Skip to main content

Abandoned Sylvan Road (Monterey, California)

By


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 by the Pacific Improvement Company to develop the original Hotel Del Monte resort which opened in June 1880.  The original Del Monte Hotel burned in 1887 but was soon replaced by the second hotel on the site.  The Del Monte Golf Course would be developed south of Fremont Street (future California State Route 1) and opened during 1897. The second hotel structure would burn in 1924 and would be replaced by the current hotel in 1926.  

The lands beyond the Hotel Del Monte complex appear southeast of California State Route 1 (Fremont Street, Munras Avenue and Carmel Hill Road) as undeveloped on the 1938 Thomas Brothers Map of Monterey.    


A primitive Sylvan Road appears for the first time as a functionally roadway on the 1941 United States Geological Survey Map of Monterey.  The roadway is shown originating from California State Route 1 at Munras Avenue extending east to the boundary of the Del Monte Golf Course.  The roadway is shown taking a northward turn following the golf course back to California State Route 1 at Fremont Street near the Hotel Del Monte complex. 


The Hotel Del Monte and 627 surrounding acres would be sold to the United States Navy during 1947.  The Naval Academy Postgraduate School would move to the Hotel Del Monte complex during 1951.  Officially the structure is designated as Herrmann Hall.

Sylvan Road can be seen as a minor roadway looping to/from California State Route 1 on the 1947 United States Geological Survey map of Monterey.  Nearby Aquajito Road is shown to be the then more prominent roadway in the area.  


The Navy began to develop a military housing complex known as La Mesa Village along Sylvan Road between Munras Avenue and Aquajito Road.  Sylvan Road via Aquajito for a time was the primary access road to La Mesa Village.  

During the 1960s the development of the California State Route 1 freeway would alter the corridor of Sylvan Road.  The western terminus (now part of Barnet Segal Lane) was altered to connect to the then new freeway via Soledad Drive.  The eastern terminus was cut back to what is now Josselyn Canyon Road.  

Sylvan Road can be seen as the primary access point to La Mesa Village via Aquajito Road on the 1983 United States Geological Survey map of Monterey.  


The bisection of Sylvan Road within the Monterey city limit appears to have caused by two factors.  The La Mesa Village housing complex is now served by Farragut Road which is a more direct connection to the Naval Postgraduate School.  This led to Sylvan Road being rendered inaccessible from Shubrick Road east to Aquajito Road.  Secondarily the construction of the Westland House hospice center led to Sylvan Road being closed from complex east to Leahy Road.  

While two above referenced segments of Sylvan Road were closed to vehicular traffic it appears the right-of-way was never fully vacated by the city of Monterey.  Neither segment was razed nor had roadway signage removed.



Part 2; scenes along abandoned Sylvan Road

A portion of abandoned Sylvan Road can be found west of where the maintained portion around Del Monte Golf Course intersects Aguajito Road.  The abandoned portion still features legible modern highway signage.  Aguajito Road serves as part of the city limit of Monterey at the western end of the Del Monte Golf Course.  


Much of the abandoned roadway is beginning to be consumed by overgrowth and debris.  Some older Botts' dots can be found where the centerline used to be present.  All access west of Shubrick Road is gated.  






Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Interstate 40's Tumultuous Ride Through the Pigeon River Gorge

By
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...
4 comments
Read more

Massena Center Suspension Bridge

By
The Massena Center Bridge, also known as the Holton D. Robinson Bridge, has had quite the tumultuous history. Situated on the Grasse River just east of Massena, New York in the hamlet of Massena Center, the Massena Center Bridge is a reminder of the efforts the community has made in order to connect over the river. The first and only other known bridge to be built at Massena Center was built in 1832, but that bridge was never long for this world. During the spring of 1833, the Grasse River dammed itself due to an ice dam, flooded and lifted the bridge off its foundation, destroying the bridge in the process.  The floods were frequent in the river during the spring, often backing up the river from Hogansburg and past Massena Center, but not to nearby Massena. After the first bridge disappeared, local residents had to resort to traveling seven miles west to Massena to cross the next closest bridge, and that was no easy task for a horse and buggy. However, it was many decades befo...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Dead Man's Curve of Interstate 90 and Innerbelt Freeway in Cleveland

By
"Dead Man's Curve" refers to the transition ramp Interstate 90 takes between Cleveland Memorial Shoreway onto the Innerbelt Freeway in downtown Cleveland, Ohio.  Said curve includes a sharp transition between the two freeways which is known for a high rate of accidents.  Currently the curve (not officially named) has a 35 MPH advisory speed and numerous safety features intended to mitigate crashes.  When the Interstate System was first conceived during 1956, Interstate 90 was intended to use the entirety Cleveland Memorial Shoreway and connect to the Northwest Freeway through Lakewood.  The Innerbelt Freeway was initially planned as the northernmost segment of Interstate 71.  The extension of Cleveland Memorial Shoreway west of Edgewater Park was never constructed which led to Interstate 90 being routed through the Innerbelt Freeway.   Part 1; the history of Cleveland's Innerbelt Freeway and Deadman's Curve The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 was signe...
Post a Comment
Read more