Highway 101 : The History of El Camino Real

Highway historian Stephen H Provost presents a fun-filled look at the history and attractions of one of Californias great highways in this book. The second in Provosts Californias Historic Highways series, Highway 101 tells the picturesque story of this great highway and the restaurants, motels, gas stations and tourist stops that made the road memorable to generations of travellers, illustrated with 200 historic photographs of the life and times of the highway. Highway 101 presents the unlikely history of how a 1901 antiquarian project to recreate the old El Camino Real of the Spanish colonial era grew to be the six-lane superhighway of today, and how automobile travel transformed from leisurely tourism to one of the greatest selling tools in American history. From Disneyland to the historic Madonna Inn to the Avenue of the Giants, Highway 101 catalogues the great landmarks along the road. Highway 101 recreates the sights, sounds and flavours of road trips from early 20th century to the present day, with lively and detailed descriptions of the landmarks and business empires that flourished along the highway. The book also covers the extraordinary history that has happened along the highway, from the migrations of the Depression to the birth of the California oil industry, plus the fascinating personalities, from Dorothea Lange to Jelly Roll Morton to Cecil B DeMille, whose lives intersected with the history of the route. A colourful history of Americana, commerce, travel and fun, Highway 101 captures the magic of the open road.