I''ve got a nice collection of road maps, but most are post 1960. I do have a 1950's map of LA. Very interesting to see what was there before the freeways. I was raised in Oakland and Sacramento and remember when the Elvas Freeway as opened just as Elvis Presley became famous. What a coincidence.

One of the things I've always wondered about and I think you may have alluded to in your discussions are "control" cities. I was never aware of that concept.

I've always found it interesting that in LA on old US 99 and then on I-5 and 405 that the northbound direction was signed "SACRAMENTO" rather than "North" or "Bakersfield" which seemed a lot more relevant to LA than "Sacramento". I figured that having "SACRAMENTO" pasted across all 4 or 5 lanes in huge letters was either Caltrans or the legislature's way of reminding all the Los Angelenos every day that the capitol was Sacramento and that's where the money came from for the freeways even though it was 400 + miles away.

Thanks for the nice page.

Regards,

Mike Cussen

More bloopers/oddities for the Caltrans Bloopers page:

- Blooper: "California" is misspelled on a detour sign for SR 126 at Wells Rd. in Ventura. The second "i" is dropped, yet there is space for it; the signreads "Californ a." This may be the fault of Caltrans or the city of Ventura.

- Blooper/Oddity: After the CSUN Ventura Campus was closed and its functionswere taken over by the new facility on the former Camarillo State Hospital campus (which will soon become CSU Channel Islands), the "next exit" signs onUS 101 in Ventura were changed. The words "CSUN" and "Campus" were removed,and the word "PIER" was added (in all capitals, clashing with the upper-lowercase wording of the sign). The "rebuilt" signs look sloppy and asymmetrical.

Furthermore, the exits in question (Sanjon Rd. northbound and Seaward Ave.southbound) are not the most direct routes to the Ventura Pier.

- Blooper: On some streets leading to Foothill Blvd. between San Fernando and Pasadena (formerly part of SR 118), there are signs that lead the driver tobelieve Foothill Blvd. is still Route 118. That section was decommissioned (orat least unsigned) when the nearby I-210 was completed about 20 years ago; 118 still exists between I-210 and Saticoy. Strangely, the 118 shields on the signs feature black lettering on a white background (approximating the old style).

- Blooper: A sign on the eastbound SR 134 in Burbank sports a black-on-white shield similar to those on the obsolete 118 signs. I don't know if it still exists.

Joel:

Your page looks great! Thanks for a web page that taught this 19-year veteran

some new things. Keep up the good work and I'll be on the lookout for new

bloopers. Let me know if there's anything I can do for you.

Art Salazar

Caltrans District 7 - Los Angeles

Excellent site. Shows the need for some proofreaders at CalTrans. Here is another example of white state shields on the highways.

I noticed on California Blvd. in Pasadena at Orange Grove Blvd. that there  was a white U.S. highway sign with 210 written in it. Either it directs you  to the Foothill Freeway(I-210) or it takes you to the Northeastern United  States. This is a great page and I would like to see more silly bloopers.

I know of a few more of the old, white California freeway miner's spade  signs that are not mentioned on your site. Though I have never seen them, I  read somewhere that portions of the CA-126 still have the old white signs.   Also, I think I remember seeing one on the southbound CA-170; the first sign   indicating that the CA-134 is near has a white symbol for the 134. I'm not   100% sure about that one, but you might want to check it out.

Thanks,