Scenic Road (Carmel-by-the-Sea)

Scenic Road is a 1.5-mile street located in and around the city of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. The corridor was developed as part of a 1902 subdivision which formed the basis for the modern Carmel town plot. The routing of Scenic Road follows Carmel Bay from Ocean Avenue southward Mara Beach by the Carmel River. The street offers numerous coastal views, is free to use and aligned for southbound-only traffic.

Part 1; the history of Scenic Road

Prior to European contact Carmel Valley was home to numerous local tribes. The area was first explored by Europeans during a 1542 Spanish expedition led Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo. The Cabrillo expedition sailed along the coastline north through Big Sur, Carmel Valley and Monterey Peninsula, but made no attempt to land.

In 1602 Sebastián Vizcaíno discovered Carmel Valley at the behest of Spain and named the river running through it Rio Carmel. The name is thought to be an honorific reference to three Carmelite friar which were part of the expedition. The Spanish would not attempt to colonize the area until 1770 when the Catholic Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo was established.

Following the Mexican-American War the lands around Carmel Bay became part of the American state of California. Numerous settlers would buy up plots of land on Carmel Bay and Carmel Valley from the 1850s through the 1880s. During 1889 Monterey property developer Santiago J. Duckworth filed a subdivision map with Monterey County. The subdivision plot was simply known as "Carmel" and the area would even receive erratic on/off Postal Service.

During 1902, James Franklin Devendorf and Frank Hubbard Powers, would submit another subdivision map with Monterey County which established much of the modern town plot of Carmel. The plot included what is now "Scenic Road" which ran along the waterfront of Carmel Bay. The community would incorporate as the city of "Carmel-by-the-Sea" on October 31, 1916. The name "Carmel-by-the-Sea" was a reference to the early publicity campaign to spur interest in the area.

Scenic Road appears in detail on the 1938 Thomas Brothers Map of Carmel-By-The-Sea.

Part 2; a drive on Scenic Road

Scenic Road begins from the western terminus of Ocean Avenue at the parking lot for Carmel Sunset Beach. Traffic is forced to loop through the parking lot to reach the one-way only southbound Scenic Road.

Scenic Road follows the course of Carmel Bay southward and dips inland to a terminus at the parking lot for Mara Beach. The corridor passes numerous beaches and higher end homes built along the coastline. At Mara Beach traffic transitions to the two-way Carmelo Street heading northbound.

Comments

The 1915-era Teilman Bridge (the only known Concrete Pony Truss Bridge in California)

The Teilman Bridge is a semi-abandoned structure over Fresno Slough west of Burrell siding near the intersection of Elkhorn Avenue and Elkhorn Grade. This structure is the only known Concrete Pony Truss Bridge constructed in California and was designed by Ingvart Teilman. Teilman's Bridge would open in late 1915 when the Elkhorn Grade was the primary road between Fresno and Coalinga. The structure would be replaced in 1991 but was left standing as it carries pipelines over Fresno Slough. Part 1; the history of the Teilman Bridge In the early Twentieth Century the most direct highway between Fresno and Coalinga followed the Elkhorn Grade. The Elkhorn Grade began at Fresno Slough a short distance west of Burrell siding. From Fresno Slough the Elkhorn Grade followed a generally southwestern course through San Joaquin Valley into the Kettleman Hills towards Coalinga. The Elkhorn Grade can be seen on the 1914 C.F. Weber map of Fresno Coun...

The Dummy Lights of New York

A relic of the early days of motoring, dummy lights were traffic lights that were placed in the middle of a street intersection. In those early days, traffic shuffled through busy intersections with the help of a police officer who stood on top of a pedestal. As technology improved and electric traffic signals became commonplace, they were also originally positioned on a platform at the center of the intersection. Those traffic signals became known as " dummy lights " and were common until traffic lights were moved onto wires and poles that crossed above the intersection. In New York State, only a handful of these dummy lights exist. The dummy lights are found in the Hudson Valley towns of Beacon and Croton-on-Hudson, plus there is an ongoing tug of war in Canajoharie in the Mohawk Valley, where their dummy light has been knocked down and replaced a few times. The dummy light in Canajoharie is currently...

Prunedale Road (Monterey County)

Prunedale Road is a short 2.6-mile-long frontage corridor of US Route 101 in the namesake Monterey County community of Prunedale. Prior to 1932 US Route 101 bypassed Prunedale in favor of the San Juan Grade to the east. Prunedale Road along with nearby Moro Road served as an alternative connecting highway between Salinas and San Juan Bautista. Following the realignment of US Route 101 onto the Prunedale Cutoff the former through route along Prunedale Road would be rendered as a western frontage. Part 1; the history of Prunedale Road Prunedale Road is located in and is named after the Monterey County community of Prunedale. Said community was founded near the junction of San Migeul Canyon, Langley Canyon and Echo Valley. Watsonville settler Charles Langley (namesake of Langley Canyon) was one of the prominent early community settlers. The Prunedale Post Office would open for the first time in 1894 but would close by 1908. Early agricu...