As it happens it was on this day in 1940 that the Pasadena Freeway opened for traffic. A stretch of historic route 66, it ran between Los Angeles and Pasadena. It is in fact the first stretch of route 66, the great mother road of the country, to become a modern limited access highway.
The Pasadena Freeway is generally considered the first freeway to come to the West and specifically to California. Now, technically, some would point out it is in fact a transitional construction between the earlier parkway and the modern freeway. And today the Arroyo Seco Parkway, a significant part of California 110, is considered outdated and specifically uncomfortably narrow. In its moment, however, an engineering wonder.
I’m profoundly aware of the shadow side of our automotive culture. Although I’d say the worst of that is the internal combustion engine, and the use of fossil fuels. And, yes, there is a problematic part of a trending to isolation the private car brings with it. And, it also brought about an expansion of trade within the country, as well as a powerful democratization of transportation, including a historic access for the ordinary individual within the webs of modernity. Which I find worth celebrating. Complicated, shadowed, and in many ways a critical aspect of human liberation.
All of it worth noting. And today’s not a bad day for that. The Pasadena Freeway’s opening is genuinely a significant marker in our modern culture. If you find yourself in the area, it is worth a drive.
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