Route 66 from Pasadena to Santa Monica California

Barstow to Pasadena CA, itinerary and alignment

California Route 66 Itinerary and maps

Each leg of Route 66 described below has an interactive map and many image maps so you can follow the alignments of the highway along the way:

• Topock to Barstow - Map of this segment
• Barstow to Pasadena - Map of this segment
• This leg: Pasadena to Santa Monica - Map of this segment
  Santa Monica End of the Trail!

Arizona, previous leg

• Kingman to Topock AZ - map of this segment

Pasadena to Santa Monica along Route 66

Historic Background of the last leg of US Highway 66

When U.S. Highway 66 was created in 1926 its original western terminus was located in downtown Los Angeles.
The highway was aligned along earlier roads that had been built in the 1910s such as the "National Old Trails" or N.O.T. highway.

The N.O.T. highway was an "Auto Trail" and was the work of a private association that promoted better roads and lobbied with the state and federal governments for better highways with signs marking them to help drivers find their destination and drive safely.

The thumbnail map (Click on it to enlarge) shows some of these "Auto Trails" in SW California in the 1920s.

1927 Road map, SW CA
Click on image to enlarge.
Credits

1956 Shell Roadmap, SW CA
Click on image to enlarge.
Credits

The other image shows how the highway system had evolved by 1956, with Route 66 reaching the Pacific Ocean in Santa Monica.

From Pasadena to Santa Monica along Route 66

1926-31 Route 66 into Los Angeles

We have marked this alignment with a blue line in our custom map.

The firts alignment used by Route 66 (1926 to 1931) ran southwards from Pasadena into South Pasadena along Fair-Oaks Ave. past its downtown commercial district and continued south until it met Huntington Drive, here it took a right and followed Huntington Dr. until it reached North Broadway; following it all the way into downtown Los Angeles. Ending on 7th. Street. The first western terminus of the Mother Road.

Los Angeles, the first western Terminus (1926-35)

Route 66's western terminus was in downtown LA. On the northwest corner at Ezat Delijani Square on Broadway and 7th. St. is the sign marking the point where Route 66 "ended", actually its "Western Terminus" from 1926, when it was created until 1936 when it was extended to Santa Monica.

The sign marking the 1926 Western Terminus of Route 66

The name on the other sign, beneath it, remembers Ezat Delijani, a philanthropist who helped revitalize four historic downtown movie palaces.

Western Terminus moved from Los Angeles to Santa Monica in 1935

Route 66 extended to Santa Monica (1935) Credits

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation (or AASHTO) announced on June 17, 1935 that "U.S. 66, extended from Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles to Santa Monica via Santa Monica Boulevard," as shown in the image (page 19 of the State Sign Routes, California Highways and Public Works, Oct. 1935).

The other alignments into Los Angeles

1931 to 1934 Variant

It is shown with an orange line in our custom map.

It overlaps with the 1926-31 alignment between Pasadena and S. Pasadena, then it runs west along Mission St. in South Pasadena, crosses the then dry gully of Arroyo Seco turns south aroung Highland Park and along Figueroa till it reaches Pasadena Ave. where it runs south to N. Brodway where it meets the previous alignment and heads into downtown Los Angeles.

1935 Alignment through Eagle Rock

This alignment is shown with a green line in our custom map.

The highway left Pasadena, and headed west crossing the Arroyo Seco along the Colorado Street Bridge.

Colorado Street Bridge

Colorado Street Bridge, Pasadena. Credits.

Listed in the National Register of Historic Places

Located on Colorado Blvd. and Arroyo Seco canyon, the bridge was completed in 1913. It replaced the burdensome downhill and uphill route across the steep slopes of Arroyo Seco River gully.

The Arroyo Seco (Spanish for "Dry Stream") is a temporary river that is almost 25 mi. long (40 km) running from the San Gabriel Mountains to its confluence with the Los Angeles River.

It was a natural route from Los Angeles to Pasadena and was used by the railroad, the electric trolley and later by the Los Angeles' first freeway, the Arroyo Seco Parkway that was built in 1940 as a parkway next to the Arroyo Seco which had been recently channeled.

The curved bridge allowed it to find support in the river bed and its concrete arches rising 150 ft. above the river bed made it the highest concrete bridge of its time.
The bridge had two lanes and was 28 feet wide plus plus the 5 ft. sidewalks on each side. It carried Route 66 until the Arroyo Seco Parkway was completed in 1940 to relieve traffic along the by then congested bridge.

The highway went west to Eagle Rock along Colorado Blvd. and south along Eagle Rock Blvd. and finally to the SE along San Fernando Blvd. (which was also US 99) until reaching Los Angeles via 20th Ave. until it met the previous alignments on N. Broadway. The alternate '31 to '34 route along Figueroa St. and Pasadena Ave was reassigned as State highway 11.

1936-1939 Alignment

We marked this alignment with a red line in our custom map.

This alignment followed the 1935 alignment until reaching Eagle Rock but now turned south along the western flank of the Arroyo Seco using N. Figueroa St.
The former routebecame CA134 (on Colorado Blvd.) and CA61 (Eagle Rock Blvd.)

After crossing the Los Angeles River its alignment is now overlaid by the Arroyo Seco Parkway that replaced it in 1940.

Arroyo Seco Parkway

Listed in the National Register of Historic Places. National Civil Engineering Landmark. National Scenic Byway. California Historic Parkway.

The Los Angeles freeway system was born with the Arroyo Seco Parkway in 1940 built between L.A. and Pasadena. Route 66 was aligned along it. The parkway carried US66 from 1940 to 1964 Route 66.

The use of automobiles in LA had grown considerably in the 1920s so the city evolved and planned its layout around the car. This led to the building of the First Freeway in the West; actually it was a blend of "freeway" and "parkway". The freeway elements are the graded overpasses, the high-speed and limited-access road with on and off ramps. The parkway design can be seen in the landscaping and the fact that it ran through a parkland (ie. Elysian Park).

It had 6 lanes and was designed for 27,000 automobiles per day (it now carries over 120,000 cars daily). Below is a "Then and Now" view of the same spot along the parkway:

Same spot in a vintage 1940s photo on the Arroyo Seco Parkway; notice same arched bridge upper right:

Several bridges and the four Figueroa Street tunnels for northbound traffic were built in Art Deco style. There are four bridges that predate the Parkway: The 1895 Santa Fe Arroyo Seco Railroad Bridge, the 1912 York Boulevard Bridge, the 1925 Avenue 26 Bridge, and the 1926 Avenue 60 Bridge.

Trucks were banned in 1943. The parkway was extended in 1953 to the Four-Level Interchange in downtown L.A. The following year it was renamed Pasadena Freeway.

It became the alignment of Route 66 in 1940 and the old route along Colorado Blvd. and Figueroa St. became Route 66 Alt, one of the earliest examples of the use of the "alternate" designation, which would become far more common during the early 1960s as Interstate highways bypassed the central districts in cities across the U.S.

The construction of I-210 in 1958 reduced the flow of cars along Colorado Blvd. and U.S. Highway 66 through Pasadena.
It was this freeway carried travellers into Los Angeles during World War II and it set the example followed around the world for freeway construction.

1936: Route 66 extended from Los Angeles to to Santa Monica

When Route 66's western ending point was moved from S. Broadway and 7th St. in L.A., to Santa Monica, it was again realigned. Our custom maps mark the alignments that extended US66 from Los Angeles to Santa Monica as follows:

• The 1936-53 Sunset Blvd. alignment from Los Angeles to Hollywood: brown line in our custom map.
• The 1953-64 Freeway alignment from Los Angeles to Hollywood: pale blue line in our custom map.
• The 1936-64 Santa Monica Blvd alignment all the way to Santa Monica: yellow line in our custom map.

Sunset Blvd. The 1936 - 1953 alignment

Sunset Blvd. follows the path of a 1780s cattle trail from the Pueblo de Los Angeles to the ocean. This alignment headed NW from Figueroa St. on the 1935 alignment and then along Sunset Blvd. until Myra Ave. where it turned left and then SW until reaching Santa Monica Blvd and from there westwards all the way to Santa Monica. Then in the late 1940s it was realigned on the Freeway US 101 up to Santa Monica Blvd., from the exchange with the Arroyo Seco Parkway, a building project that took several years to be completed.

Hollywood Freeway 1953 - 1964

The Hollywood Freeway carried US 101 ran and replaced Sunset Blvd. after its completion (1953-1964).

US 101 marks the norther limit of the L.A. Westlake neighborhood and the southern one of Echo Park and Silver Lake. Then it enters Hollywood neighborhood where Route 66 takes a left along Santa Monica Blvd.

Santa Monica Blvd. 1936 - 1964

The highway heads west, until the "End of the Road" in Santa Monica and crosses two other cities: West Hollywood and Beverly Hills and the Western part of L.A.:

West Hollywood

This city is surrounded by Los Angeles, north, south and east, and to its west is Beverly Hills (City map). Route 66 ran from the easter border with L.A. -halfway down the block between N. Sycamore Ave and N. La Brea Ave. on Santa Monica Blvd. all the way to N. Doheny Drive on the border with Beverly Hills, a total lenght of 2.9 miles.

Beverly Hills

To its east is West Hollywood, and Los Angeles is to its west, south and north (City map). US 66 starts at N. Doheny Dr. on the border with West Hollywood and ends on Heath Ave. in the west; total length: 1.8 miles.

West Los Angeles

Once again US 66 enters Los Angeles city west of Beverly Hills and runs for 3.6 miles between Heath Ave. and Centralia Ave., crossing the Century City and West Los Angeles neighborhoods of Los Angeles City. Map of US 66 in West Los Angeles.

Santa Monica

West of Centralia Ave., Route 66 enters Santa Monica (City map) and originally headed south along Lincoln Blvd, where it took a left and ended on the junction with Olympic Blvd.

The Many Western endpoints of Route 66

Official Terminus of US 66

Lincoln Blvd. and Olympic Blv., Santa Monica. Map showing the spot.

The Western Terminus of Route 66 from 1936 to 1964 was located on the intersection of Lincoln Blvd. with Olympic Blvd.

When the D.O.T. decided to extend Route 66 from downtown Los Angeles (The 1926-1936 Terminus of Route 66 in LA was

Route 66 western terminus in the 1950s, Santa Monica Credits

The AASHTO set it at "... Lincoln Boulevard to the terminus at Pennsylvania Avenue..." at that time, after Colorado Ave., were the tracks of the Pacific Electric Railway Company, a streetcar or tramway, followed by Pennsylvania Ave. But when the modern Santa Monica Freeway (I-10) was built along the old streetcar line right of way, it obliterated Pennsylvania Avenue which was replaced by what is now Olymipic Blvd. So the modern terminus is located on Olypmic Blvd.

The Mother road ended here and never reached Santa Monica Pier or Ocean Ave. This was the end of the road until 1964, when the highway was decommissioned in this area and moved east (more on this below).

The image shows the spot in the 1950s, notice the Penguin neon sign on the western side of Lincoln Blvd., which is still there.

Photo of Mel's Drive In and the End of the Road sign on Lincoln and Olympic Blvds.

The many ending points of Route 66 in Santa Monica

However, most believe that Route 66 ends at Santa Monica Pier, and this is a very good example of excellent marketing by a Route 66 souvenir shop located on the pier.

Then there is the bronze marker on Santa Monica and Ocean Ave., a memorial to Will Rogers, which states that it is "The End of the Trail". Confusing isn't it?. Below is the true story of the western tip of Route 66.

Will Rogers Memorial Plaque

Despite its official ending point on Lincoln and Ocean Blvds., the U.S. Highway 66 Association campaigned from 1935 to 1950 to have the highway renamed as the Will Rogers Jr. Highway and to move its terminus to Palisades Park on Ocean Avenue and Santa Monica Blvd. See this Map showing location.

The spot is 0.7 miles west of the "real" endpoint of Route 66; and there is a plaque on the sidewalk in Palisades Park, on the western side of Ocean Avenue, among the palm trees that reads:

WILL ROGERS HIGHWAY
>Dedicated 1952 to WILL ROGERS
> Humorist - World Traveler - Good Neighbor
> This Main Street of America
>HIGHWAY 66
>Was the first road he traveled in a career that led him straight to the hearts of his countrymen

It was placed here in 1952 to promote a movie shot by Warner Brothers about the life of the famous star, "The Will Rogers Story". The U.S. 66 Highway Associaton and Ford Motor Company also took part of the promotion and a caravan drove along Route 66 from Saint Louis to Santa Monica placing memorial markers at each state line. They chose this spot -which is not the exact end of Route 66, but, a kind of "state line" (next to the Pacific Ocean) to place the final marker.

Will Rogers Memorial Plaque in Santa Monica

Santa Monica Pier "End of the Trail"

End of Route 66 sign on Santa Monica pier. Click for St. view

The third and final marker is located on Santa Monica Pier, see our custom map showing where the sign is.

This is the last marker in Santa Monica, and it is 0.3 miles south of the Will Rogers Plaque.

It is a "modern" sign that was erected during the Pier's centennial year, on Veterans Day, 2009. The idea was concevied by the Route 66 Alliance, the Santa Monica Convention and Visitors Bureau, the non-profit Santa Monica Pier Restoration Corp. and 66 to Cali Inc. (a Route 66 souvenir company)

They formalized the notion held by the general public that Route 66 actually ended on the Pier, and therefore designated Santa Monica Pier as the West Coast's end to Route 66.

Since the D.O.T. had no more say in the matter (U.S. 66 had been decommissioned long ago), this is a local "official" post-mortem relocation of the western end point of an "officially" defunct highway. Marketing and promotion are the prime movers of this new endpoint.

End of your journey

The journey we began in Chicago ends here, on the Pacific Ocean in California.

Hotels along this leg of your road trip

Santa Monica has plenty of lodging options for those travelling along Route 66, you can book a hotel or motel there:

>> Book your Hotel in Santa Monica

More Accommodation nearby along Route 66

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Credits

Banner image: Hackberry General Store, Hackberry, AZ by Perla Eichenblat
Jack DeVere Rittenhouse, (1946). A Guide Book to Highway 66.

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