RE-VISITING OLD HIGHWAY 99

by Michael O. Perry; postcards from his private collection

Déjà vu – all over again
Charles Kuralt once said, “Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel across the country from coast to coast without seeing anything.” No question, we all appreciate being able to get to Portland in 45 minutes rather than taking at least two hours like it did 75 years ago. But we now bypass the small towns and farms that existed before the days of the Interstate.  Whether or not you can recall the days before Interstate 5, retracing the route from Kelso to Vancouver on what remains of the Old Pacific Highway is interesting.

Read about it here or get the detailed driving instructions below and take the trip yourself.

In the Beginning…
While the Washington legislature began designating state roads prior to 1900, Washington’s Highway Department was not organized until 1905, and Oregon did not get theirs started until 1913. Early highway systems incorporated the crude dirt roads that already existed. What became the Pacific Highway and, later, Highway 99, was originally called State Highway 1. In those early years, individual counties were responsible for constructing highways while the State helped with surveying and provided some engineering advice – but very little money.

The first concrete highway in Washington was a four-mile stretch poured in 1912 near Toledo. Early roads were just a single ribbon of 15-foot wide concrete slabs.  Automobiles were not very common in 1912 -- only a half million cars had been produced in the United States up to then -- and many of those were broken down and parked behind the barn. Horse-drawn buggies were still a major method of transportation.  By 1917, however, two million cars a year were being produced.

Uncle Sam has a plan
After World War I, the Federal Highway Act was passed in an attempt to complete the highway system.  By 1923, the year Longview was built, the Pacific Highway in Washington and Oregon had been paved border to border.  Rapidly increasing numbers of cars forced a continual evolution of the highways. The pavement was widened, curves were straightened, and grades reduced. In 1926, a national system of highway numbering was instituted, with north-south routes designated with odd numbers and east-west with even. Thus, the Pacific Highway became US Highway 99.  After World War II, President Eisenhower pushed to get the Interstate Highway Program established, and two-lane highways were replaced with four-lane freeways beginning in the 1950s.

Step back 75 years
Baby boomers and senior citizens who have lived here all their lives probably remember the long drive to Portland (and the even longer drive to Seattle) on Highway 99. Surprisingly, there are many miles of original roadway still being used today between Kelso and Vancouver. Granted, virtually all of it has been covered with asphalt to make the roadway wider and smoother. And some sections of road were replaced with frontage roads when the Interstate was built on top of the old road.  But it is possible to drive most of the way to Vancouver on the old highway alignment.

The end is here
After driving south on the Old Pacific Highway and returning home on I-5, you may better appreciate that a population explosion is occurring in Clark County. Some people are still living a slow-paced life, farming their land to raise a little extra money. You will see cattle and hay fields of course, but look closer and you can still see strawberry and raspberry fields in production.  But, once you reach Salmon Creek, you’ll have to imagine how things were in 1940 by ignoring the dense housing and businesses as you drive through the once actively farmed fields.  Soon, subdivisions will likely consume much of the open land north of Salmon Creek too.  Don’t wait too long to make this trip!

Time travel is possible

The journey begins at Kelso, the “Smelt Capital of the World” sixty years ago.  You will pass by the Three Rivers Mall, built on the site of a golf course operated by the Kelso Elks until it was covered with dredge spoils pumped from the Cowlitz River after Mt. St. Helens erupted in 1980.  Before that, the four-lane freeway built in the early 1950’s cut through the middle of the golf course and the nine holes east of the freeway became Tam-O-Shanter Park.  

After crossing the Coweeman River, a frontage road takes you to the Longview Wye.   In 1923, when R. A. Long built Longview, he wanted to attract as many visitors as possible to his new city. Huge signs were placed at the Wye in an effort to convince northbound motorists to drive into Longview over the narrow Pioneer Bridge at the mouth of the Cowlitz River to get to Seattle. The detour through Longview was, in fact, a deception.  Rather than being a direct route to Tacoma and Seattle, it added three miles to the journey. Kelso was upset at this since it diverted potential customers from their businesses.

Signs of the Times

From here, you will drive past a pair of billboards facing the freeway that have been there since the 1950’s.   For years, the State Highway Department tried to remove the signs.  In an effort to beautify America, laws passed in the 1960’s prohibited advertising along freeways.  A loophole allowed the Gospel Sign Shop to keep their billboards since the law allowed advertising for on-site businesses.  The sign makers built a storage shed to fulfill the requirements for a “business” and added a small sign at the bottom of each billboard that proclaimed the religious messages were a ”sample” of the signs they could produce.  I always wondered if they ever painted signs for paying customers.

Two miles further is the Carrolls Store. Established as Carrollton in 1871 when the Northern Pacific began laying railroad tracks between Kalama and Tacoma, the town became Carrolls in 1915.  The original town was down by the Columbia River, west of I-5.  There is still a post office in the Carrolls Store, but a walk down the aisles of this old country store shows fishing supplies are the big money maker today.  The Old Pacific Highway continues up over Carrolls Bl uff.  The houses built on the edge of the cliff had front-row seats for the Trojan cooling tower implosion in 2006. 

Antiques and cookies

Just before reaching Kalama, the Fireside Restaurant in the Camp Kalama RV Park is an excellent place to stop if you are hungry.  A little further is one of the last great old barns still standing in this area, but it appears to be living on borrowed time.   If you have the time and inclination, there are several antique shops in Kalama, along with several restaurants.  The Antique Deli in Henderson’s Antique Mall serves good sandwiches and delicious cookies.

The Old Pacific Highway does not continue all the way to Woodland, so you must travel on I-5 for five miles to get past Martin’s Bluff.  Before doing that, you should take a few minutes and drive a mile down Dupont Drive, a dead end section of the Pacific Highway that gives you a good feel for what the old Pacific Highway was like.  While some sections have an asphalt overlay, much of the original 19-foot wide concrete roadway is like it was 75 years ago.

Standing Guard

You rejoin the Old Pacific Highway north of Woodland, then cross the Lewis River and drive to LaCenter.  That section of road still has remnants of the old guard railing.  The original white-painted wooden rails have long ag o rotted away, but some of the concrete posts stand ready to stop an errant vehicle.   LaCenter has grown a lot in recent years due to the casinos.  Maybe you want to stop and try your luck or have a bite to eat?  

Pollock Road, a dead end spur south of LaCenter, is an old section of the Pacific Highway that leads down to the original river crossing.  The Pacific Highway continues south to Salmon Creek and the beginning of urban sprawl.  The Salmon Creek Greenway near the I-5 and I-205 junction is a delightful park with paved trails ideal for walking, jogging, or bicycling.  Plan ahead if you’d like to enjoy a picnic lunch there.

The end is near

Downtown Vancouver is not much further.   For 65 years, the Holland Restaurant was THE place to stop to eat when making a trip to Portland.  It started out as the Holland Creamery in 1924 and produced some of the best ice cream around.  Unfortunately, the Holland Restaurant closed in 2001.  If you are in the mood for a great milkshake or old fashioned sundae, Ice Cream Renaissance at 2108 Main Street, a couple blocks north of the old Holland Creamery site, gives you a taste of the past. 
On the waterfront

This journey ends at Red Lion’s Inn at the Quay, a great place for lunch or dinner .  Ask for a window table where you can watch the river and bridge traffic.  The drawbridge still opens when needed, but most boats can pass under the raised portion of the bridge.  The original 3,538-foot long Interstate Bridge cost $941,000 and was level all the way across the river.  It is hard to imagine why they built a four-lane bridge in 1917, but obviously the person in charge was a real visionary!  That bridge carried all the traffic between Portland and Vancouver until 1958 when a second bridge was built next to it.  The original bridge (the present northbound lanes) was then jacked up to allow boats to pass under it without having to open the draw span so often.  From 1960 to 1966, motorists had to pay a 25-cent toll to cross the bridge.

Controversy at the Quay

In 1939, a stone monument dedicating Highway 99 to Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy from 1861 to 1865, was placed at the Vancouver end of the bridge, and a similar monument was put at the Peace Arch Park at Blaine in 1940.  Vancouver’s controversial stone marker was moved to the Carnegie Library at 16th and Main in 2002, but it was removed in 2006.  Both monuments are now located next to Interstate 5 and Carty Road, near Ridgefield. 
    
Time for a round of golf?

If you haven't eaten by this point, you might consider another traditional restaurant. Back in the 1960’s, local kids often piled in a car and drove down from Longview to get a double-jumbo steakburger after school at the Steakburger restaurant in Hazel Dell.  I suspect many CRR readers have played miniature golf there.

The end is here

After your drive south on the Old Pacific Highway and return home on I-5, you may better appreciate that a population explosion is occurring in Clark County. Some people are still living a slow-paced life, farming their land to raise a little extra money. You will see cattle and hay fields of course, but look closer and you can still see strawberry and raspberry fields in production.  But, once you reach Salmon Creek, you’ll have to imagine how things were in 1940 by ignoring the dense housing and businesses as you drive through the once actively farmed fields.  Soon, subdivisions will likely consume much of the open land north of Salmon Creek too.  Don’t wait too long to make this trip!