ALONG EL CAMINO REAL 1950s CALIFORNIA TRAVELOGUE FILM 72952

Created by the California Mission Trails Association, "Along El Camino Real" is a 1950s travelogue showing off California and its missions. Images include San Diego and Coronado Bay, Los Angeles and Hollywood, Santa Barbara, the "Ghost Town" tourist attraction, Mission San Fernando, San Francisco, and much more.
"El Camino Real" or King's Highway was supposedly originated by Father Junipero Serra. The trail between San Diego and San Francisco was revived in the American period in connection with the boosterism associated with the Mission Revival movement of the early 20th century. In 1912, California began paving a section of the historic route in San Mateo County. Construction of a two-lane concrete highway began in front of the historic Uncle Tom's Cabin, an inn in San Bruno that was built in 1849 and demolished exactly 100 years later. There was little traffic initially and children used the pavement for roller skating until traffic increased. By the late 1920s, California began the first of numerous widening projects of what later became part of U.S. Route 101. Today the route through San Mateo and Santa Clara counties is designated as State Route 82, and some stretches of it are named El Camino Real. An unpaved portion of the original El Camino Real has been preserved just east of Mission San Juan Bautista in San Juan Bautista, California. The old road is part of the de Anza route, located a few miles east of Route 101.
El Camino Real (Spanish for The Royal Road, also known as The King's Highway) and sometimes associated with Calle Real usually refers to the historic 600-mile (966-kilometer), connecting the former Alta California's 21 missions (along with a number of sub-missions), 4 presidios, and 3 pueblos, stretching from Mission San Diego de Alcalá in San Diego in the south to Mission San Francisco Solano in Sonoma north.
The route originated in Baja California Sur, Mexico, at the site of Misión San Bruno in San Bruno (the first mission established in Las Californias), though it was only maintained as far south as Loreto. Today, many streets throughout California that either follow or run parallel to this historic route still bear the "El Camino Real" name.
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[@otanihidetora5221]

Wow, California really used to be paradise on Earth. Incredibly depressing too see how much it’s changed…so much history that everyone has forgotten. Really is a shame, don’t know how older generations that grew up in this Eden are able to stay sane!

[@mikecesa4444]

Santa Clara and San Mateo were beautiful. I grew up there at that time. The last 40 years it has become a real dump!

[@fob1xxl]

Raised in San Jose then in 1961 we moved to Santa Clara. It was all beautifull back then. Orchards were still all around. No San Thomas Expressway. We lived on Stevenson St in Santa Clara. My folks first new home. Infact we had to wait for them to finish building it. The whole neighborhood was beautiful. We had STONGATE ESTATES, FORREST PARK. Now it looks like a scene from any street from the south. Rv's, boats, motor homes , pick up trucks, all sitting in front of houses and in driveways. What a change ! All I remember when I was living there were great looking cars in the driveways. We had a new Bonneville, our neighbors on one side had a new T-Bird, the other a Corvette and new Impala convertible. Growth sometimes destroys the beauty of what once was there.

[@Sennmut]

California. Back before Bunny Huggers and Snowflakes ruined the place.

[@AntonioPeralesdelHierro]

I worked in San José in the 50s and saw great orchards West of what is now Highway 17. Driving from San Jose to Mountain View took me to Santa Clara, beyond which was a relatively open space, and at a tree lined curve was Vidal's Restaurant whose food I always wanted to taste but never did. The San Jose/Los Gatos Road was a series of service stations, used car lots, and fruit stands where I recall seeing a 32 Cadillac four door sedan for only $200. Raised in dismal racist company town Fresno, I discovered the Bay Area had friendlier people, better choices of employment, and I never looked back.

[@GrizzlyTank]

I must've moved a dozen times in my life and never lived more than a few blocks from El Camino Real. I grew up in the Bay Area and must lived or or worked in every city on the SF Peninsula. I wish I could go back in time and see it in it's heyday, it's so different now.

[@michaelburt1663]

It’s amazing how much is gone

[@stevesmithing1552]

I lived in San Diego from 1957 to 1959 and it was a Great Place, my Dad was in the Navy and he was Stationed at North Island naval base, I remember riding the ferry to North Island with my Dad. I agree that it would be hard to match that time period.

[@toddbates444]

i lived in monterey carmel from 86 to 90, most beautiful place, enjoyed this old video of california

[@arielsarino2823]

I grew up in Coronado during the 60s when my dad was stationed at the North Island naval base. It was a magical place then, I wouldn't change that experience for anything.

[@littlepig_ee8432]

Ah yes, the green jewel of the United states.

[@Mike-pj1kv]

I used to live near El Camino Real in San Carlos Ca in the 1970s.

[@jeffgeer2720]

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[@cliff8669]

I've made the drive along the El Camino Real, Hwy One and the PCH many times.

[@aletheiaceniceros]

I live near a park named after the train el Camino park

[@nedmarc]

The narrator sounded like Peter Graves. We wonder if it was.

[@sauvageaux]

🌞 🌈🗽

[@rraltesarg]

My God So merciful with my extravagant wishes that always makes truth in real life time in one of the Dream that I never thought to have is an Address on Camino Real De Hispania so grateful with The Americans ppl in general that make happen to exist this places that represents An icon for the Hispanic community is California

[@gabreallec.jacques9281]

Real Californians are,....Real Californians!!!

[@tamra8485]

In many ways this is a simple and beautiful travel video, but a year ago, I commented that I was surprised that, at the 18.00 mark, the narrator said “to teach a better way of life to a Pagan Race” when talking about the brutal Mission system. It was once glorified, until history finally set the record straight. Sadly, the poster of this video chose to edit it out, so there is now a gap in the sound track. This is a shame, since I think it’s important to see how far we’ve come in our understanding.