Ever wondered where a movie was filmed? Does the location seem familiar to you? The greater Los Angeles area is home to numerous movie studios and, as such, is also a “stand-in” for so many locations. In my searches for locations, I’ve come across a few really good sites that have either identified the locations or even gone so far as to “recreate” them in a manner.
Winter in southern California can be quite an adventure at times. Some storms leave few routes open out of the Los Angeles area to points north and northeast. Some of these storms can really hamper travel out of the area.
In late December 2019, a storm closed State 33, I-5, State 14, State 138, I-15 (in two sections), and many other roads in the region. What road is open? When will it open? Are chains required? All of these questions and more can be easily answered through Caltrans, the State Highway department. They have a really good phone app and website – Quickmap – which gives all this information in an easy format. Caltrans Quickmap has numerous layers that can be added such as traffic speeds, CHP Incident Reports (collisions, hazards, fire information), road closures, snowplow locations, lane closures, CMS messages, and more.
In addition to Quickmap, all the Caltrans traffic cameras are available online at Caltrans Video, some of which are streaming live. I strongly recommend these links to get you where you need to go. Another page, also from Caltrans, covers ALL their available data – Caltrans Commercial Wholesale Web Portal . I use Quickmap quite often even just for basic traffic needs.
A local historian, Evan Decker of Santa Clarita, has brought to our attention something concerning a park in his area. William S Hart Park, the former home of the silent film actor, is currently a park owned and administered by Los Angeles County. This arrangement is due to the stipulations in the will of William S Hart, who deeded the land and associated structures in perpetuity to Los Angeles County.
The City of Santa Clarita, in an effort spearheaded by the current major Laureen Weste is looking to take over the park. By itself, it would seem like a “home rule” sort of issue, which can be a good thing. However, the City of Santa Clarita has a poor track record of preserving history and keeping it safe. This has been shown with the “disneyfication” of the CBD of Newhall, among other things. We feel this change would be a detriment to the historical value of Hart Park and would not be to its best interest.
If you would like to help with preventing the City of Santa Clarita from taking over William S Hart Park, Even Decker has set up an online petition to sign. He also strongly recommends contacting the office of Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger and tell her you’re against this project.
We, the Historic Highway 99 Association of California, only want to help preserve and protect the history along Highway 99. Newhall was one of the towns along the earliest alignment of US 99. Hart Park represents a part of that early history.
Please sign the petition created by Evan Decker to tell the City of Santa Clarita that you want the park kept as-is and not in City hands.
Taylor St at US 80 (Now I-8) in 1960, looking east. Courtesy – Caltrans
The view is looking east from the Taylor St ramps on I-8, then signed as US 80, in 1960. A lot has changed in San Diego’s Mission Valley in the 62 years since this photo was taken. At the time, Mission Valley was sparsely developed with mostly open lands and dairy farms filling the valley. This would soon change as shopping malls, apartment buildings, gas stations, and hotels replaced those farmlands.
Some things haven’t changed. The house visible on the left side of the image is still there, as are the overpass and freeway ramps. Can you spot anything else that is still there today?
US 6 / US 99 Interchange in 1955. Courtesy – Caltrans
In 1955, the first section of the Golden State Freeway opened. It was a short section, running from near Weldon Summit to Foothill Blvd. The freeway was the first major attempt to improve traffic in the Newhall Pass area and it did help for a time. The freeway remained until the early 1970’s when the new I-5 / State 14 interchange was constructed and the old freeway was reconfigured to become the “Truck Lanes”.
Today, the original interchange still remains, though not entirely used. The lower level, formerly the US 6 West to US 99 South connector, is now partially filled in. The second level still carries Sierra Highway with the top level carrying the I-5 Truck Lanes. The Newhall Pass has undergone many changes in its time as a transportation corridor for Los Angeles. This one was but one of those. The photo was taken on November 22, 1955.
