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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Hidden California State Route 710 and the Pasadena Gap in the Long Beach Freeway

Infamous and the subject of much controversy the Pasadena Gap in the Long Beach Freeway has long existed as a contentious topic regarding the completion of Interstate 710 and California State Route 710. While the Pasadena Gap of the Long Beach Freeway effectively has been legislatively blocked the action only came after decades of controversy. While the Pasadena Gap of the Long Beach Freeway is fairly well known what many don't know is that a small segment was actually constructed south Interstate 210 and the Foothill Freeway. This disconnected segment of the Long Beach Freeway exists as the unsigned and largely hidden California State Route 710. On June 29, 2022 the California Transportation Commission relinquished California State Route 710 to the city of Pasadena. The blog cover above depicts a southward view on the completed Pasadena stub segment of the Long Beach Freeway which ends at California Boulevard. Part 1; the history of the Pasadena Gap of the Long Beach Freewa

Deer Isle Bridge in Maine

As graceful a bridge that I ever set my eyes upon, the Deer Isle Bridge (officially known as the Deer Isle-Sedgwick Bridge) surprisingly caught my eye as I was driving around coastal Maine one Saturday afternoon. About 35 miles south of Bangor, Maine , the Deer Isle Bridge connects the Blue Hill Peninsula of Downeast Maine with Little Deer Isle over the Eggemoggin Reach on ME 15 between the towns of Sedgwick and Deer Isle . It should be noted that Little Deer Isle is connected to Deer Isle by way of a boulder lined causeway, and there is a storied regatta that takes place on the Eggemoggin Reach each summer. But the Deer Isle Bridge holds many stories, not just for the vacationers who spend part of their summer on Deer Isle or in nearby Stonington , but for the residents throughout the years and the folks who have had a hand bringing this vital link to life. The Deer Isle Bridge was designed by David Steinman and built by the Phoenix Bridge Company of Phoenixville,

Paper Highways: Proposed US Route 66 Alternate to Las Vegas, Nevada

During February 1956 the State of Nevada in concurrence with the States of California and Arizona submitted a request to the American Association of State Highway Officials to establish US Route 66 Alternate to Las Vegas. The proposed US Route 66 Alternate would have originated from mainline US Route 66 in Kingman Arizona and followed a multiplex of US Routes 93-466 to Las Vegas, Nevada. From Las Vegas, Nevada the proposed US Route 66 Alternate would have multiplexed US Routes 91-466 back to mainline US Route 66 in Barstow, California. The request to establish US Route 66 Alternate was denied during June 1956 due to it being completely multiplexed with other US Routes. This blog will examine the timeline of the US Route 66 Alternate proposal to Las Vegas, Nevada. The history of the proposed US Route 66 Alternate to Las Vegas, Nevada On February 15, 1956, the Nevada State Highway Engineer in a letter to the American Association of State Highways Officials (AASHO) advising that six c