El Camino Real ( Cont . from Page 6 )
Even when the new railway arrived in 1864 and ended the stagecoach business , commerce and transit was needed on a
ABOVE : Postcard for one of many motels built along El Camino Real when it served as the route of U . S . 101 . RIGHT : A selection of matchbook covers from various businesses along El Camino Real in Mtn . View .
road that traversed the length of the peninsula . El Camino Real served local communities for short distances by buggy or horse drawn wagons between towns along the route .
For decades the road remained a rough , pitted dirt passageway . The new technological advance of the automobile could barely traverse the road , with ten miles per hour being the safe speed . A newly established State Bureau of Highways designated El Camino Real the first state highway in 1911 . The two lane highway would be paved from San Francisco to Gilroy in the 1910s .
As the area grew in population from the expanding agricultural output of Santa Clara County , El Camino Real adapted with an increase in commercial , restaurants and business options . The autooriented character of El Camino Real developed in the 1920s . Not only was local commerce developed , the growing industry of car travel meant that motor lodges , tire retailers , gas stations and car repair companies were needed to service the increased acceptance of the automobile .
It was in the mid-1920s that El Camino Real was named Highway 101 , which increased its predominance as the route for travelers . In the 1940s and 1950s a large number of apricot and prune ( plum ) orchards still existed on or near El Camino Real in Los Altos , Mountain View and Sunnyvale .
But as the area grew in population and industry expanded ( electronics , aerospace , publishing , the nearby Naval Air Station , and the emerging computer industry ) El Camino became a long commercial district . Gas stations , grocery stores , auto oriented businesses , restaurants and even a drive-in movie theater and bowling alley filled the former agricultural land . Local favorite drive-in restaurants catered to the many families living in the area .
Several road widening projects were built to accommodate the increased traffic and create a safer and more beautiful travel route . Some of the efforts were controversial , as change can be disruptive , but were deemed necessary . These were accomplished in the 1930s , 1960s and the 1980s .
By the late 1960s El Camino Real in Mountain View was mostly lined with auto-oriented businesses and remained this way until the early 2000s when mixed use housing construction began replacing businesses . Today , Mountain View ’ s stretch of El Camino Real is an everchanging mix of commercial , retail and housing .
Learn more about the history of El Camino Real at the next MVHA general event on February 4 ! See Page 1 for more information . To RSVP , please register at : mvhistory . eventbrite . com
ABOVE : The 1940 grand opening of the Art Deco style Mancini Motors on El Camino Real . For more information on this unique El Camino Real landmark , see page 10 !
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