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.
Our signs for our Calexico project (04IMP21001) have finally arrived! These signs were made by Zumar Industriesin Santa Fe Springs, CA. We are quite pleased with how they turned out.
Our sign from Zumar.
We anticipate these to be installed in Calexico in the next month. More signs will be ordered as other projects move forward. This wouldn’t be possible without your donations and support. We want to thank everyone that donated. We would also like to thank Zumar Industries for making such a great sign. We anticipate more orders from them in the future.
Greetings and Welcome to the Historic Highway 99 Association of California’s monthly newsletter! My name is Sara Lazarus and I am the Treasurer of the Association. We are a young, but growing group of Highway 99 enthusiasts who share one common goal: Preserving the original sections of Highway 99 and the stories of those involved. As time goes on, and with help from our Members, donors and volunteers, we will be working on installing new signage, telling the stories of Businesses, Families and detailing historic events along the highway. None of these things could happen, however, without all of you, our Members. With your support, we can all help to preserve the history of California’s Main Street. As we speak, we have ordered our first new signage for the City of Calexico, California and are awaiting delivery to their Public Works Department. These signs will be going up on First at Heffernan and Second at Imperial in the not-too-distant future. We are also in the process of working with other entities throughout the State to determine signing and material needs. Thank you all for being a part of this organization and helping to save history.
Advocacy / Projects
Original sign, since replaced in Mountain Gate.
A report from Mountain Gate in Shasta County (Region 1) regarding our last “99 Alert“:
On Feb 4th, a Historic US 99 sign in the Community of Mountain Gate, CA was discovered to be stolen using a metal saw. The local historian on his local walk discovered the sign missing and reported it to Shasta County Public Works. He made a hypothetical guess that it was stolen during the recent snow storm since Interstate 5 closes near the spot where the sign is located and the roadways turned into a parking lot for people wishing to drive forward. This guess was because the sign was at that location a few days before the snow storm hit. The historian also sent a message to the local community Facebook page as well as the Historic US 99 and the historic enamel California signs asking for their help in the location of the sign. Some of the members wondered if the county or the state knocked down the sign with a snow plow but Caltrans and Shasta County Public Works confirmed that the sign was not knocked down to their knowledge which also confirmed that the sign was stolen. Shasta County Public Works then after waiting for a week went ahead and got a sign purchased as per to the original agreement between the County and Mountain Gate in regards to the Historic US 99 signs. They also then installed the sign afterwards. The new sign is of the same size as the old one but it has modern reflective materials. The Mountain Gate, CA historian is quite grateful for the assistance of everyone willing to help. This Historic US 99 project is not the final one for this area…Someday I hope to see these roads repaved with the original materials but to modern specs.
-Mountain Gate, CA Historian
Fundraising
Fundraising has been slow but steady. While we have not yet reached our main funding goal, we did get enough to pay for two signs in Calexico. We currently have one main fundraiser going for a stock of now eight signs for Banning and Beaumont. Other projects, beyond sign projects, are still in the works. We do wish to thank all that have donated so far to our cause. Once we obtain our 501c3 status, you will be given a proper receipt for tax purposes.
We are still working to contact the various agencies, historical societies, and clubs along US 99 in California. This is a slow process but so far successful. We are also now hosting monthly meetings via Zoom. Our first will be held on March 4 at 5:30 pm. Join us and meet the Association! If you’d like to join our meeting, please register using the link below. Future meetings will be posted on our site. We are still working on a regular time and date for the meeting, so it may change slightly each month for now.
Starting March 1, we officially have a membership program. We decided to proceed without our 501c3 as we anticipate it coming through in the very near future. Sign ups, for now, are completely online. Join us and help our organization grow! If you join now, your membership will be valid until the end of March 2022. In the future, once we have a 501c3, we will also accept applications through the mail.
Mt Shasta from Redding, California. Courtesy – Michael F Ballard
This month, we feature a photo showing a snow-capped Mt Shasta peeking out from the mountains north of Redding, CA at the intersection of Lake Blvd and State 273 (old US 99) in Region 1. Mt Shasta is the most picturesque mountain in all of California, in my opinion. The photo was taken in October 2007 on a trip to see what parts of US 99 were exposed at Lake Shasta. That year, the water level was low enough to see most of the old highway but nearly as much as just a year later in October 2008 when it was possible to traverse almost all of old US 99 from O’Brien Inlet to Lakehead.
Errata
We want to hear from you! One of our goals is to promote local businesses. If you own a business along old US 99 and are looking for more exposure, join us and we will feature your business in our newsletter and our website. If you would like to have one of your photos featured in our newsletter, send us a message!
Yesterday was a big day for the Association. Our first project, 04IMP21001 – the Calexico sign replacement project, is going forward. I have been in contact with the Public Works Manager for the city regarding our proposal. Yesterday, they accepted and asked us to proceed with the sign order.
Today, I ordered two 24×36 Historic Route 99 signs for the City of Calexico. We are all really excited about this, even though it is “just a replacement”. This is a big thing for us. The city could well have said no but they didn’t. We saw this as an opportunity to help present a better image for the highway and their city. Having faded signs, to the point you don’t really know what they read, isn’t helpful to anyone. Having a nice new sign helps and shows that people care about it. We’d like to put up new signs in new places, but those projects do take a lot longer. We will be successful in those over time.
At this point, we are anticipating this project to be complete in the next month. The signs take, on average, about two weeks to make and deliver. Once we get them, we will coordinate with the City for delivery and placement. Optimally, we’d like to have a small ceremony with photos taken. As this is our first project, it is something we’d like to memorialize. We will keep everyone updated as the timeline gets more firm. One thing is certain, this will be done before summer heat sets in!
We wish to thank all those that have supported us and this project. We couldn’t have done it without you! We’d also like to extend a special thanks to the City of Calexico and their Public Works Manager, Liliana Falomir, who has been very helpful to us in this venture.
UPDATE: Shasta County will be replacing the sign. Some good news at least. Still no word as to who took it or where it is now.
Sometime in the last week, one of the Historic Route 99 signs was stolen from the Mountain Gate area near Redding, CA in Shasta County (Region 1). The sign was taken from the corner of Wonderland Blvd and Fawndale Rd. The entire post was also taken, cut at the base. If you have any information regarding this theft, have seen the sign for sale, or anything else, pleasecontact us! We are working with the group that posted the sign to get the word out and help however we can. Photos courtesy – Dari Fairburn.
