Foothill Boulevard (Southern California)
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Foothill Boulevard is a major street in the
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and
county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
of Los Angeles, as well as an
arterial road An arterial road or arterial thoroughfare is a high-capacity urban road that sits below highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights o ...
in the
city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
and
county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
of San Bernardino, stretching well over in length, with some notable breaks along the route. Like its name implies, Foothill Boulevard runs across the foothills of the San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountains. For much of its length, Foothill Boulevard is the historic Route 66, so many diners and other establishments along the road have been refurbished in a 1950s style, or otherwise trade on the Route 66 association.


Route description

Foothill Boulevard starts off in Newhall Pass in the Sylmar district of the city of Los Angeles at
Sierra Highway Sierra Highway or El Camino Sierra is a historic route in California, United States, that connects Los Angeles with the Eastern Sierra and Lake Tahoe. The trail formed in the 19th century before it was rebuilt as highways in the early 20th centu ...
near the southern terminus of SR 14 (Antelope Valley Freeway). Foothill Boulevard is a two-lane road through Newhall Pass, paralleling the
Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels thro ...
truck lanes until its intersection with Balboa Boulevard, where it becomes a four-lane road for the remainder of its length. At the I-5/ I-210 interchange, Foothill Boulevard heads southeast along the Foothill Freeway, bypassing the city of San Fernando, entering Lake View Terrace south of the I-210/ SR 118 interchange. SR 118 formerly ran along Foothill Boulevard from the 210/118 interchange until Pasadena. In 1974, the current alignment of Interstate 210 was completed, and the only remaining portion of the Foothill Boulevard Freeway was the unsigned freeway over the Arroyo Seco in Pasadena. Foothill Boulevard leaves the
San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, Los Angeles County, California. Situated to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it comprises a large portion of Los Angeles, the Municipal corpo ...
, passing through the Sunland and Tujunga neighborhoods in the northwestern Crescenta Valley. It then enters the Crescenta Highlands neighborhood of Glendale and serves as a main street in the north Glendale area. Then it enters the unincorporated area of La Crescenta-Montrose (known just as "La Crescenta" to locals), and it serves as the main street through the valley. Upon crossing the Verdugo Wash, it enters the city of La Cañada Flintridge and the northern terminus of the Glendale Freeway. Further east is the southern terminus of the
Angeles Crest Highway The Angeles Crest Highway is a two-lane highway over the San Gabriel Mountains, in Los Angeles County, California. It runs through the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument and the Angeles National Forest. With the exception of a section in ...
( SR 2). Note that although the Glendale Freeway and Angeles Crest Highway both end at Foothill Boulevard, Foothill itself does not intersect State Route 2, as SR 2's alignment heads east on Interstate 210. This portion of Foothill Boulevard is operated by Glendale Transit line 3 and
Metro Local The Los Angeles Metro Bus is the transit bus service in Los Angeles County, California, operated by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro). Metro Bus operates in the Los Angeles Basin, the San Fernando Valley, and th ...
lines 90 and 690. The western segment of Foothill Boulevard ends at Oak Grove Drive in Pasadena, where it heads southeast across the unsigned freeway alignment, with an interchange at Yucca Lane. To reach the second portion of Foothill Boulevard, one must head east on Oak Grove, where it becomes Woodbury Road, head south on Fair Oaks Avenue, and head east on Walnut Street, passing through
Old Town Pasadena Old Pasadena, often referred to as Old Town Pasadena or simply Old Town, is the original commercial center of Pasadena, a city in California, United States, and had a latter-day revitalization after a period of decay. Old Pasadena began as t ...
, where at Greenwood Avenue, Foothill Boulevard branches off. Until the 1960s, there was another segment of Foothill Boulevard that extended north into Altadena along the current route of Altadena Drive. This spur began at the current intersection of Foothill Boulevard and Altadena Drive in the eastern part of Pasadena—at that time, Foothill was named ''East Foothill Boulevard''; Altadena Drive north of Foothill was signed ''North Foothill Boulevard'', while Altadena Drive south of Foothill was signed ''Santa Anita Avenue''. North Foothill Boulevard ran north along the eastern part of Pasadena into the eastern extremity of Altadena, paralleling Eaton Canyon for about . At Mendocino Lane in Altadena, the route became ''East Foothill Boulevard'' again and ran east–west through the central part of Altadena. At the intersection with Fair Oaks Avenue in west Altadena, the road became ''West Foothill Boulevard'' and came to a dead end about west of Lincoln Avenue, a good mile away from the end of the western segment of Foothill in La Cañada Flintridge. It is not clear if the two segments were ever supposed to be connected, as the Arroyo Seco and Jet Propulsion Laboratory intervene; however, the changes in direction and duplicate street names were confusing—not only did North Foothill meet East Foothill, there were two East Foothill Boulevards (one in Pasadena and one in Altadena) and two Santa Anita Avenues (again, one in Pasadena and one in Altadena.) The city of Pasadena and the County of Los Angeles both agreed to change the name of the spur north of Foothill to Altadena Drive; Santa Anita Avenue between Foothill and the southern city limit of Pasadena was also renamed Altadena Drive, though that name change did not occur until the early 1970s. Foothill Boulevard remains parallel to Interstate 210 until entering the Arcadia city limits, where it heads due east and the freeway heads southeast. This section of Foothill Boulevard, which ends at Mountain Avenue in
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, was also a part of US 66 until the late 1930s. Before Huntington Drive was built through Duarte, Foothill Boulevard ran along the current routing of Royal Oaks Drive between Shamrock Avenue in Monrovia just past Highland Avenue in Duarte, meeting the current end of Foothill Boulevard at the San Gabriel River bridge. Most of the old route in eastern Duarte was removed during the housing boom in the 1940s. The third section of Foothill Boulevard is accessed by going south on Mountain and going east on Huntington Drive through the Los Angeles County cities of Monrovia and Duarte. Upon crossing the San Gabriel River into Irwindale, Huntington turns into Foothill Boulevard. Foothill passes through the city of Azusa, where it jogs north at Citrus Avenue. It continues through Glendora and served as
U.S. Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) is one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The high ...
to Amelia Avenue for about a decade until
U.S. Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) is one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The high ...
was re-routed on a bigger road further south in the 1930s. In Azusa, east of Cerritos Avenue, Alosta Avenue (the old
U.S. Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) is one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The high ...
) forks southeast (the city of Glendora renamed Alosta Avenue "Route 66"), and at Amelia Avenue, it turns back into Foothill Boulevard. At the interchange with SR 210 near the San DimasLa Verne city limits, Foothill Boulevard is defined as State Route 66, although it is unsigned in Los Angeles County. Foothill Blvd (SR 66) passes through the north end of Pomona and Claremont before entering
San Bernardino County San Bernardino County ( ), officially the County of San Bernardino and sometimes abbreviated as S.B. County, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of th ...
in the city of Upland. Foothill passes through residential areas before emerging in Rancho Cucamonga, where it intersects
Interstate 15 Interstate 15 (I-15) is a major Interstate Highway in the Western United States, running through Southern California and the Intermountain West. I-15 begins near the Mexican border in San Diego County and stretches north to Alberta, Ca ...
. Foothill Boulevard continues east through the cities of Fontana (and such landmarks as Bono's Restaurant and Deli), Rialto, and San Bernardino. Foothill Boulevard ends at the San Bernardino city limits, where it retains its SR 66 signage, but changes into 5th Street and the route passes through downtown San Bernardino. At the interchange with Interstate 215, the SR 66 designation ends (at downtown San Bernardino), although old US 66 headed north on Mount Vernon Avenue (along old US 395/ US 91) before exiting the
Inland Empire The Inland Empire (commonly abbreviated as the IE) is a metropolitan area and region inland of and adjacent to coastal Southern California, centering around the cities of San Bernardino and Riverside, and bordering Los Angeles County and Or ...
over the
Cajon Pass Cajon Pass (; Spanish: ''Puerto del Cajón'' or ''Paso del Cajón'') is a mountain pass between the San Bernardino Mountains to the east and the San Gabriel Mountains to the west in Southern California. Created by the movements of the San Andr ...
. Fifth Street has an interchange with SR 210 in
Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...
before turning into Greenspot Road, where it ends in the San Bernardino Mountains. There are US 66 signs within the cities of Rancho Cucamonga, Rialto, and San Bernardino. Many other cities along the boulevard have posted "Historic Route 66" signage. California's legislature has relinquished state control of the segment from the Pomona–Claremont line east to the Fontana–Rialto line, and turned it over to local control. SR 66 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System, although it is neither a freeway nor an expressway. SR 66 is part of the National Highway System,
a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the
Federal Highway Administration The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program a ...
.


See also

* Foothill Boulevard Milestone (Mile 11) * Foothill Freeway *
U.S. Route 66 in California U.S. Route 66 (US 66, Route 66) is a part of a former United States Numbered Highway in the state of California that ran from the west in Santa Monica, California, Santa Monica on the Pacific Ocean through Los Angeles and San Ber ...
*
List of streets in the San Gabriel Valley This is a list of streets in San Gabriel Valley, California. They are grouped by type: arterial thoroughfares, commercial corridors, and other streets. Arterial thoroughfares Commercial corridors * San Bernardino Freeway (I-10) * Foothil ...


References


External links

{{Streets in Los Angeles Streets in Los Angeles County, California Streets in San Bernardino County, California Streets in Los Angeles Streets in Pasadena, California Streets in the San Fernando Valley Streets in the San Gabriel Valley Boulevards in the United States Crescenta Valley Pomona Valley La Cañada Flintridge, California Lake View Terrace, Los Angeles Sun Valley, Los Angeles Sunland-Tujunga, Los Angeles U.S. Route 66 in California