Category Archives: History

Corona, District 8, History, Old Alignment, Old Bridge, Riverside County, US 91

Following old US 91 near Corona

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I took a trip recently to the Corona area to check out some of the old alignments of US 91. I had been there before, but it has been a long time. Starting from the Green River exit off of the 91 Freeway, I headed east along the south side of the freeway. Here, the roadways named Green River Road and Palisades Drive cover the pre-freeway alignment of US 91. This section is also a portion of the 1939 Prado Dam Relocation. This realignment took the highway out of the riverbed to the north and pushed it closer to the hills. A significant portion remains today relatively intact.

Near the Green River Road interchange, an abandoned portion of the roadbed is revealed by a 1939 culvert. The pavement has long since been removed. A portion of the old median, complete with curb divots, remains to the east. The best portion, however, is on Palisades Drive. This section has a fairly continuous old median, old bridges, wooden railing, and even a mile marker from Route 91. This whole section was bypassed in the early 1970’s along with a change to the 91 / 71 interchange.

Abandoned section of US 91 near Green River Road.
Abandoned section of US 91 near Green River Road.
1939 culvert on the abandoned section.
1939 culvert on the abandoned section.
Old raised median on Green River Road.
Old raised median on Green River Road.
Section of Palisades Drive, restriped to two lanes from four. Old raised median and wooden railing are visible here.
Section of Palisades Drive, restriped to two lanes from four. Old raised median and wooden railing are visible here.
Nice section of intact wooden railing.
Nice section of intact wooden railing.
Old Route 91 milemarker.
Old Route 91 milemarker. Reads “091, RIV, mileage illegible”
Former onramp from SB State 71 to WB US 91.
Former onramp from SB State 71 to WB US 91.
1939 bridge and railing near the eastern end.
1939 bridge and railing near the eastern end.
History, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, Maps, Railroads

My contribution to the Los Angeles Metro Rail System

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Before the Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension was opened, I was contacted by Nobuho Nagasawa. She was commissioned to create the artwork for the 1st St and Soto St Metro Gold Line station. She was looking for maps of the area surrounding the 1st / Soto station and found my website on the East Los Angeles Interchange. After searching my collection, I did find two maps that covered that area. The Los Angeles and Alhambra 6′ map sheets from the late 1920’s covered the area she needed with the right resolution. They were then scanned in at high resolution and sent along to her for use. As they were USGS maps, they were within the public domain and easy to transfer.

As I had obtained the maps from a geologist that had marked them up, cleaning them up prior to scanning was essential. I got most of the marks off, but some still remained. It seems they were just enough to “watermark” the maps as indeed from my collection. While not intentional, it did help me identify the maps when I saw them in a video on the opening of the line. In December 2009, I was finally able to see the station in person. The sheer size of the artwork created from these maps was astounding. A portion of a 6′ USGS quad sheet had been transformed into a 30′ x 60′ map going from one side of the station to the other.

The "original" and the artwork. Map sheet being held is the Los Angeles 6' map.
The original and the artwork. Map sheet being held is the Los Angeles 6′ map.
Overview of part of the artwork display. Stairs lead to the platform level.
Overview of part of the artwork display. Stairs lead to the platform level.
Western half of the map showing the Los Angeles River and part of downtown.
Central portion of the artwork.
Closeup showing some of the marks left on the map. Note the “36” circled in pencil.
Markings for Pliocene Rock (PLIO) and a fault line.

I wish to thank Nobuho Nagasawa for allowing me the privilege of contributing to the Los Angeles Metro Rail system. It gives me great pleasure to know that something I have in my collection is seeing use in a way I never expected.