Gribblenation

All three Reno Arches were historically located on Virigina Street in downtown Reno, Nevada.  The original arch was installed on October 23, 1926, to commemorate the completion of the Lincoln Highway and Victory Highway in Nevada.  The second arch was installed replaced the first in 1963 which would be followed by the current arch being installed on August 8, 1987.  This blog serves as a brief history of all three arches and along with photos from their current locations.  The original Reno Arch can be seen as the blog cover along Lake Street in Reno.  A brief history and visit to the Reno Arches All three Reno Arches when placed were located at the intersection of Virigina Street and Commercial Row.  The intersection is significant due to it being part of the northern branch of the Lincoln Highway in downtown Reno.   During 1912 Indiana Businessman Carl G. Fisher conceptualized the Lincoln Highway as a major transcontinental Auto Trail.  The...

Sylvan Road is a corridor located largely in the hills south of downtown Monterey, California.  The corridor was developed during the early 1940s as road which looped California State Route 1 from Munras Avenue to Fremont Avenue via the Del Monte Golf Course.  Modern developments around La Mesa Village have led to two segments of roadway which once served as a through route being abandoned.   Part 1; a fragmented history of Sylvan Road Sylvan Road occupies a corridor which once comprised part of Rancho Aquajito south of downtown Monterey.  The land was granted to George Tapia during 1835 by then Alta California governor Jose Figueroa.  Tapia's land holdings were honored by the Public Land Commission in 1853 following the Mexican-American War and emergence of the state of California.  The land was eventually purchased by David Jacks and later sold to the Pacific Improvement Company.   The lands of Rancho Aquajito along the coastline were used ...

In the nearly 60 years Interstate 40 has been open to traffic through the Pigeon River Gorge in the mountains of Western North Carolina, it has been troubled by frequent rockslides and damaging flooding, which has seen the over 30-mile stretch through North Carolina and Tennessee closed for months at a time. Most recently, excessive rainfall from Hurricane Helene in September 2024 saw sections of Interstate 40 wash away into a raging Pigeon River. While the physical troubles of Interstate 40 are well known, how I-40 came to be through the area is a tale of its own. Interstate 40 West through Haywood County near mile marker 10. I-40's route through the Pigeon River Gorge dates to local political squabbles in the 1940s and a state highway law written in 1921. A small note appeared in the July 28, 1945, Asheville Times. It read that the North Carolina State Highway Commission had authorized a feasibility study of a "...water-level road down [the] Pigeon River to the Tennessee l...

Hawaii Route 21 was the one of the original Big Island State Routes designated in 1955.  The highway followed mostly Wainaku Street from Hawaii Route 19 near Wainaku south to Hawaii Route 20 in downtown Hilo.  Wainaku Street prior to 1950 was part of the larger Mamalahoa Highway (Hawaii Belt Road).  The early importance of Wainaku Street can be seen in the form of the 1919 era Wailuku River Bridge (pictured as the blog cover) which was one of the first arch concrete spans in Hawaii.  Hawaii Route 21 was ultimately deleted in the 1960s after it was removed as a Federal Aid corridor.   Part 1; the history of Hawaii Route 21 and Wainaku Street Wainaku Street was the original main road north out of downtown Hilo over the Wailuku River.  The street was also part of the wider Mamalahoa Highway (Hawaii Belt Road) which circled the entire Big Island.  Nearby Bridge Street (now Puueo Street) provided a secondary road crossing of the Wailuku River. ...

The Station Road Bridge and Brecksville-Northville High Level Bridge are historic alignments of Ohio State Route 82 over the Cuyahoga River in Pinery Narrows.  The Station Road Bridge is an iron truss span which was opened to traffic 1882.  The Brecksville-Northville High Level Bridge as an arch span which opened in 1931.  The Station Road Bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 and is now part of trailhead in Cuyahoga Valley National Park.     Part 1; the history of the Station Road Bridge and Brecksville-Northville High Level Bridge Both the Station Road Bridge and Pinery Narrows Bridge span the Cuyahoga River in near the site of Brecksville Station in Cuyahoga Valley National Park.  Both spans are located in Pinery Narrows which is the slimmest point in Cuyahoga Valley.   During 1880 Valley Railway service began which included a stop at Brecksville on the western banks of Cuyahoga River.  During 1881 the S...