A Short History of Lebec (Part 1): Peter Lebec may have lost his battle with a grizzly bear almost 200 years ago. But Lebec’s name still graces the California valley where he died in 1837. Today, the small town of Lebec, California – named after the […]
The Story of the Ridge Route (Part 4)
The Ridge Route’s Later Years (And Efforts To Preserve It): The early Ridge Route didn’t stay un-tinkered-with for long. Less than a decade after the 1919 concrete cap dried, ideas began percolating about expanding its two paved lanes to three. (For the Ridge Route’s earlier history, check out Parts 1, 2, and 3!) Work on […]
The Story of the Ridge Route: Part 3
With its fresh concrete cap finally in place, the new, upgraded Ridge Route was ready to welcome travelers again in 1919. (If you missed the beginning of this story, here are Part 1 and Part 2!) The journey from L.A. to Bakersfield still wasn’t for […]
The Story of the Ridge Route (Part 2):
Paving the Ridge Route: As you’ll remember from Part 1 of this story, the original Ridge Route between L.A. and Bakersfield was just a simple oil-coated dirt track. When grading was completed in 1915, that first early version cost a mere $450,000 – roughly $11 million today.* Not bad for a 30-mile stretch […]
The Story of the Ridge Route (Part 1)
The Story of the Ridge Route (Part 1): How did the Ridge Route get started? First, of course, came early game trails and Indian footpaths. When the Spaniards arrived, their carreta roads made use of those same rough tracks. They’d follow the route of today’s Temple Street north through what we now call Hollywood to […]
The Forgotten Story Behind the Lebec Hotel: Thomas O’Brien
He always carried a Colt .45 under that natty suit jacket. “Irish-stubborn” about business, he was filled with exuberance, too. Over the years he founded half-dozen saloons and gambling halls from Kingman to the Klondike. Yet he didn’t drink or gamble (or so, at least, his family said). Meet Thomas O’Brien, little-known proprietor of the […]
Sandberg’s Lodge on the Old Ridge Route
When we visited in 1992, all that was left was a sturdy stone wall and a few cracked rectangles of concrete. But in the 1920s, Sandberg’s Lodge was a bustling wayside stop for travelers on the old Ridge Route between Los Angeles and Bakersfield. Some say Old Man Sandberg was a heck of a guy. […]