Ghost Town Tuesday; Eldora, FL and Canaveral National Seashore

Back in 2014 when I was living in the Orlando area I had a lot of time to explore the Atlantic Coastline on Canaveral National Seashore. West of Volusia County Route A1A along Eldora Road is small uninhabited community on the Indian River called Eldora.

Eldora was a small town centered around citrus groves that popped up in the second half of the 19th century. The community of Eldora suffered some hard freezes which kept it from growing to a substantial size. The first time Eldora appears on a map of Volusia County that I could find was in 1886.

1886 Volusia County Map

Today there are only two structures left in Eldora. The Eldora House apparently dates back to 1900 and was once known as the Moulton-Wells house.

County Route A1A 32 is a county level 32.7 mile segment of Florida State Road A1A. CR A1A is a discontinuous segment of A1A which never actually connected to the rest of the route to the south in Cape Canaveral. A 1936 map of Volusia County shows CR A1A with a pre-1945 state road number of 140.

1936 Volusia County Map

Canaveral National Seashore was declared in 1975 and encompasses the Atlantic Coastline from New Smyrna Beach south to the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The coast line south of New Smyrna Beach was some of the least developed in Florida and was always solid for a quiet day on the beach.

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Where the hell is Hill Valley? (US Route 8 south/US Route 395 east)

Recently I made a visit to Universal Studios near Los Angeles. While on the back lot tour I came across a piece of infamous movie-borne fictional highway infamy; the location of town square of Hill Valley, California on US Route 8/US Route 395. The above photo is part of the intro scene to the first Back-to-the-Future movie which was set in 1985. To anyone who follows roadways the signage error of US 8 meeting US 395 in California is an immediately notable error. For one; US 8 doesn't even exist anywhere near California with present alignment being signed as an east/west highway between Norway, Michigan and Forest Lake, Minnesota. To make matters worse US 8 is signed as a southbound route and US 395 (a north/south highway) is signed as an eastbound route. At minimum the cut-out US 8 and US 395 shields somewhat resemble what Caltrans used in the 1980s. Assuming Hill Valley is located on what would have been US 395 by 1985 what locales would be a viable real world analog?

The Vague Original Southern Terminus of US Route 91 in the Californian Mojave Desert

One of the more intriguing mysteries of the early US Route System in California is where the original south terminus of US Route 91 was intended to be located in the Mojave Desert. This blog is a little different than my usual behind the wheel fare and explores why US Route 91 ultimately ended at US Route 66 in Daggett instead of Bannock. What ultimately became the US Route System was first discussed during the American Association of State Highway Officials ("AASHO") during their annual 1924 meeting. Ultimately the AASHO recommended to the Department of Agriculture to work with the States to develop a system of Interstate Highways to replace the many Auto Trails in use. The Joint Board on Interstate Highways was ultimately commissioned by the Department of Agriculture and it's branch agency the Bureau of Public Roads in March of 1925. The Joint Board on Interstate Highways first met in April of 1925 and decided on the new interstate road network would be known a

Legend of the Ridge Route; a history of crossing the mountains between the Los Angeles Basin and San Joaquin Valley from wagon trails to Interstates

Over the past two decades I've crossed the Interstate 5 corridor from Los Angeles north over the Sierra Pelona Mountains and Tehachapi Range to San Joaquin Valley what seems to be an immeasurable number of times. While Interstate 5 from Castaic Junction to Grapevine via Tejon Pass today is known to most as "The Grapevine" it occupies a corridor which has been traversed by numerous historic highways. The most notable of these highways is known as the "Ridge Route." This article is dedicated to the Ridge Route and the various highways that preceded it. The Ridge Route is a 44 mile section of highway which was completed in 1915. The Ridge Route originally stretched from Castaic Junction north over Liebre Summit and Tejon Pass to the tiny community of Grapevine. In spite of a roadway that once utilized nearly 700 curves the Ridge Route is generally considered far ahead of it's time and one of the first modern highways constructed for automotive use.

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