Introduction

The two lane roads stretches out to the horizon, pavement cracked with a trace of a white stripe down the middle and littered with abandoned buildings. In the distance the Interstate highway is visible, the epitome of modern road building. Once, traffic did not go on the Interstate, but went on the narrow two lane road: an old US highway. What was its history? What was it like to drive on it?  The Historic California US Highways page investigates these questions. There are a lot of books and web sites about traveling old highways, especially about Route 66. However, most seem to deal with interesting places and nice people along the way, with only a passing reference to the highway itself. This site is not like that; instead it looks at the highways themselves, such as how they were constructed and how they evolved. It is also a field guide for the modern highway "archaeologist" who is seeking out fragments of remaining old highways. In short, this site is a repository of information about the 18 US highways that once traversed California.

The historical US highways of California have the same magic that Route 66 has, although much of theirs is still waiting to be rediscovered. Like Route 66, what remains of these highways ties us back to a time when things seemed to go at a slower pace. This was the time of roadside kitsch, of gas stations that were still service stations with free air and water, and of unique "mom and pop" restaurants, which were the norm, not the standardized bunch of the usual suspects strung along the Interstate. These roads also link back to California's agricultural past, such as when US 101 meandered as a country lane through Orange County, when it still had crops of oranges and not crops of subdivisions. Many of these roads have survived the ravages of time along and bring back to life a part of this country that was paved over by the Interstates.

This page is for people who love the old roads and highways that have shaped our history and who, like myself want to learn more about them.

California's Newest US Highway?

"Alternate US 50" was the first route in California to be signed as a US Highway in over 50 years and appeared for two years. In truth, this was a detour for US 50 in 1997 when it was shut down for an extended period to repair a series of landslides. While it was not actually a legislative route nor approved by AASHTO, the fact remains that this was a fully signed 66 mile-long route, of which 29 miles was on an independent alignment. This sign (on SR-88) is interesting because it is posted on a white painted pole of the same vintage as those that used to bear the old US highway shields. (Photo taken 1998)

Mission Blvd (US 60) in Riverside, 1930

The stone bridge still exists today, although the concrete road has since been paved over. This picture shows the attention to detail and themes on highways that have given way to standard plans and designs. This was part of the approach to the Rubidoux Bridge over the Santa Ana River, which was removed in 1958 in favor of a higher level bridge. The old bridge had a distinctive mission style, where its replacement is a drab vanilla and utilitarian steel bridge - a symbol of the paradigm shift in California highway building.

About this Site

Before I-110:
US 6 and US 66 used to go through
downtown Los Angles.

This site has four sections, shown below. First, is a listing of the 18 US Highways routes linking to overview pages of each route. The second section contains links to the travelogues I have written. The travelogues give detailed overviews and describe the exact routing and history as well as describing where remaining sections may be discovered. The photographs page contains links to "Photo Albums" pages for each route. These "Photo Albums" contain both historic and current photographs. Finally, the fourth section is miscellaneous material that does not really fall under any of the other sections. It includes an historical overview of the US Highway system, a glossary of terms used and of highway specific jargon, and a listing of related pages that may be of interest to the historical highways enthusiast.

For those who wish to know more about this site, please have a look at additional information about this page.