Dedicated to the preservation of California's Main Street – former US Highway 99
Author: Michael Ballard
I am the founder of the Historic Highway 99 Association of California. I am also the author and administrator of the "Southern California Regional Rocks and Roads" website at https://socalregion.com, since 1995. I have been studying the geology and highway history throughout southern California for most of my life. I am also the President of the Ridge Route Preservation Organization.
The first of two articles just came out regarding our Calexico project. We were interviewed by two papers, the Calexico Chronicle and the Desert Review. Today, the article for the Desert Review came out in their print and e-edition. It is pretty cool to get some press for our work. It was a small project but still significant for us. We will post the second article once it comes out.
What a great start for the Historic Highway 99 Association! Hello everyone, my name is Vicki Farmwald and I am the new Secretary for the Association. It’s amazing to see how much can be accomplished even during these unprecedented times. People coming together for a single purpose, acknowledging the importance of this historic highway and its preservation. So on March 24, 2021, our first project saw the installation of two replacement Historic Route 99 signs in Calexico, CA. These new signs are located at the corners of 1st St at Heffernan Ave and 2nd St at Imperial Ave. We are onto a great start and it’s just the beginning! Thank you for being a part of the Association and helping preserve our history.
Advocacy / Projects
At the new BEGIN sign in Calexico, CA
On March 24, 2021, we successfully completed our first project, the replacement of two faded Historic Route signs in Calexico, California. This project, done in cooperation with the City of Calexico, is rather fitting as our first. The southern terminus of US 99 was in Calexico, so no better place to start than the beginning.
This project wouldn’t have been possible without the donations we have received and your support. We wish to thank all those that were involved with the project and a special Thank You to Lilliana Falomir, Public Works Manager for the City of Calexico. We do look forward to working with the city in replacing the remaining signs in time.
Fundraising
Currently, we are still in the process of obtaining our 501(c)3 status. Our application is a bit delayed but hopefully we will hear something by late April. Once we obtain the status, we will be able to open a regular bank account, which will help with our fundraising efforts. So far, we have raised funds via PayPal for our projects and memberships. All those that have donated will receive a formal letter for their taxes once our status comes through. We can certainly use your support! Donate and/or become a member.
1932 side of the Piru Creek Bridge in Piru Gorge, Los Angeles County, California
Slowly but surely, we are reaching out to local historical societies, businesses, clubs, and other groups along US 99. So far, the feedback has been positive. We are hosting monthly Zoom meetings, https://historic99.org/meetings/, which will have a presentation on various Highway 99 topics. This month, on April 6, there will be a presentation on the history of the Ridge Route Alternate portion of the highway.
We now have memberships available! We are up to 14 members as of March 31, not bad for a first month. Your memberships help us grow and achieve our goals to promote and preservation on of California’s most historic roadways. The next two months we are also running a special on memberships. Use code “SAVE99” on the membership application and save $5 off your first year, regardless of what level membership you are getting.
For our business members, we want to help you! We will list your business on our 99 Businesses page and you will get a chance at ad space in our newsletter. We may also do a feature on one of them on the site and newsletter.
This comes from one of our recent members who recently published a new book on US 99:
Hello members,
I’m very happy to be a new member of Historic Highway 99 Association of California and look forward to hearing about all the Club news.
I’ve been fascinated with Highway 99…California and Oregon…for decades. This led me to my current collection of hundreds of vintage postcards showing scenes of Highway 99 and its roadside attractions and businesses covering the decades up to the 1960s.
I’m excited to share with you my newly published book: A PICTORIAL HISTORY of HIGHWAY 99~The Scenic Route~From Redding, California to Portland, Oregon. You can see more of it on Amazon.com. The book has 423 pages and over 600 photos of scenes along Highway 99; all taken from my postcard collection mentioned above.
Respectully submitted,
Carole MacRobert Steele
Photo of the Month
Golden State Avenue looking north from 23rd St / Junction US 466
For April, we are featuring a postcard from the 1950’s showing Golden State Avenue in central Bakersfield looking north from 23rd St. Here, US 99 met US 466 and State 178. Today, US 466 is gone entirely and State 178 has been moved to a freeway near the top of the postcard. The concrete paving, from the 1940’s, is still there as is the Kelly Springfield Tire sign, though covered with a new company. The intersection at the bottom is now Sumner St (relocated in 1987).
This section of 15′ concrete was bypassed pretty early in the history of 99. It is located within Region 3. Where was this photo taken? Use the form below the photo to submit your entry.
Today was a great day and a big day for the Historic Highway 99 Association of California. Today we completed our first project, replacing the Historic Route signs at the south end of US 99 in Calexico, California.
We met the sign crew in Calexico at 1st St and Heffernan Ave at 7:45 am on March 24, 2021 to deliver the signs and watch them get placed. It didn’t take long for things to get moving from that point on. As the new signs were a bit larger and the pole was not tall enough, the new signs needed to be drilled. Thankfully, the new hole was in a decent spot and didn’t mess up the flow of the sign.
Ready to post with the new sign finally here.
Taking down the old sign. This took a bit of work as the old bolts were rusted and welded.
Old sign, now removed.
New sign posted with the crew doing the finishing touches.
Finally on its own. Looking really good!
The second sign, at 2nd St and Imperial Ave, was next. This one, while not quite at the end of US 99, was posted that way due to its proximity to the south end of State 111. The sign is quite visible to a lot of travelers and locals heading to Mexicali and the Calexico central business district. As this was in the morning, the sun was not in a favorable direction for photos. We still made it work.
Crew working on removing the old sign. In the process, they also straightened the END and US 99 shield making the whole assembly a lot nicer.
Down goes the old sign.
And up comes the new one! The crew is making sure the sign is upright. The final check was done by us.
Second sign posted!
After the sign crews finished their work, we went to visit Liliana Falomir, Public Works Manager for the City of Calexico. It was very good to meet her in person for the first time and speak a bit more about the project. It was great to have the opportunity to thank her in person for all the work she has done to make this happen. We also delivered a letter relinquishing the sign to the city to make it all official. The City of Calexico will also be sending out a press release in the next few days, so who knows where things might go from there?
At the BEGIN sign later in the day with better sun. Very happy we made this happen.
We want to thank all those that donated to this project and the City of Calexico for helping make this a reality. We could not have done it without all your help and look forward to more projects in the future. This was an amazing day and a new beginning for US 99 and the Historic Highway 99 Association of California.
Today’s photo comes to us from Region 4. This section of old US 99 was constructed in 1942 and bypassed in 1960. In 2014, it was removed. Where was this photo taken? Use the comment section to post your answer. Person who gets the correct answer first wins a free one-year membership!
The photo shows Taylor Court, a section of former US 99 expressway at the north end of Turlock. It was bypassed in 1973 and since turned into a parking area for RV’s and trailers.
