, US 95, and more:




Here is a more zoomed out view of the southern edge of California:




Here is a zoomed out view of the San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose area:




Here is a closer look at the Bay Area. You can see roads such as US 101 (and US 101 BYP), US 40, US 50, California Highway 1, and more:




Here is a more in-depth look at San Francisco and Oakland. You can see the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge (US 101/CA 1), and more:




Here is a close-up view of downtown San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge:




Here is a close-up view of downtown Oakland and the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge:




Lastly, here you can see the Ventura and Santa Barbara and Santa Maria and San Luis Obispo areas. Here you can see roads such as California Highway 1, US 101, US 466, US 399, and more:






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[adventurernumber1]

Okay, this is the final post of the OP (which had no choice but to be broken up into 5 different actual posts).  



Here are a couple of bonus pictures.


The Las Vegas, Nevada area - this place has changed a lot. It is so, so much larger now:




And, the Reno, Nevada area. The road (red line) in the far bottom right of the picture is US 95, though you can't see much of it:





Here are my references:

Full copyright credit is given to the producer of this atlas, which is Rand McNally. This is from the Rand McNally 1940 Road and Reference Atlas.

Also, a large source on much of the historical information was this Wikipedia page: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._Routes_in_California

...as well as the individual Wikipedia pages for each respective U.S. Route.

[PatTheSplasher]

If only we had 40s Google Maps!  ^{Post moved...for the third time}   

[adventurernumber1]

If only we had 40s Google Maps! 

Ain't that the truth! It would indeed be incredibly cool if there was a very historical version of Google Maps like that that you could look at everything with different zoom levels and such. 

[PatTheSplasher]

[Brian556]

If only we had 40s Google Maps! 

Ain't that the truth! It would indeed be incredibly cool if there was a very historical version of Google Maps like that that you could look at everything with different zoom levels and such. 

Those old maps were worlds better when it comes to accuracy of numbered highways, and worlds better looking.

[Max Rockatansky]

Would you be able to scan all of Fresno, Inyo, Tulare, and San Benito counties?  There is something I want to look at related to 180, 168, 33, and 190 that I can't see with the current scans. 

[PatTheSplasher]

Second that

[adventurernumber1]

Would you be able to scan all of Fresno, Inyo, Tulare, and San Benito counties?  There is something I want to look at related to 180, 168, 33, and 190 that I can't see with the current scans.

Sure thing! I saw your post when I woke up this afternoon, and I planned to try to get that done by tonight, but I have ended up being busier than I thought, and I need to clear off just a little bit of storage off my phone so I can take some more pictures of this beautiful stuff. So would you like me to get some very close-up pictures of each of these counties: would you like one picture showing the entire county on each one, or even closer-up, with each county being broken up into several pictures?

[Max Rockatansky]

Would you be able to scan all of Fresno, Inyo, Tulare, and San Benito counties?  There is something I want to look at related to 180, 168, 33, and 190 that I can't see with the current scans.

Sure thing! I saw your post when I woke up this afternoon, and I planned to try to get that done by tonight, but I have ended up being busier than I thought, and I need to clear off just a little bit of storage off my phone so I can take some more pictures of this beautiful stuff. So would you like me to get some very close-up pictures of each of these counties: would you like one picture showing the entire county on each one, or even closer-up, with each county being broken up into several pictures?

Just one of the entire counties should be enough to see what I'm looking for. 

[adventurernumber1]

Would you be able to scan all of Fresno, Inyo, Tulare, and San Benito counties?  There is something I want to look at related to 180, 168, 33, and 190 that I can't see with the current scans.

Sure thing! I saw your post when I woke up this afternoon, and I planned to try to get that done by tonight, but I have ended up being busier than I thought, and I need to clear off just a little bit of storage off my phone so I can take some more pictures of this beautiful stuff. So would you like me to get some very close-up pictures of each of these counties: would you like one picture showing the entire county on each one, or even closer-up, with each county being broken up into several pictures?

Just one of the entire counties should be enough to see what I'm looking for.

Okay. Will do! 

[jwolfer]

It's always so interesting to look at pre-interstate maps.. I have been studying maps all my life. I found myself looking for i5.

It's crazy to think corridors that are multilane freeways were 2 lane roads

Z981

[adventurernumber1]

It's always so interesting to look at pre-interstate maps.. I have been studying maps all my life. I found myself looking for i5.

It's crazy to think corridors that are multilane freeways were 2 lane roads

Z981

Yes, it really is!!! Now, the interstates are the star of the show, but in these old maps, it is so fascinating to see that the US Highways are the star of the show, and multi-lane highways are much, much rarer. I have been studying maps a bunch since being a young kid myself. These maps are rich, truly intriguing history, and they are beautiful to look at. 

If only we had 40s Google Maps! 

Ain't that the truth! It would indeed be incredibly cool if there was a very historical version of Google Maps like that that you could look at everything with different zoom levels and such. 

Those old maps were worlds better when it comes to accuracy of numbered highways, and worlds better looking.

Yes indeed! There was definitely a lot of work put into making really old maps like this - new ones too, but probably even more with the really old ones. They truly have a timeless feel to them. 

[adventurernumber1]

Here are some more scans, at Max Rockatansky's request. I am incredibly sorry for the long wait. Also, let me know if you need any more scans, or if I needed to try again to sufficiently catch what you were looking for.



Views of San Benito County:








Views of Fresno County:








A zoomed out view of the Fresno area in general:




A bonus picture - a view of Kings County, since it is close-by, and in case you needed it:




A view of Tulare County:

[adventurernumber1]

Lots of views of Inyo County, as it is quite large:


















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