A Drive On The Boulevard - Highway 80 via El Cajon Blvd. in San Diego

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ต.ค. 2024
  • From 1926 until 1953, Highway 80 traveled along El Cajon Blvd. on its way towards its western terminus in Downtown San Diego, California. Highway 80, while not as well known as its cousin Route 66, is filled with history and by the 1950s more people entered California by Highway 80 than Route 66. San Diego's El Cajon Blvd. features a number of historic sites, as well as some newer things to check out as well (such as the 7-11 of the future).
    In this video we travel from the intersection of El Cajon and Euclid to El Cajon and Park Blvd., the 1926-1953 route of Highway 80.
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ความคิดเห็น • 100

  • @kop1579
    @kop1579 4 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    I moved to simi valley after living in San diego in normal heights for 33 years and I watch your videos when I miss home

  • @williamcharnow9038
    @williamcharnow9038 3 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    Around 9-10 years ago I actually walked the entire El Cajon Blvd up and down about 7 seperate times. The blocks are longer than most average city blocks. This video brings back a lot of memories and makes me Thank God for protecting me and walking with me during those hard times I endured back then.

    • @craigpeterman27
      @craigpeterman27 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I walked from Hoover High to my home in North Park a few times. Never walked from San Diego State.

  • @craigpeterman27
    @craigpeterman27 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Growing up in North Park in the early 50s I recall taking El Cajon Blvd all the time.

  • @CalTxDude
    @CalTxDude ปีที่แล้ว +3

    I had no idea that highway 80 was So rich not only with American history but With pop culture and icons! Thank you so much for this video !
    I lived in San Diego for over 20 years, and although I've lived all over the world, I do miss that beautiful city.

  • @donnasmith2720
    @donnasmith2720 3 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    So cool. I lived at the corner house on Euclid and Monroe when I was growing up.

  • @williambliss6087
    @williambliss6087 3 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    Wow, memory lane. I kept looking for the water tower as the video ran and sure enough, there it was right along with the electrical substation. I grew up in the neighborhood near Fairmont and University and frequently drove on El Cajon. I'd forgotten about the Lafayette Hotel. The Normal School at the corner of Park and El Cajon became San Diego State University. My mother got her teaching credential there in the 1920s. My sister graduated from Hoover and went to school with Ted Williams. I left California 50 years ago, but the memories remain.

    • @sdguy2653
      @sdguy2653 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Welcome back Mr. Bliss, though you're elsewhere, you've never left.

  • @fastsetinthewest
    @fastsetinthewest 3 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    NEW SUBCRIBER. My grandparents started driving Hwy 80 in 1935. They'd drive it about February and became friends with the Knot Berry family writing letters back and forth. They owned an Allis Chalmers dealership in Lennon Michigan and farmed. They sold more combines than any dealer. I grew up on a Michigan farm, got drafted, and sent to the Republic of Vietnam '68. I lived near Hwy 80 about 40 miles Northeast of Savannah too after my Army days. I've had a couple of friends killed on Hwy 80. From near Fort Worth, Texas. I've driven big portions of 80. Great video. Eaglegards...

  • @williamstudleyiii2068
    @williamstudleyiii2068 3 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    As a kid in the early 50's, my parents would drive us to Gillespie Field. El Cajon Blvd was the only highway. It was very wide and had signs telling speed for traffic signal timing which changed depending on traffic conditions. San Diego was a wonderful place to grow up.

    • @lucask4330
      @lucask4330 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      as in the speed limit would change?

  • @brown-eyedman4040
    @brown-eyedman4040 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    This one really hits home. My grandparent's house was in this neighborhood long before it was Little Saigon. My mother actually attended Hoover High School. And yes, we actually went to the original Jack-in-the Box. Yhank you so much.

  • @kathleenmarion
    @kathleenmarion 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    When we first came to San Diego in 1959 Highway 8 was not open yet but under construction. I remembered driving both El Cajon Boulevard out to El Cajon and the Farm Road through Mission Valley to get to El Cajon. But the best was in 1968 when I had a 55 Chevy and drove the boulevard! That was the in place to be on Friday and Saturday nights. Stopping at Oscar's for shakes and fries. Think American Graffiti San Diego style! It was the best!

  • @mypl510
    @mypl510 3 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    The scene in Top Gun where Maverick picks up Charlie at the club was filmed at the Lafayette in it's ballroom! Hollywood Magic!

  • @wilsonpicket8505
    @wilsonpicket8505 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I grew up in that area. My old stomping grounds. That Florist Building used to be a Bekins Moving storage facility.

  • @blondebobbi4505
    @blondebobbi4505 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Wow. What memories. Empire Beauty Supply. The hospital. Chicken Pie Shop. Rudfords. Lived on Park in one of my grandmother's apartments. Both good memories and bad.

  • @askulkingfox
    @askulkingfox 3 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    Thanks for the recommendations and highlights along the way. Going to check out that 7-11 and the Chicken Pie Shop. Maybe get some Vietnamese food too!

    • @SidetrackAdventures
      @SidetrackAdventures  3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Definitely check out the Chicken Pie Shop. Its so good. Thank you for watching.

  • @AtagoJRPG
    @AtagoJRPG 3 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Japan always has had the 7-11 of the futures, it would be wise if the 7-11 corporation here would catch up with its cousin in Japan cause they offer way more than just groceries. cool videos btw, been binge watching them and it's always awesome to see a fellow road geek covers a lot of lesser known highways here in California

  • @SomeplaceOrAnother
    @SomeplaceOrAnother 3 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    Great driving tour of San Diego 👍 cool water tower 👍

    • @SidetrackAdventures
      @SidetrackAdventures  3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Thank you 👍

    • @113charlie7
      @113charlie7 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Been seeing that water tower since I was a kid didn't know it was vintage

  • @HoldFastLife
    @HoldFastLife 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Just came across your site. Love the videos. I grew up in San Diego (La Mesa, El Cajon, etc) live in Ny now. Visit from time to time. Sucks I have to vacation where I grew up! Your videos remind me of my childhood years.....

  • @CH3NO2Semonious
    @CH3NO2Semonious 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    In the late 60s on weekends El Cajon Blvd looked like a scene from American Graffiti I practically lived at that Der Wienerschnitzel in my van back then.

  • @THEoriginaljmelford
    @THEoriginaljmelford 3 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    The Lafayette hotel was where the offices of the San Diego Chargers were in the 1960's. I went in there and asked where their office was and the clerk wouldn't tell me but he gave me a Chargers bumper sticker and asked me to leave. I was hoping to see Earnie Ladd or one of the other players. I was 17 or 18 years old at the time.

  • @naomidavis8649
    @naomidavis8649 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Lived there in the 50’s and 60’s on swift st. Walked it many times remember pres. Kennedy coming down El Cajon blvd and also the El Cajon drag race also went to Edison Wilson and Hoover

  • @Corgis175
    @Corgis175 ปีที่แล้ว

    Thoroughly enjoyable as a passenger on your drive.

  • @mariebrundridge2679
    @mariebrundridge2679 ปีที่แล้ว

    I just loved your video on El Cajon BL. I used to live right off 41st and El Cajon brought back good memories.

  • @CalTxDude
    @CalTxDude ปีที่แล้ว

    I lived just half a block from that water tower and there are so really great collector car gatherings at that park directly behind it

  • @threeshocks5769
    @threeshocks5769 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Chicken pie shop rolls for Christmas is a must

    • @johntaylorjr4344
      @johntaylorjr4344 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

      I'll have to try it next time I'm down there.

  • @hle619
    @hle619 หลายเดือนก่อน

    My old neighborhood. It can be a little rough around the edges, but it does carry it's own charm as well.

  • @PhredsArmy
    @PhredsArmy ปีที่แล้ว

    Really enjoyed this particular video (just catching up on all of the ones you've done so far). I went to high school in the mid-70s in Clairemont and did my college in the mid-90s after my stint in the Army. Both times, I used to drive the entire length of El Cajon Blvd and did loop on University Ave and I'm amazed at how much keeps changing. It looks like they did a lot of clean up on the road and buildings as everything looks brighter and cleaner now. Will have to do this loop again next time I'm in town.

  • @Michael_the_Servant
    @Michael_the_Servant 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I lived right there at Florida and El Cajon where the Boulevard sign is, just drove past it the other week after years living out of the area, boy it has changed, but that Sign stays the time.

  • @Sir-Gerlad
    @Sir-Gerlad 3 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Nice drive video. I love the Chicken Pie shop. Good food at a low price. What equipment did you use to record your drive?

    • @SidetrackAdventures
      @SidetrackAdventures  3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      We used a DJI Osmo Action for the driving footage.

    • @Sir-Gerlad
      @Sir-Gerlad 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@SidetrackAdventures The footage looks really good. Your vids make me want to go out and drive.

  • @ericpederson3105
    @ericpederson3105 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Hey! At 14 seconds you can see my place. The picture you use of El Cajon Blvd. and Alabama is amongst my pictures of "Old Time San Diego" I even have one of El Cajon Blvd. when it was a dirt road and the TTA No. 1 was the biggest building in the area. Great stuff, I love my towns history, short as it is.

  • @lewiskalb
    @lewiskalb 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Wonderful video...enjoy all of yours

  • @jjarm
    @jjarm 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    What a cool drive, nice work. Thanks for the info. Great water tower!

  • @Porsche996driver
    @Porsche996driver 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Added the Chicken Pie to my places for next visit! Thanks brother! 🐔

  • @CalTxDude
    @CalTxDude ปีที่แล้ว +2

    There are some fantastic photos of JFK In his limousine that were taken right in front of Rudford's When he visited San Diego in the summer of 1963

  • @joedyke3415
    @joedyke3415 3 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Mystery building was the SDG&E substation.

    • @SO_Teric
      @SO_Teric 3 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      More specifically, the San Diego Gas & Electric Co. Building (SDG&E), Substation F. It was designed by architect Eugene Hoffman in 1926. More information is here: theboulevard.org/home/landmarks-on-the-boulevard/

    • @sdguy2653
      @sdguy2653 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@SO_Teric THANK YOU!!!!! I've not found any documentation on El Cajon Ave before! I knew it had to be there, but I couldn't find it!

    • @sdguy2653
      @sdguy2653 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@SO_Teric And that site reminds me of the Carnation shop, oh so many years ago.... :)

    • @ejude83
      @ejude83 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@SO_Teric wow! Great informational site! Thanks for sharing!!

    • @tristanwwsd
      @tristanwwsd 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@sdguy2653 Which Carnation shop? Lips? Do you know what the SD Floral building was before they moved in? Nobody knows.

  • @RayRomanMedia
    @RayRomanMedia 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Just discovering your channel! You definitely do your homework and very thorough on the details within your video. I recently created a similar style video in Rancho Bernardo and have found an interest in continuing such videos more often. Keep it up!

  • @raulrod2147
    @raulrod2147 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Cool. I pass that 7-11 frequently but never stopped in (used to be an independent liquor store). I'll stop in next time!

    • @GrumpyCat24
      @GrumpyCat24 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      I thought I remembered that it's crazy how San Diego is phasing out liquor stores for markets now

  • @KB6YAF
    @KB6YAF ปีที่แล้ว

    My brother played briefly for the San Diego Padres in the early 80's and was friends with the San Diego Chicken. My Bro was a pitcher.

  • @JAGRAFX
    @JAGRAFX 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    The old Spanish Colonial Style structure at the Southwest corner of El Cajon Blvd and the 805 intersection is part of one of SDG&E's electric substations. The sub appears to be fed by two circuits of sub-transmission [probable sixty-nine thousand volts] from the North and two more from the South. Output would be distribution voltage of about 12 thousand volts of which most is underground. Power companies normally transmit at high voltage for long distance and then step that voltage down for neighborhood distribution of electricity. This sub was probably integral with the San Diego Street Car Transportation System until about 1947.

    • @SidetrackAdventures
      @SidetrackAdventures  3 ปีที่แล้ว

      Thanks. I figured it was something to do with SDG&E but with no signage wasn't sure of the history.

    • @ejude83
      @ejude83 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      ...and the building itself is a facade. When I first moved here, I was also intrigued by that building. My partner works for SDGE and he told me that it’s not really necessary to the functionality of the substation - it’s just a decorative shell for aesthetic purposes to hold all the equipment so that it’s not so visible - and ugly, though I’m sure that, in the end, it also offers some kind of security and safety as well. Many communities in California require that SDGE do this so they don’t have to look at it. I’m surprised that the Trolly Barn Park in University Heights hasn’t made them do more to hide that substation. I love your videos, btw! As a SD transplant, you’ve really helped me learn a lot about my new adopted home! Keep up the awesome work!!

    • @ejude83
      @ejude83 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I also have a soft spot for that specific area of the Boulevard, since on my first trip down ECB I also saw the Botánica Chango, when it was in the much cooler old white building on the corner of Illinois - I took it as a sign I should move here immediately! 😆 unfortunately, it’s all boarded up and covered in graffiti now, and it looks like they’re going to tear it down and build another humongous condo in its place. I’m all for progress, and we definitely need more housing, but that was such a cool building. I’m glad I got a picture of it in all of its Botánica Chango glory!

  • @johntaylorjr4344
    @johntaylorjr4344 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

    With the highway renumbering system of 1964 Highway 80 was slowly truncated (and expanded) into what is now Interstate 8. This was shortly after I was born in 1962. A lot of people still referred to it as Highway 80 well into the 70s even the 80s.

  • @JPER-cv2lq
    @JPER-cv2lq 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    outstanding video, thanks from Germany, tho I grew up in Pasadena California.

  • @ericwharton1953
    @ericwharton1953 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Your are the best, bro

  • @scotthatlestad2548
    @scotthatlestad2548 3 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    You missed mentioning Frank the Train Man. Great vid as usual!

    • @SidetrackAdventures
      @SidetrackAdventures  3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Thanks for watching. Good call on Frank the Train Man.

    • @sdguy2653
      @sdguy2653 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Moved from his place next to the school to across the street, indeed.... Great guy!

    • @PineValleyDigital
      @PineValleyDigital 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      My father was a model RR buff and we went to Frank's quiet a number of times. It was always fascinating to see all that train stuff in there. Wall to Wall.

  • @CalTxDude
    @CalTxDude ปีที่แล้ว

    My 1st job shortly after I moved to San Diego, was at the Lafayette hotel! The night security guard Head worked As a bellman at the hotel In it's heyday in the 1940s. Oh the stories he told me about A list stars That frequented the cloister!
    Betty Grable and Harry James were Search frequent guests that they knew all the staff By name Where Very personable, warm and pleasant

  • @beefcakes27
    @beefcakes27 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    My parents graduated from Hoover 51' and 52". My grandparents were career Salvation Army officers and my grandmother knew Ted Williams' mother threw her work. She said Ted's mother was a troubled woman, a foul mouthed drunk. Later hearing Ted Williams interviews I saw the gruffness of his upbringing. My mother said there were no other high schools east of Hoover except Grossmont. She told me the that where I-8 dips through Mission Valley was only a two lane road with an intersection somewhere down there. I remember the giant woman on top of the gogo strip join.
    Other people of note from Hoover, Bob Boone hall of fame baseball player and track coach Bob Larson- Grossmont College and UCLA.

    • @PineValleyDigital
      @PineValleyDigital 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      Bob Boone went to Crawford High, class of 65'

    • @beefcakes27
      @beefcakes27 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@PineValleyDigital Yes, Ray Boone

  • @etarter
    @etarter 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    I love your videos!

  • @rocketdog2723
    @rocketdog2723 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Good ol El Cajon blvd , corner of Illinois and El Cajon ask for the ‘toe curler’ special

  • @barneyevans6940
    @barneyevans6940 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    So many things on that stretch of road that has come and gone over the years. I worship a the church of Christ next to San Diego Florist building has been there since the 1930s. Current building was built in the 1960s.

  • @johndough201
    @johndough201 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Btwn WWII & Korea both of my parents frequented the Red Fox Room

  • @CalTxDude
    @CalTxDude ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Scenes from the original Top Gun Wuerfelmed at the Lafayette. Of course the bar scenes, And the "dormitories" Where the pilot's allegedly lived were actual rooms at the hotel. Shortly there after began the huge remodeled

  • @killersopinion1829
    @killersopinion1829 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    I live on 80 not too far from where Bonnie & Clyde wreaked havoc & mass mayhem before meeting their Maker. I love your videos about old 80! One day I will drive all 2736 miles of its current & former routes. Subbed!

  • @deandupont5503
    @deandupont5503 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Hup, correction time. The 'San Diego Chicken' was originally the *KGB Chicken,* named for (and sponsored by) KGB-FM, the only half-decent rock station back in the 70s. (God, I'm showing my age, huh?l

  • @CalTxDude
    @CalTxDude ปีที่แล้ว

    The hotel Originally consist of a bigger footprint of properties and buildings. If you look at the immediate surrounding blocks and There are still some of the original bungalows and apartments that match the original design of the hotel

  • @AbandonedMines11
    @AbandonedMines11 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    I remember once reading that large water fountains were also planned for El Cajon Boulevard’s median starting at Park Boulevard and continuing east. The fountains, unfortunately, never came to fruition.

    • @SidetrackAdventures
      @SidetrackAdventures  3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      It is probably for the best they gave up on that idea. While it would look cool I can just imagine the problems they'd cause.

    • @AbandonedMines11
      @AbandonedMines11 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@SidetrackAdventures I think you're right about that! I stayed at the Lafayette Hotel back in the summer of 2006 for about a month while my apartment was being renovated. I wasn't impressed with the hotel. It seemed to have been past its "glory days" when the Hollywood elite would stay there. It didn't seem very luxurious to me. Maybe it was more exclusive and upscale back in the 1950s or so. It's a historic place, though, that's for sure!

    • @sdguy2653
      @sdguy2653 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@AbandonedMines11 Luxurious during the 40's actually. Our modern day idea of luxury is quite different than it was then. By 2006 it was no more then a glorified motel, small rooms, no real amenities. Back in the middle of the century, it was the epitome of luxury and class, so your reflection has no meaning when compared to when it was in it's heyday. I prefer to think of it in the big band era, hosting wonderful concerts downstairs (from the clamshell stage), and the stars of the day exiting upstairs to their lovely rooms afterward. It was a different era.

  • @GrumpyCat24
    @GrumpyCat24 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Watch a video of the same area by the county of San Diego back in the '70s so dang crowded now!

  • @mr.m4602
    @mr.m4602 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Thanks for the video.

  • @coyotegrad-collectables
    @coyotegrad-collectables 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Cool!

  • @GrumpyCat24
    @GrumpyCat24 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    The chicken pot pie shop was in another location but I thought they moved downtown for some reason within the last 10 or 20 years

    • @beckyweissberg7644
      @beckyweissberg7644 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Just the opposite. There were two previous locations before El Cajon Blvd. One in downtown San Diego and then the one in Hillcrest. My family moved to San Diego in 1952. We lived in Linda Vista and for $1.00, we could ride the bus to downtown, have lunch at the Chicken Pie Shop and have something left for an inexpensive trinket AND ride home on the bus. Good food and good fun, and my sisters and I always felt safe.

    • @GrumpyCat24
      @GrumpyCat24 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@beckyweissberg7644 where are they located now? El cajon blvd? I thought they moved from that location?

  • @barbaralawrence7360
    @barbaralawrence7360 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    It’s pronounced FAIR-mont, not mount. Remember the Pierson Ford Commercial? Good video though

  • @DanqueDynasty
    @DanqueDynasty 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    The Annex no1 building is where a branch of USC (University of Southern California) was supposed to be built, and what gave the neighborhood name University Heights. Those plans fell through, but the site would become home to San Diego Normal School. Which eventually became San Diego State University.

  • @imaangel7185
    @imaangel7185 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

    The Boulevard sign was designed by Frank Carson.

  • @catherinemcleod7378
    @catherinemcleod7378 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    South East El Cajon Bl

  • @donkeedic9825
    @donkeedic9825 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Lived in San Diego almost my entire life been to the chicken pot pie restaurant twice..... Worst chicken pot pie I have ever had ever...... I've had better Frozen chicken pot pies from Swanson....lol

    • @GrumpyCat24
      @GrumpyCat24 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Marie Calendars were always my favorite. And their quiches and pies. Yummmm!!!!

  • @DeannaRose-rx5hs
    @DeannaRose-rx5hs 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

    El cajon is the worst place to live. Actually it hasn't change much.

  • @DeezNutz617
    @DeezNutz617 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I'm now living in SD and I'm glad I found your channel! Lots of historic info I wasn't aware, thanks for all the insight!

  • @sdguy2653
    @sdguy2653 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I do hope you get east of Euclid, one of the most important, which is very not known, is what is now Amherst St., but was then known as El Cajon Ave. You can still see the stamp on the corner of Amherst and 67th. This was before El Cajon Blvd. (Ave.?) was redirected over the creek to what is now known as Montezuma.