The Greater Los Angeles Metropolitan Area

From San Bernardino it would have taken us about four hours driving through heavy traffic to cover the remaining 80 miles to the end of Route 66 in Santa Monica. So we decided to save those last 80 miles for another trip, and we ended our 2021-2022 Route 66 experience by driving from San Bernardino to Palm Springs for a little R&R before heading home.

When we decide to see those last 80 miles, here are some of the key things we’ll want to see. (I haven’t yet researched everything we’ll want to see and do along this stretch.)

From the Wigwam Motel in San Bernardino, Route 66 continues west on Foothill Boulevard about 16 miles to Rancho Cucamonga. There are three great Route 66 sights here. On the right at 9670 Foothill Boulevard is the 1915 Cucamonga Service Station. It’s been beautifully restored to how it looked when it was a Richfield station in the 1930s.

Cucamonga Service Station (from TripAdvisor.com)

About a mile and a half past the Cucamonga Service Station, also on the right, is the Sycamore Inn at 8318 Foothill Boulevard. It was built in 1848 and was once a stagecoach stop.

 Sycamore Inn in Rancho Cucamonga (from Cityof RC.us)

Just past the Sycamore Inn on the left, at 8189 Foothill Boulevard, is the Magic Lamp Inn, built in 1957. Check the neon Aladdin’s lamp!

Magic Lamp Inn in Rancho Cucamonga (from Facebook)

In another 7½ miles, after passing through Claremont, Route 66 reaches La Verne. Here, on the right at 2975 Foothill Boulevard, is La Paloma Café. It's in a building that dates to 1828.

La Paloma in 1928 building in La Verne (from Facebook)

In about 4 miles, at a fork in the road in Glendora, Route 66 forks left off Foothill Boulevard and becomes Historic Route 66. They merge back together in about 3 miles in Azuza. Here at 675 East Foothill Boulevard is a preserved neon sign for the now-gone Foothill Drive-In Theatre

Sign for the Foothill Drive-In Theatre in Azusa (from roadarch.com)

Foothill Boulevard now becomes Huntington Boulevard. In about 5 miles, just past Duarte, turn right (north) on Shamrock Avenue. In about ¾ of a mile, turn left (west) to get back on Foothill Boulevard. This stretch of Foothill Boulevard was Route 66 for just five years, until 1931. In about 1 mile, at 301 West Foothill Boulevard in Monrovia, is the amazing Aztec Hotel. It was built in 1925 in Mayan style.

Aztec Hotel in Monrovia (from Facebook)

About 2 miles west of the Aztec Hotel, turn left (south) on Santa Anita Avenue. After crossing I-210, turn right (west) on Colorado Boulevard (Historic Route 66) into Pasadena.

At 1320 East Colorado Boulevard is an old milestone.

Foothill Boulevard milestone (from nps.gov)

The milestone was placed here sometime between 1906 and 1908. The “F.B.” means Foothill Boulevard; the “11” means it was 11 miles to the Los Angeles Courthouse. The “220” and “222” represent a very early street address numbering system.

Across the street from the mile marker, at 1285 East Colorado Boulevard, is the 1927 Howard Motor Company Building. Its elaborate style is called Churrigueresque, a style I never heard of before!

Howard Motor Company Building (from Wikipedia)

There have been several “alignments” of Route 66 between Pasadena and Los Angeles. While we normally haven't done much backtracking on our Route 66 experience, here I would do a bit of backtracking because there are interesting things to see along three of the alignments.

I would first continue straight on West Colorado Boulevard, which was Route 66 from 1935 to 1939. About 2 miles past the Jones Motor Company is the beautiful Colorado Street Bridge. When it was completed in 1913, it was the highest concrete bridge in the world. It was restored in 1993.

Colorado Street Bridge in Pasadena (from onlyinyourstate.com)

After seeing the bridge, I would turn around and head back into Pasadena on Colorado Boulevard to experience another Route 66 alignment. Turn right (south) on Fair Oaks Avenue. This was Route 66 from 1926 through 1934, going into South Pasadena. In about 2 miles, at the corner of Fair Oaks Avenue and Mission Street, is the Fair Oaks Pharmacy at 1526 Mission Street. It was built in 1915 and still has a soda fountain selling ice cream sodas and phosphates.

Fair Oaks Pharmacy in South Pasadena (from fairoakspharmacy.net)

Two blocks south of the Fair Oaks Pharmacy is the 1925 Rialto Theatre at 1023 Fair Oaks Boulevard. The art deco marquee was added in the 1930s.

RialtoTheatre in South Pasadena (from southpasadenan.com)

Until 1936, Route 66 continued south on Fair Oaks Boulevard, then turned right (west) on Huntington Boulevard and, after some more turns, ended at South Broadway and 7^th Street in downtown Los Angeles. A sign on the streetlight at the northwest corner of the intersection marks the spot.

But I would skip the rest of that alignment. After seeing the Rialto Theater in South Pasadena, I would turn around and head back north on Fair Oaks Boulevard about a half mile. Turn left (west) onto CA 110. This is the Arroyo Seco Parkway. When it was completed in 1940, it became the final “alignment” of Route 66 in this area. It’s one of the oldest freeways in the United States and the first one west of the Mississippi. So this was the first stretch of Route 66 on a freeway. It was built when cars were driven more slowly than they are now, so it has more curves than today’s interstate highways.

Arroyo Seco Parkway art deco tunnets (from Wikipedia)

In about 5 or 6 miles, exit the Arroyo Seco Parkway at the Hollywood Freeway (US 101) toward Hollywood. In about 3 miles, exit the Hollywood Freeway at the Santa Monica Boulevard (CA 2). Go west on the Santa Monica Boulevard about 10 miles to Lincoln Boulevard. Turn left (southeast) on Lincoln Boulevard and go 3 blocks. Route 66 officially ends (or begins, depending on your perspective) at the intersection of Lincoln Boulevard and Olympic Boulevard. There’s a sign on south corner, across Olympic Boulevard from Mel’s Drive In. 

Official end of Route 66 in Santa Monica (from sidetrackadventures.com)

If you’re thinking, “Whoa, this is kind of anticlimactic! I thought Route 66 would end at the Pacific Ocean!” you’re not alone. In the 1930s a movie company placed a very unofficial “End of the Trail” Route 66 sign on the Santa Monica pier. The pier now has a replica of that sign, and it’s far more famous and popular than the official end of Route 66.

To reach the unofficial end on Santa Monica Pier from the official end of Route 66, drive 1 block back (northwest) on Lincoln Boulevard to Colorado Avenue. Turn left (southwest) on Colorado Avenue to reach Santa Monica Pier. The sign is near a kiosk selling Route 66 souvenirs.

Unofficial end of Route 66 on Santa Monica Pier (from atlasobscura.com)

As I noted at the beginning of this post, we haven’t yet traveled Route 66 from San Bernadino to Santa Monica. In fact, I haven’t yet researched all the things we’d want to see and do along this stretch. When we travel this stretch, I’ll update this post with more things to see and do along the western end of Route 66.