Historic Highway 80 and the Julian Gold Rush
Contributed by Jason Araujo, HH80 Intern

Historic Highway 80 is often associated with the age of the automobile and the rise of modernity. This is no surprise given the very memorable architecture and cultural significance of the commercial strip during the mid twentieth century. However, the history of the route that became Highway 80 in 1926 is a very interesting one that extends far back into the nineteenth century. Highway 80, when established, occupied an earlier route that was the sole route leading east from San Diego's urban core.

HH80 saw many pivotal historical moments even before its official designation in the 1920s. One of those important historical events was the Gold Rush in Julian that occurred during the 1870s. This "rush" was responsible for a great deal of movement and ended by giving commercial life to areas that were, up until that moment, obscure settlements. One of those areas is the city that we now refer to today as El Cajon. In fact, the principal intersection of contemporary El Cajon finds its genesis during this historic period. The cross of Main Street and Magnolia Avenue is still, to this day, considered the center of the city, currently considered the city's "Downtown". Main Street provided access to and from San Diego while Magnolia directed gold seekers to Julian to the north.

An early pioneer, Amaziah L. Knox was quick to discover that El Cajon could prove to benefit from these treasure seekers. In 1876 he constructed, at Main and Magnolia, what is considered to be the first commercial building in El Cajon: The Knox Hotel. Today the structure is no longer located at the original site but is not far at Magnolia and West Park Avenue (just a few blocks north). It is currently operated as museum by the El Cajon Historical Society and is open to the public during certain weekends - see www.elcajonhistory.org for more information. click here for full article

Preserving The Campus Theater Majorette
Contributed by Beryl Forman and Gloria Poore

Today, the Campus Theater sign is located at College Grove Shopping Center, but how did it ever get there? In 1981, Save Our Neon Organization was formed to save old neon signs destined for destruction by redevelopment. In 1982, the owners of the Campus Drive-In had a 90,000 square-foot, $10 million shopping center with a Safeway supermarket planned for the corner on which the original neon mural stood. The development team estimated that it would cost $250,000 to build a new structure capable of holding the sign. The San Diego City Council accepted this to be economically infeasible but required that development team to work with SONO to salvage the neon.

In the same year, Life Magazine was researching neon art across the US for an article they wanted to publish and agreed that SONO's acceptance of the Campus Theater neon sign would make for a great piece. Life Magazine provided the funding to bring the sign back into complete working order and hosted a photo shoot just months before the Campus Theatre was demolished. The picture located to the left is a scanned copy of what was printed in Life Magazine with members of SONO in fabulous attire.

Next, SONO carried out their part by housing the dismantled sign. Thankfully Gloria Poore and Ben Harroll, founding members of SONO, were leasing a 5,000 square foot warehouse space downtown, large enough to store the sign while seeking out an appropriate home where it would be cared for and shared with the public. SONO tried giving it to the Jack Murphy Stadium, now Qualcomm Stadium and SDSU but neither parties would accept the sign. The word was out that the sign was still up for grabs and soon enough, the developer of the College Grove Shopping Center proudly requested to mount the Campus Theatre's Majorette.

Note - We hear many favorite Old Highway 80 memories from people as we're out in the community creating awareness of the route and now we'd like to invite all of you to share your favorite stories with our readers. Please send us your favorite story for inclusion in a future e-Newsletter issue. Stories should be three to five paragraphs and please include a picture if you can.

Did You Know?
The Cabrillo Freeway through Balboa Park was San Diego's first freeway. Completed in 1948, it carried US 395 and US 80 traffic. Washington Street in Hillcrest was specially built to carry US 80 traffic from El Cajon Boulevard to the new freeway.

HH80 Membership
Historic Highway 80 is in full swing kicking off our 1st Annual Membership Drive. Memberships range from $25-$2,500 with opportunities such as advertising, web acknowledgement, free subscription to "American Road Magazine" and HH80 merchandise. If you would like to become a member, please contact me at the information below AND if you would like to be a part of the membership committee and win great prizes, please contact me. I look forward to hearing from you soon!

Lori Cartmill
619.787.6635

PASSPORT THROUGH TIME
Public Invited to Enjoy Historic Highway Route 80
During 3rd Annual Passport Road Trip Event, Oct. 18, 2008


Historic Highway 80 from the harbor to the backcountry will rumble once again as the 3rd Annual Passport Road Trip takes place on Saturday, October 18, 2008, from 9 am – 2:30 pm. The public is invited to join the "cruise" which will originate at The San Diego Automotive Museum in Balboa Park and end with opportunity drawings at Viejas Outlet Center at 3 pm. Dave Scott, KUSI's beloved weatherman, will be doing his live broadcast at the Registration Site at the Automotive Museum from 7 AM to 9:30 AM. There will be morning refreshments, music, information on the event, membership applications, and merchandise for sale. As a special feature "Green Cars" will be on display at the museum…Smart Cars for sure! It will be a wonderful time for the Past, Present, and Future of American automotive travel.

Viejas is also hosting its 4th Annual BBQ Challenge Cookout, "Smokn' in the Park," where guests will be able to enjoy delicious BBQ meals in conjunction with Historic Highway 80 Displays and prize drawings. Entertainment will be provided by County Western star Crystal Shawanda and there will be a special parking area for Road Trip participants.

The family road trip along nostalgic Highway Route 80 offers everyone a chance to enjoy a piece of American Heritage as caravans of classic cars, sports cars, motorcycles and family autos "cruise" from the west in Balboa Park, proceed through "Passport Pit Stops" and terminate at Viejas Outlet Center off Willows Road east of Alpine. Another group of drivers will begin in Holtville, California and proceed through several Pit Stops in El Centro, the Imperial Valley, and through the mountains and valleys of the San Diego backcountry, coming westward to Viejas on a "Poker Run". Drivers will collect playing cards and assemble them into the best poker hand for a chance at winning prizes.

"We encourage the public to bring kids, grand kids and friends to rediscover the many treasures along Old Highway 80, cities and small towns that were largely bypassed when Interstate 8 was built." said Eric Lund, chair of the event.

To participate in the "Passport" opportunity contest, drivers should check in at Balboa Park. Drivers can then choose from among the remaining Pit Stops to have their "Passport" stamped to be eligible for the opportunity to win valuable prizes during the drawing at the Outlet Center. They may also travel further eastward and then reverse to join the fun at Viejas. New Pit Stops this year include the Chicken Pie Shop on El Cajon Blvd., Iron Mountain Outfitters on La Mesa Blvd., El Cajon Harley-Davidson and Phillip's Hobbies on East Main Street in El Cajon, and the Flinn Restaurant & Bar on Old Highway 80 in Flinn Springs.

The Historic Highway 80 Corporation is a non-profit, charitable organization. The Road Trip is supported by member businesses in the communities along the route. Sponsors of the event include: Viejas, Cunningham BMW, Dan Conaway, and Floyd, Betty, and Gary Finnerty.

For more information or to learn how you can support the effort to build awareness of Historic Route 80 please call 619.445.0180 or visit www.OldHighway80.com.

Discover the Arts Along HH80
Drive-in restaurants and movie theaters began to pop up in the 1930s and new possibilities for dining out captivated the American lifestyle along Historic Highway 80. For San Diego, Oscars Drive-In and the Campus Theater on El Cajon Boulevard was where it was at. Artist Rudy Gonzalez sums up all this excitement in one utility box.