California Highway 110 Pasadena Freeway Photographs (Hollywood Freeway to Avenue 43)
Left - Facing south along the Pasadena Freeway (Hwy 110) towards the Sunset Boulevard Overpass and the Four-Level Interchange in Downtown Los Angeles. This iconic freeway interchange formed the nucleus of the Los Angeles Freeway System when the interchange was completed in 1949. This fully directional stack interchange was a remarkable highway engineering accomplishment, because it linked four freeway legs together at different elevations without the use of any cloverleaf loop ramps. This historic freeway junction marks the common terminus of the Hollywood Freeway (U.S. Route 101 North), the Santa Ana Freeway (U.S. Route 101 South), the Harbor Freeway (Hwy 110 South) and the Pasadena Freeway (Hwy 110 North). The exit ramps to the Santa Ana Freeway and the Hollywood Freeway depart from the Pasadena Freeway at right, while the entrance ramps to the Pasadena Freeway from the Santa Ana Freeway and the Hollywood Freeway enter at left. While the Pasadena Freeway ends at the Four-Level Interchange, Hwy 110 continues south beyond the interchange as the Harbor Freeway.
(Photograph taken on February 28, 2009 - © Cameron Bevers)
Centre - Four-Level Interchange on the Pasadena Freeway (Hwy 110) as seen from the adjacent Sunset Boulevard Overpass. The concrete pavement on the ramps and the freeway legs approaching the Four-Level Interchange is still original from when the interchange was built in the late 1940s. Due to construction staging, the north and south legs of the Four-Level Interchange were not actually opened to traffic until the early 1950s.
(Photograph taken on February 28, 2009 - © Cameron Bevers)
Right - Midnight view of the Four-Level Interchange in Downtown Los Angeles, as seen from the Sunset Boulevard Overpass
(Photograph taken on February 27, 2009 - © Cameron Bevers)
Left - Close-up view of the Four-Level Interchange in Downtown Los Angeles. What makes this stack interchange so unique is that all of the ramp and flyover structures are tied together through a common set of piers at the centre of the interchange. Unfortunately, the first level of the interchange passes below the Pasadena/Harbor Freeway level, so these ramps are not visible from this vantage point. As a result, the interchange appears to have only three levels when it is viewed the middle of the Sunset Boulevard Overpass. U.S. Route 101 traffic passes through this interchange on the fourth (top) level of this complicated freeway structure. Traffic on Hwy 110 uses the second level, while the third and first (bottom) levels carry the ramps which connect the two highways together.
(Photograph taken on February 28, 2009 - © Cameron Bevers)
Centre - Ramp connecting the southbound Pasadena Freeway (Hwy 110) to the Hollywood Freeway (U.S. Route 101 North)
(Photograph taken on February 28, 2009 - © Cameron Bevers)
Right - Ramp connecting the southbound Pasadena Freeway (Hwy 110) to the Santa Ana Freeway (U.S. Route 101 South)
(Photograph taken on February 28, 2009 - © Cameron Bevers)
Left - Ramps connecting the Santa Ana and Hollywood Freeways (U.S. Route 101) to the northbound Pasadena Freeway (Hwy 110). These former dual-lane ramps have been re-striped as single lane ramps in an effort to improve traffic operations.
(Photograph taken on February 28, 2009 - © Cameron Bevers)
Centre - General view of the landscaping in the northwest quadrant of the Four-Level Interchange in Los Angeles. Despite being in the middle of the city, the Four-Level Interchange possesses a park-like aura due to the strategic placement of landscaping features when the interchange was first built in the 1940s.
(Photograph taken on February 28, 2009 - © Cameron Bevers)
Right - Facing south along the ramp from the Pasadena Freeway to the Santa Ana Freeway from the Sunset Boulevard Overpass. This ramp, along with the ramp from the northbound Harbor Freeway to the Hollywood Freeway pass underneath the Four-Level Interchange stack structure.
(Photograph taken on February 28, 2009 - © Cameron Bevers)
Left - Bridge-mounted freeway guide signs approaching the Four-Level Interchange on the southbound Pasadena Freeway (Hwy 110) at the Alpine Street Overpass. A 1948 date stamp is visible on the western wing wall of the Alpine Street Overpass, at the bottom right corner of this photo.
(Photograph taken on February 28, 2009 - © Cameron Bevers)
Centre - Night view of the reflectorized "button copy" freeway guide signs on the Pasadena Freeway (Hwy 110) at the Alpine Street Overpass
(Photograph taken on February 27, 2009 - © Cameron Bevers)
Right - Approaching the Four-Level Interchange on the southbound Pasadena Freeway (Hwy 110) at the Alpine Street Overpass
(Photograph taken on February 28, 2009 - © Cameron Bevers)
Left - Close-up of the reflectorized "button copy" freeway guide sign for the Harbor Freeway on the southbound Pasadena Freeway (Hwy 110) at the Alpine Street Overpass. The retrofit plate containing the "110" route number was installed when the Harbor and Pasadena Freeways were redesignated as Hwy 110 in the early 1980s. Prior to the 1980s, the Harbor and Pasadena Freeways were designated as Hwy 11.
(Photograph taken on February 28, 2009 - © Cameron Bevers)
Centre - Close-up of the reflectorized "button copy" freeway guide signs for U.S. Route 101 North and Interstate 5 South on the southbound Pasadena Freeway (Hwy 110) at the Alpine Street Overpass
(Photograph taken on February 28, 2009 - © Cameron Bevers)
Right - Heading south along the ramp from the southbound Pasadena Freeway to the Santa Ana Freeway at the Four-Level Interchange
(Photograph taken on February 28, 2009 - © Cameron Bevers)
Left - The exit for the Santa Ana Freeway at the Four-Level Interchange is marked as Interstate 5, even though the Santa Ana Freeway carries the U.S. Route 101 designation for the first three miles. Presumably, this was done to simplify the signs, which would have otherwise given drivers the more confusing choice of taking either "U.S. Route 101 Hollywood Freeway" or "U.S. Route 101 Santa Ana Freeway".
(Photograph taken on February 28, 2009 - © Cameron Bevers)
Centre - Passing below the Four-Level Interchange on the ramp to the Santa Ana Freeway. The bottom level of this interchange is also shared by the ramp to the Hollywood Freeway. Note the school bus at right, travelling on the opposing ramp. From this vantage point, the interconnections between the various structures and levels are visible. This interchange is quite ingenious, especially considering that it was planned out in 1947 when freeway interchange design was still very much in its infancy.
(Photograph taken on February 28, 2009 - © Cameron Bevers)
Right - The bottom level of the stack interchange passes below the Pasadena-Harbor Freeway. The bridge railings of both the Pasadena-Harbor Freeway structure and the Hollywood-Santa Ana Freeway structure were modified recently. The old steel handrails were replaced by a decorative concrete parapet wall. The connecting ramp structures on the third level of the stack interchange still retain their original 1940s hand rails.
(Photograph taken on February 28, 2009 - © Cameron Bevers)
Left - Departing from the Four-Level Interchange on the exit ramp to the Santa Ana Freeway. At this point, the ramp from the northbound Harbor Freeway also joins in. It is interesting to note that the entrance ramps to the Santa Ana Freeway have their own exclusive ramp access to Temple Street. There is also an exit ramp from the mainline Hollywood-Santa Ana Freeway to Temple Street, which can be seen crossing over on the structure in the background of this photo
(Photograph taken on February 28, 2009 - © Cameron Bevers)
Centre - At the convergence of the Harbor and Pasadena Freeway ramps to the Santa Ana Freeway, the Santa Ana Freeway is signed as Interstate 5 and Interstate 10. While this section of the Santa Ana Freeway is officially known as U.S. Route 101, the route number is not particularly relevant at this point because U.S. Route 101 ends at Interstate 5 & 10 a short distance ahead.
(Photograph taken on February 28, 2009 - © Cameron Bevers)
Right - Close-up of a freeway guide sign on U.S. Route 101 for the Hwy 110 (Harbor/Pasadena Freeway) Interchange. The Santa Ana Freeway ends at the Four-Level Interchange at Hwy 110, but U.S. Route 101 continues north past the Four-Level Interchange as the Hollywood Freeway.
(Photograph taken on March 15, 2008 - © Cameron Bevers)
Left - Date stamp (1948) on the Sunset Boulevard Overpass across the Pasadena Freeway in Los Angeles
(Photograph taken on February 28, 2009 - © Cameron Bevers)
Centre - Facing north along the Pasadena Freeway (Hwy 110) from the Sunset Boulevard Overpass
(Photograph taken on February 28, 2009 - © Cameron Bevers)
Right - Midnight view of the Pasadena Freeway (Hwy 110), facing north from the Sunset Boulevard Overpass
(Photograph taken on February 27, 2009 - © Cameron Bevers)
Left - Night view of reflectorized "button copy" freeway guide sign marking the entrance to Hwy 110 North (Pasadena Freeway)
(Photograph taken on February 27, 2009 - © Cameron Bevers)
Centre - Approaching the College Avenue Overpass on the southbound Pasadena Freeway (Hwy 110). This narrow structure was built in the late 1930s to allow traffic on the new Figueroa Street Extension to pass below College Avenue unimpeded by traffic signals. The Figueroa Street Extension was converted into a divided roadway in the 1940s and was eventually incorporated into the route of the Pasadena Freeway.
(Photograph taken on February 28, 2009 - © Cameron Bevers)
Right - Close-up of the reflectorized "button copy" freeway guide signs for Sunset Boulevard, U.S. Route 101 North and Interstate 5 South on the southbound Pasadena Freeway (Hwy 110) at the College Avenue Overpass.
(Photograph taken on February 28, 2009 - © Cameron Bevers)
Left - Overhead sign mounted onto the Yale Street Pedestrian Bridge indicating the upcoming Sunset Boulevard and Four-Level Interchange exits (U.S. Route 101 and Interstate 5) on the southbound Pasadena Freeway
(Photograph taken on February 28, 2009 - © Cameron Bevers)
Centre - Approaching Downtown Los Angeles on the southbound Pasadena Freeway (Hwy 110). Note that the access to the Civic Center via Hill Street is a left-hand exit.
(Photograph taken on February 28, 2009 - © Cameron Bevers)
Right - Reflectorized "button copy" freeway guide signs for Hwy 110 North and the Golden State Freeway (Interstate 5 North) on the northbound Pasadena Freeway at the Stadium Way Overpass. The southbound lanes of the Pasadena Freeway are at a much higher elevation. The southbound lanes pass over Stadium Way at left.
(Photograph taken on March 22, 2008 - © Cameron Bevers)
Left - Close-up of the pull-through button-copy freeway guide sign on the northbound Pasadena Freeway (Hwy 110) at the Stadium Way Overpass in Los Angeles
(Photograph taken on June 2, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)
Centre - The northbound lanes of the Pasadena Freeway (Hwy 110) pass through a series of tunnels departing Downtown Los Angeles. The tunnels, which total almost 1/3 of a mile in length, were built in the 1930s to carry a northerly extension of Figueroa Street out of Downtown Los Angeles. This massive construction project was carried out to improve access to Downtown Los Angeles from the north by relieving traffic congestion on parallel routes. The tunnels originally carried two-way traffic, but were eventually converted to one-way operation (northbound only) after a new roadway was constructed in the 1940s to carry southbound traffic into Downtown Los Angeles.
(Photograph taken on March 22, 2008 - © Cameron Bevers)
Right - Facing north along the northbound lanes of the Pasadena Freeway (Hwy 110) from the top of the first Figueroa Tunnel. The Solano Avenue exit lies between Figueroa Tunnel #1 and Figueroa Tunnel #2. Note the abandoned Solano Avenue on-ramp on the left-hand side of the freeway, which has been closed for decades.
(Photograph taken on March 22, 2008 - © Cameron Bevers)
Left - North portal of Figueroa Tunnel #1. This tunnel was completed in 1936 and carries a four-lane roadway. The innermost lane, seen here at right, exits to the Golden State Freeway (Interstate 5 North) at the northern end of the Figueroa Tunnels. The other three Figueroa Tunnels were built in 1931.
(Photograph taken on March 22, 2008 - © Cameron Bevers)
Centre - Approaching Figueroa Tunnel #4 on the northbound Pasadena Freeway (Hwy 110). All four Figueroa Tunnels were constructed at the height of the Art Deco Era, and feature fine concrete motifs and detailing on the portals, including the official seal of the City of Los Angeles.
(Photograph taken on March 22, 2008 - © Cameron Bevers)
Right - Ground-mounted sign on the Golden State Freeway (Interstate 5) indicating the upcoming exit for the Pasadena Freeway (Hwy 110)
(Photograph taken on February 28, 2009 - © Cameron Bevers)
Left - Facing north along the Golden State Freeway (Interstate 5) towards the exit for the Pasadena Freeway (Hwy 110)
(Photograph taken on February 28, 2009 - © Cameron Bevers)
Right - Close-up of the reflectorized "button copy" freeway guide sign for the Pasadena Freeway (Hwy 110) on the northbound Golden State Freeway (Interstate 5). Trucks are prohibited on the Pasadena Freeway, largely because the constricted ramp geometry along this freeway cannot accommodate the turning radius of longer vehicles.
(Photograph taken on February 28, 2009 - © Cameron Bevers)
