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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The original alignment of California State Route 1 in San Francisco

In 2019 the Gribblenation Blog Series covered the history of the Hyde Street Pier and the original surface alignment of US Route 101 in San Francisco. Given the Golden Gate Bridge opened to traffic in May of 1937 coupled with the fact that the Sign State Routes had been announced in August of 1934 there were still some open questions regarding the original highway alignments in San Francisco. Namely the question of this blog is; where was California State Route 1 prior to the completion of the Golden Gate Bridge? Thanks the to the discovery of a 1936 Shell Highway Map of San Francisco and the California Highways & Public Works the answer can be conveyed clearly. Part 1; the history of early California State Route 1 in San Francisco The genesis point for California State Route 1 ("CA 1") in San Francisco dates to 1933. 1933 was significant due to the State Legislature allowing the Division of Highways to assume maintenance of highways in Cities for the first time.

Former California State Route 24 through the Kennedy Tunnel and Old Tunnel Road

Near the eastern City Limit of Oakland high in the Berkeley Hills one can be find the ruins of the Kennedy Tunnel at the intersection of Old Tunnel Road and Skyline Boulevard. The Kennedy Tunnel opened in 1903 and was the first semi-modern automotive corridor which crossed the Alameda County-Contra Costa County Line. The Kennedy Tunnel even saw service briefly as part of California State Route 24 before the first two bores of the Caldecott Tunnel opened in 1937. Part 1; the history of the Kennedy Tunnel The genesis point for California State Route 24 ("CA 24") being extended into the San Francisco Bay Area begins a couple years before the Sign State Routes were announced when Legislative Route Number 75 ("LRN 75") was added by 1931 Legislative Chapter 82. According to cahighways.org the original definition of LRN 75 was as simply "Walnut Creek to Oakland." The instigator for the adoption of LRN 75 was construct a replacement route for the Ken

Santa Clara County Route G8 and the New Almaden Quicksilver Mine

Santa Clara County Route G8 is a 29.38 mile County Sign Route which is part of the San Francisco Bay Area transportation corridor. Santa Clara County Route G8 begins at California State Route 152 near the outskirts of Gilroy and terminates at former US Route 101 at 1st Street/Monterey Road near downtown San Jose. Santa Clara County Route G8 incorporates the notable Almaden Expressway and is historically tied to the New Almaden Quicksilver Mine. (Santa Clara County Route G8 map image courtesy CAhighways.org) Part 1; the history of Santa Clara County Route G8, the Almaden Road corridor and New Almaden Mine The present corridor of Santa Clara County Route G8 ("G8") began to take shape with the emergence of the Almaden Expressway. According to the October 1960 California Highways & Public Works Unit 1 of the Almaden Expressway opened in November of 1959 between Alma Avenue near downtown San Jose south to the Guadalupe River as part of a Federal Highway Aid Secondary pro

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