A Street Surrounded By LA's Superhighways
by Stephen Von Worley on June 21st, 2010
Over at the excellent Twelve Mile Circle, Tom Howder recently wondered: where’s the smallest chunk of occupied land completely surrounded by Interstate highway? Well, if “occupied” means “residential,” the answer might be Wright Street, a stubby cul-de-sac tucked inside the looping ramps of LA’s Harbor-Santa Monica Freeway interchange:
Wright Street (at bottom) and the Harbor-Santa Monica Freeway Interchange, 1964.
Back in 1884, Wright Street was just another new road on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Bungalows quickly filled its freshly-surveyed lots, and as the city grew, apartments and commercial buildings soon followed. In 1954, California’s first superhighway, the Harbor Freeway, passed two hundred feet westward, and a scant seven years later, the Santa Monica Freeway encroached from the east. Construction began on the connecting ramps, and Wright winced as road workers halved its length, blocked off one end, and encircled it with concrete pillars topped by pavement.
A New Steepest Street Is Born
by Stephen Von Worley on February 4th, 2010
24th Street on Potrero Hill
Last November, as previously detailed, Weather Sealed searched San Francisco’s less-photogenic neighborhoods for under-appreciated inclines, rewrote the City’s “official” list of steepest streets, and discovered Prentiss Street, which, at a maximum grade of 37%, matches Pittsburgh’s Canton Avenue as the most-tilted urban thoroughfare in the world!
Afterwards, I boarded the couch for a well-deserved weekend in pro sports vacationland. All the while, loose ends whispered in the wind, open leads nagged, and unexplored territory begged for attention. With a tap of the volume button, I could drown them out, but…
Did George Washington dip his finger into the Delaware and whine “maybe I’ll come back when it’s warmer?” Did, daily at noon, Rosie the Riveter betray her trusty gun for the factory masseuse? Did Pee-wee shirk his Big Adventure under the duress of potato chips and beer?
Find The Roads With Your First Name
by Stephen Von Worley on January 7th, 2010
Could you be described as a first grader? The parent thereof? A map geek? A goofball? Someone who, when visiting the souvenir shop, compulsively searches for their name in the rack of miniature license plates? If so, read this article!
Once upon a time, I lived in Oakland, California, near a tidy stripe of pavement called John Street. After the birth of my son John, who took my middle name, we’d occasionally roll by. I’d holler “Hey, look, it’s John Street!”, and even though he couldn’t read the signs, giggles and chuckles would invariably ensue.
Shortly after our move to Santa Cruz, we found a John Street there, and a few weeks ago, another in San Francisco. Gosh, roads named John seemed pretty common! Upon that realization, the geography dork sitting on my shoulder had something to quantify: how many existed, altogether, and where, exactly?
In Search Of The City's Steepest Street
by Stephen Von Worley on November 10th, 2009
A Steep San Francisco Street
Ask a San Franciscan about the City’s steepest streets, and four out of five times, he’ll say something like “Great for scaring the bejeezus out of tourists!”
Or, sweat beading upon his brow, he might recount that Damp Morning when he drove his Manual Transmission up the Impossible Grade, and was forced to stop, just below the top! In frantic pantomime, he’ll pull the emergency brake and disengage the clutch. Crane his neck to peer anxiously at the car sniffing his downhill bumper. Bulge his eyes. Gun the engine. Pop the clutch. Release the brakes. Lay down some rubber with a piercing squeal. Float his steed slowly onto the flat. Wave the smoke from his eyes. Pump his arms in brief celebration. And finally, grouse about that sadistic driving instructor who got him into the pickle in the first place. What a jerk!
Flush with the desire to frighten out-of-town guests, or to take the aforementioned test of motoring skill, you’ll need a suitable road with hill. Google the “steepest streets in San Francisco” and you’ll find this:
