Ridge Route: Difference between revisions
No edit summary |
|||
| Line 4: | Line 4: | ||
Surveying began in 1912 on what was one of the largest and most daunting feats of road engineering ever attempted; so daunting a task, in fact, that there was serious discussion about splitting the state in two. The [[Automobile Club of Southern California]] as well as political interests led the charge to build the highway and preserve the state. |
Surveying began in 1912 on what was one of the largest and most daunting feats of road engineering ever attempted; so daunting a task, in fact, that there was serious discussion about splitting the state in two. The [[Automobile Club of Southern California]] as well as political interests led the charge to build the highway and preserve the state. |
||
| ⚫ | Completed in 1915, the highway got its name because it followed the ridge line of the [[San Gabriel Mountains|San Gabriel]] and [[Tehachapi Mountains|Tehachapi]] Mountains. Mostly bypassed by 1938 with the coming of [[U.S. Highway 99]], a 30-mile long, 20-foot-wide stretch of the original Ridge Route between [[Castaic, California|Castaic]] just off [[Interstate 5]] and [[California State Highway 138|Highway 138]] in [[Gorman, California|Gorman]] is paved in concrete and is still passable. |
||
The complete road from Castaic to Gorman had more than 600 curves and 110 full circles with few [[guard rails]] or [[turnouts]]. One section had so many switchbacks it was referred to as the ''Grapevine''. Other named features included Swede's Cut, the Newhall Tunnel and Horseshoe Bend overlooking Liebre Gulch. Parts of the route overlooked Castaic Creek. |
The complete road from Castaic to Gorman had more than 600 curves and 110 full circles with few [[guard rails]] or [[turnouts]]. One section had so many switchbacks it was referred to as the ''Grapevine''. Other named features included Swede's Cut, the Newhall Tunnel and Horseshoe Bend overlooking Liebre Gulch. Parts of the route overlooked Castaic Creek. |
||
What is today a fairly brief drive of less than 30 minutes on Interstate 5 |
What is today a fairly brief drive of less than 30 minutes on Interstate 5 on the old route took a minimum of three hours with sightseeing stops. |
||
The route's present end at Highway 138 was the site of the [[Butterfield Stage]] stop between Los Angeles and [[Bakersfield, California|Bakersfield]]. The remainder of the Ridge Route was covered up by US 99/Interstate 5 with a few fragments of broken pavement visible from the new highway. |
The route's present end at Highway 138 was the site of the [[Butterfield Stage]] stop between Los Angeles and [[Bakersfield, California|Bakersfield]]. The remainder of the Ridge Route was covered up by US 99/Interstate 5 with a few fragments of broken pavement visible from the new highway. |
||
The remains of the Ridge Route was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1997. To get to the existing fragment of the route from Los Angeles, take Interstate 5 heading north and exit Parker Road at Castaic, go right at top of the offramp, go right on Ridge Route and follow the road. (At Templin Highway, disregard the sign which says "Not a through road.") |
|||
| ⚫ | Completed in 1915, the highway got its name because it followed the ridge line of the [[San Gabriel Mountains|San Gabriel]] and [[Tehachapi Mountains|Tehachapi]] Mountains. Mostly bypassed by 1938 with the coming of [[U.S. Highway 99]], a 30-mile long, 20-foot-wide stretch of the original Ridge Route between [[Castaic, California|Castaic]] just off [[Interstate 5]] and [[California State Highway 138|Highway 138]] in [[Gorman, California|Gorman]] is paved in concrete and is still passable. |
||
None of the businesses that once dotted the route remain, but travelers can catch a glimpse of the occasional wall or foundation of a long-lost building. Many of those same buildings were intentionally destroyed by the [[U.S. Forest Service]] in the 1960s because they were used as flophouses by [[hippie|hippies]], resulting in unsanitary conditions and fire danger. Remains of the buildings can be glimpsed in the canyons. One foundation, that of the Tumble Inn at about the halfway point of the trip, is a stone structure that still bears the words "TUMBLE INN" carved in one of its steps. A 1928 motor tour book described the Tumble Inn thus: ''Rooms, dbl. $2, meals, gas, free camp space, water and rest rooms. A small resort of far-reaching vista.'' Almost nothing remains of Sandberg's Summit Hotel, which burned down in 1961. It was advertised as having both running water and [[indoor plumbing]] and was the stop of choice for the well-heeled traveller. Unsubstantiated rumors of illegal [[gambling]] and even [[prostitution]] abounded. |
None of the businesses that once dotted the route remain, but travelers can catch a glimpse of the occasional wall or foundation of a long-lost building. Many of those same buildings were intentionally destroyed by the [[U.S. Forest Service]] in the 1960s because they were used as flophouses by [[hippie|hippies]], resulting in unsanitary conditions and fire danger. Remains of the buildings can be glimpsed in the canyons. One foundation, that of the Tumble Inn at about the halfway point of the trip, is a stone structure that still bears the words "TUMBLE INN" carved in one of its steps. A 1928 motor tour book described the Tumble Inn thus: ''Rooms, dbl. $2, meals, gas, free camp space, water and rest rooms. A small resort of far-reaching vista.'' Almost nothing remains of Sandberg's Summit Hotel, which burned down in 1961. It was advertised as having both running water and [[indoor plumbing]] and was the stop of choice for the well-heeled traveller. Unsubstantiated rumors of illegal [[gambling]] and even [[prostitution]] abounded. |
||
== External links == |
== External links == |
||
Revision as of 19:13, 12 July 2004
The Ridge Route was California's first highway linking the Los Angeles Basin with the San Joaquin Valley, and was particularly used to travel from the city of Los Angeles to Bakersfield. It was sometimes called the Tejon-Castaic Ridge Route.
Surveying began in 1912 on what was one of the largest and most daunting feats of road engineering ever attempted; so daunting a task, in fact, that there was serious discussion about splitting the state in two. The Automobile Club of Southern California as well as political interests led the charge to build the highway and preserve the state.
Completed in 1915, the highway got its name because it followed the ridge line of the San Gabriel and Tehachapi Mountains. Mostly bypassed by 1938 with the coming of U.S. Highway 99, a 30-mile long, 20-foot-wide stretch of the original Ridge Route between Castaic just off Interstate 5 and Highway 138 in Gorman is paved in concrete and is still passable.
The complete road from Castaic to Gorman had more than 600 curves and 110 full circles with few guard rails or turnouts. One section had so many switchbacks it was referred to as the Grapevine. Other named features included Swede's Cut, the Newhall Tunnel and Horseshoe Bend overlooking Liebre Gulch. Parts of the route overlooked Castaic Creek.
What is today a fairly brief drive of less than 30 minutes on Interstate 5 on the old route took a minimum of three hours with sightseeing stops.
The route's present end at Highway 138 was the site of the Butterfield Stage stop between Los Angeles and Bakersfield. The remainder of the Ridge Route was covered up by US 99/Interstate 5 with a few fragments of broken pavement visible from the new highway.
The remains of the Ridge Route was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. To get to the existing fragment of the route from Los Angeles, take Interstate 5 heading north and exit Parker Road at Castaic, go right at top of the offramp, go right on Ridge Route and follow the road. (At Templin Highway, disregard the sign which says "Not a through road.")
None of the businesses that once dotted the route remain, but travelers can catch a glimpse of the occasional wall or foundation of a long-lost building. Many of those same buildings were intentionally destroyed by the U.S. Forest Service in the 1960s because they were used as flophouses by hippies, resulting in unsanitary conditions and fire danger. Remains of the buildings can be glimpsed in the canyons. One foundation, that of the Tumble Inn at about the halfway point of the trip, is a stone structure that still bears the words "TUMBLE INN" carved in one of its steps. A 1928 motor tour book described the Tumble Inn thus: Rooms, dbl. $2, meals, gas, free camp space, water and rest rooms. A small resort of far-reaching vista. Almost nothing remains of Sandberg's Summit Hotel, which burned down in 1961. It was advertised as having both running water and indoor plumbing and was the stop of choice for the well-heeled traveller. Unsubstantiated rumors of illegal gambling and even prostitution abounded.