Colton — Riverside to San Bernadino

[Parsa]

Here's a summary of map information for the route through Colton, California. Asterisk (*) indicates government publication such as topo map or DOT map.

1917 - 1920s era ACSC maps show early route north into Colton as: east under RR on Fogg St, immediate turn north onto S 6th St, east on W Congress St, north on 8th St to O St, jog west to continue north on 8th St (now La Cadena), past I Street to F Street, east on F Street to Colton Ave, northeast to Mt. Vernon.
*1934 official Cal DOT San Bernardino map clearly shows F Street connecting to Colton, though the map shows 8th (La Cadena), F Street, diagonal Colton Ave, and Mt Vernon as bold routes. Valley Blvd west of 8th Street and east of E Street is Colton Ave.
*1934 official Cal DOT Los Angeles and Vicinity map shows Riverside to Colton as LRN 43, F Street (unlabeled) east and west is LRN 26 (US 70 & US 99 unlabeled here), and Mt. Vernon north is  LRN 31 through Cajon Pass.
1934 Conoco map shows highway going into Riverside.
1935 Conoco map seems to indicate a Riverside bypass of the highway via Iowa Ave.
*1936 July 14 California Highways article showing old route via Fogg St and 8th St being replaced by the modern La Cadena alignment.
1937 Gousha map indicates main 395 route on I Street (Valley Blvd) east to diagonal Colton Ave to Mt. Vernon. Possibly an error, and the route is similar to the 1917 ACSC map. Doubtful that Colton ever extended to I Street.
1939 NAC Touring Guide --- US 395 on La Cadena in Riverside (as "La Cardena").
1939 Chevron map does not show US 395 going through downtown Riverside, but rather to the east. Seems to suggest a jog on I Street to Mt. Vernon.
*1943 Colton 1:31000 topo map clearly shows US 395 on La Cadena. Iowa Ave is not indicated as a main road. US 395 shield is clearly shown on Mt Vernon south of diagonal Colton Ave. I Street in red, but F Street has no emphasis.
*1944 official Cal DOT Los Angeles and Vicinity map shows La Cadena north to I Street, then east to Mt. Vernon, and north into San Bernardino.
1947 Gousha map indicates US 395 on Main, Russell, La Cadena.
1948 NAC Touring guide --- US 395 goes up Iowa in Riverside, but CA 18 on La Cadena.
*1947 and 1954 15-minute topographic maps show US 395 on La Cadena, not Iowa Ave.
*1947 15-minute topo shows a US 395 shield on Mt Vernon just north of diagonal Colton Ave. Not clear whether Colton or Mt Vernon is 395 south of this point. See 1943 above.
*1954 15-minute topo shows US 395, US 91 and CA 18 shields going through downtown Colton via La Cadena all the way north to Mt Vernon.


Summary:
Circa late 1934 - La Cadena Ave north to Fogg Street. East on Fogg Street through 1907 railroad subway (underpass). North on 8th Street to O Street. Jog west to continue on 8th Street, now La Cadena. North to F Street. East to Colton Avenue. Northeast to Mt. Vernon along Colton Ave, north to San Bernardino. There is some evidence that the highway as LRN 31 went north the whole way on Mt. Vernon starting with the 1933 code. Th 1935 code also seems to suggest this. This was likely north from F Street, as it was evidently LRN 26 at this time.
1936 - Fogg Street route on the south side of Colton replaced by new grade separation connecting La Cadena to 8th Street at O Street. Present day La Cadena alignment.
1943 - From La Cadena, turn east on I Street (now Valley Blvd), north on Mt. Vernon to San Bernardino.
1948 - By this time, Iowa Ave may possibly have become a US 395 bypass route for Riverside.
1954 - Continue north on La Cadena at I Street. Follow the curve northeast until La Cadena meets Mt. Vernon. Turn north to San Bernardino.
1957 - Colton bypass of US 395 and US 91 under construction (Riverside Fwy, future original I-15, I-15E, and I-215 route).
1959 - Riverside Freeway opens (carries US 91 and 395), and La Cadena to Mt. Vernon through Colton becomes Business Route 91 and 395.

[Parsa]

1954 topographic map of Colton showing US 91, US 395, and CA 18 shields on 8th Street (La Cadena) rather than on I Street (Valley Blvd) and Mt. Vernon. Note however, that I St and Mt. Vernon are shown as a primary route as opposed to diagonal Colton Ave which is shown as secondary.

[Parsa]

July 1936 Department of Transportation map of Colton from an article in California Highways. This shows the bypass of the old route, which would have been US 395 for a little over one year.




Image of the 1907 grade separation subway under the railroad line looking east along Fogg St. This underpass still exists.




Image as seen from the north of the 1936 grade separation on La Cadena. This is still used today.

[Parsa]

The 1907 Colton underpass on Fogg Street today. (Google map link)

The 1936 La Cadena grade separation today. (Google map link)

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[Parsa]

1947 15-minute San Bernardino Quad topographic map made by the US Army. The US 395 shield in on Mt. Vernon just north of Colton Ave. There's no indication as to whether it went south on Mt. Vernon, or turned southwest on Colton Ave, but I believe it went south at this date. I Street (Valley Blvd) was already a through road to the east at this time.

[Parsa]

1943 large scale USGS topo showing US 395 and CA 18 shields on Mt Vernon south of Colton Avenue.

[Parsa]

The 1934 official state map from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DOT) has an inset map for the San Bernardino area. This clearly shows F Street in Colton rather than I Street. It was later that year that US 395 came into California. I Street evidently did not go through and cross the Santa Ana River.
This area has great importance in transportation history as it was a major crossing of early north-south and east-west highways.




In the following map I show the same area. This is from the early 1943 Colton topographic quad. (The first 4 decades of the 1900s saw very few topographic maps produced. Most earlier ones are reprints of 1890s maps.) In this map we see the early east-west highway along the route I have highlighted in blue. This exactly corresponds to the 1934 map above. Valley Blvd (I Street in Colton in the old days) did not exist and did not cross the Santa Ana River. Early auto club maps show the north-south route following the purple dots. You could continue diagonally on Colton Ave into San Bernardino, but if you were heading for Cajon Pass, you would bend north on Mt. Vernon.
The east-west route of US 70 and US 99 is labeled "Ocean to Ocean Highway" on this topo. This is a vestige of the 1913 era transcontinental auto trail that went from here all the way to the Colorado River crossing at Yuma. The National Old Trails Road was linked for a time to this highway in its very early days. That's why the auto club signs are labeled "National Old Trails Road Ocean-to-Ocean Highway." The NOTR later broke away and followed the general route of Route 66 through Arizona and California into San Bernardino and L.A.

[Parsa]

Circa 1924 auto club map, which agrees almost completely with the 1934 state map above.
Some things to note:
1. Like the state map, the route in Riverside is Orange St north to 1st St, then east to La Cadena.
2. The railroad crossing on the south side of Colton is the old 1907 underpass, with a left north on 6th St., east on Congress to 8th Street, which takes you north into Colton.
3. F Street is the main east-west street, and is here labelled as one of the many Colton Avenues. This bold route shown is the Ocean-to-Ocean Highway route to Redlands (which was the highway's national headquarters). This is the highlighted blue path I showed above.
4. Diagonal Colton Avenue is the only road north, and Mt. Vernon is not shown as extending south of diagonal Colton Ave. This is the purple-dot path I showed above.

[Parsa]

The 1937 auto club map.
Things to note:
1. The road north out of Riverside is now Main Street and Russell St. to La Cadena.
2. The new railroad crossing, built in 1936, has replaced the old 1907 underpass on the south side of Colton.
3. Valley Blvd, here labeled Colton Avenue, has replaced F Street as the main east-west highway in town.
4. Although diagonal Colton Avenue is still shown, Mt. Vernon is now shown extending south to Valley Blvd, and
5. F Street is not shown extending west of diagonal Colton Avenue as a major bold road.

I conclude that the Valley Blvd to Mt. Vernon routing was not in place by 1934, but was in place by 1937.