The Boulevard
The Boulevard
The El Cajon Boulevard sign light up at night with car trails whizzing by.
In the early 1900s El Cajon Avenue was the main wagon road connecting San Diego to the east county. With the growing popularity of the automobile there was a movement to link local roads to form intercontinental highways. In 1912, interstate highway 80 joined the eastern end of El Cajon Avenue at the San Diego city limits. Highway 80 cut a path from San Diego County to the east coast in the 1920s. Over the years El Cajon Avenue was paved and widened. In 1937 the city council voted to change its name from avenue to boulevard to note its significance as a major thoroughfare. In the 1950s, Highway 80 was transferred to the present routing of I-8.
Highway 80 was once referred to as the Broadway of America, a grand transcontinental highway stretching coast to coast, from Tybee Island in Georgia to San Diego, California. No other highway even comes close to being an integral part of so many of the early auto trails. The highway was enjoyed by both travelers and locals a like. Drag races, malt shops, drive-in movie theaters, classic car dealerships, sock hops and other neighborhood amenities shaped the character along El Cajon Boulevard and Highway 80 where car culture was born. However, as the need for ever faster transportation and expansive urban sprawl became apparent, Highway 80 found itself being bypassed as the new interstates took an increasingly larger share of the traffic and business.
The completion of I-8 in 1957 was nearly death of U.S. 80 in California. By 1974, the last official signs were being removed and U.S. 80 technically ceased to exist. Fortunately, in 2006, the State of California designated US 80 a state historic route. With help from County Supervisor Ron Roberts, the El Cajon Boulevard Business Improvement Association had begun to promote cultural tourism along this historic route by installing Historic Highway 80 road signs and banners to encourage drivers to ‘Cruise Historic Highway 80.’
To fill the void of lost neon signage, the spectacular Boulevard gateway sign was erected in 1989 to return to the glory of neon. City officials and local business leaders saw the sign as a major new landmark which would promote The Boulevard as a destination and encourage further community revitalization efforts. The sign was designed by Simon Andrews from Graphic Solutions. The total cost was $200,000. The sign is maintained by The North Park Landscape Maintenance District and was repainted in 2016. The sign is located on The West End of El Cajon Boulevard, just east of Park Blvd.
This is the blending of 3 photos. 2 photos taken for each side of the road to maximize traffic and therefore the light trails, I even got a bus in there, bonus. The other picture was with me slowly dragging the zoom on the lens to get the zoom effect on the lettering.
The Boulevard
The Boulevard
The El Cajon Boulevard sign light up at night with car trails whizzing by.
In the early 1900s El Cajon Avenue was the main wagon road connecting San Diego to the east county. With the growing popularity of the automobile there was a movement to link local roads to form intercontinental highways. In 1912, interstate highway 80 joined the eastern end of El Cajon Avenue at the San Diego city limits. Highway 80 cut a path from San Diego County to the east coast in the 1920s. Over the years El Cajon Avenue was paved and widened. In 1937 the city council voted to change its name from avenue to boulevard to note its significance as a major thoroughfare. In the 1950s, Highway 80 was transferred to the present routing of I-8.
Highway 80 was once referred to as the Broadway of America, a grand transcontinental highway stretching coast to coast, from Tybee Island in Georgia to San Diego, California. No other highway even comes close to being an integral part of so many of the early auto trails. The highway was enjoyed by both travelers and locals a like. Drag races, malt shops, drive-in movie theaters, classic car dealerships, sock hops and other neighborhood amenities shaped the character along El Cajon Boulevard and Highway 80 where car culture was born. However, as the need for ever faster transportation and expansive urban sprawl became apparent, Highway 80 found itself being bypassed as the new interstates took an increasingly larger share of the traffic and business.
The completion of I-8 in 1957 was nearly death of U.S. 80 in California. By 1974, the last official signs were being removed and U.S. 80 technically ceased to exist. Fortunately, in 2006, the State of California designated US 80 a state historic route. With help from County Supervisor Ron Roberts, the El Cajon Boulevard Business Improvement Association had begun to promote cultural tourism along this historic route by installing Historic Highway 80 road signs and banners to encourage drivers to ‘Cruise Historic Highway 80.’
To fill the void of lost neon signage, the spectacular Boulevard gateway sign was erected in 1989 to return to the glory of neon. City officials and local business leaders saw the sign as a major new landmark which would promote The Boulevard as a destination and encourage further community revitalization efforts. The sign was designed by Simon Andrews from Graphic Solutions. The total cost was $200,000. The sign is maintained by The North Park Landscape Maintenance District and was repainted in 2016. The sign is located on The West End of El Cajon Boulevard, just east of Park Blvd.
This is the blending of 3 photos. 2 photos taken for each side of the road to maximize traffic and therefore the light trails, I even got a bus in there, bonus. The other picture was with me slowly dragging the zoom on the lens to get the zoom effect on the lettering.