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39-494: The first historical record of the road crossing Pedro Mountain was in the journal of the Portola Expedition , October 1769. "...on a very bad road up over a high mountain...though easily climbed on the way up, had a very hard abrupt descent on the opposite side." This routing today is known as Indian Trail, running up from Martini Creek, over Saddle Pass and down the ridge into the present day Willow Brook Estates in

78-504: A car can have.” This is supported by vintage photographs of the road. The Ocean Shore Railroad , which operated from 1907 to 1920, served as an alternative routing to the nearly impassible Half Moon Bay-Colma road routing. After the railroad ceased operations along the coast, the company was unable to reach a satisfactory agreement with the State of California to move the highway to the railroad's right-of-way. Eventually, when State Route 1

117-731: A day. The expedition recorded an earthquake on July 28 at the Santa Ana River . On July 29 they reached the site of present-day Fullerton, California at Hillcrest Park . On July 30, the expedition crossed the Puente Hills at a pass in La Habra (North Harbor Boulevard). They moved north-west to the San Gabriel River (near El Monte ) where they built a bridge to cross over. This bridge ('La Puente' in Crespi's diary)

156-578: A joint expedition by land and sea to again search for the bay and establish a colony if they were successful. The San Antonio sailed on April 16, 1770. On board were Serra, Miguel Costansó, military engineer and cartographer, and Doctor Pedro Prat, army surgeon, along with a cargo of supplies for the new mission at Monterey. On April 17, after mustering what forces he could, Portolá's land expedition, which included lieutenant Pedro Fages , 12 Spanish volunteers, seven leather-jacket soldiers, five Baja California Indians, two muleteers , and Juan Crespí serving as

195-515: A much more automobile accessible routing. Remnants of this road are still passable to hikers, mountain bikers and horses and in the present day is called the 'Old Pedro Mountain Road'. Many cyclists have taken to unofficially calling it `Planet of the Apes`. It was a narrow, steep, and winding road and reportedly was seldom in good condition. Numerous accidents occurred on this dangerous road and some of

234-592: A navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, etc. In militaries, the captain is typically at the level of an officer commanding a company or battalion of infantry, a ship, or a battery of artillery, or another distinct unit. It can also be a rank of command in an air force. The term also may be used as an informal or honorary title for persons in similar commanding roles. The term "captain" derives from katepánō ( Ancient Greek : κατεπάνω , lit.   ' [the one] placed at

273-484: A second, the San Antonio sailed from Cabo San Lucas on February 15. At the same time, the various elements of the land parties began to move north from Loreto, Baja California Sur . The land expedition was assembled at Velicatá, where Serra established his first new mission . From there, Portolá's plan called for splitting the land expedition in two. The lead group, charged with building a wagon trail and pacifying

312-608: Is close to the spot where the expedition crossed the Santa Ana River, and the school has a 60-foot mural depicting the Portolà Expedition. Portola Parkway running through Irvine and Lake Forest (though not connected as of 2018), was also named after Portolà. It is said that Portolà used the same route Portola Parkway now runs across. Portola Drive, which runs parallel to and near the Monterey Bay shoreline,

351-525: Is remembered in the name of today's nearby city of La Puente . They arrived in what is now Los Angeles on August 2 (where the Los Angeles River and Arroyo Seco river meet). The following day, they marched out the Indian trail that would one day become Wilshire Boulevard to the present site of Santa Monica . Winding around to the area of later Saugus , now part of Santa Clarita , they reached

390-720: Is the main street of the Pleasure Point area of Santa Cruz County . Portola Avenue is also a north-south street located in Palm Desert in the Coachella Valley . In World War II, the United States liberty ship SS Gaspar de Portola was named in his honor. Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of

429-1282: The Los Angeles Central Library's History Room. The city of Portola in Plumas County , the town of Portola Valley in San Mateo County , and the Portola neighborhood of San Francisco were named after Portolà. A number of schools in California were also named after him, including Portola Hills Elementary School in Portola Hills , Portola Elementary School in San Bruno , Gaspar de Portola Middle School in Tierrasanta , Portola Middle School in Tarzana , Portola Middle School in Orange , & Portola High School in Irvine . The school in Orange

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468-518: The Portolá expedition into California , which laid the foundations of Spanish rule in the region Californian cities like San Diego and Monterey , and bestowed names to geographic features throughout California, many of which are still in use. Gaspar de Portolá y Rovira was born on January 1, 1716 in Os de Balaguer , Catalonia, into a family of minor Spanish nobility . After he came of age, Portolá joined

507-752: The San Carlos , the first ship to leave La Paz, having met with fierce winds and storms on the journey, arrived on April 29. A third vessel was to follow with supplies, but it was probably lost at sea. The land expedition of Portolá arrived on June 29. After their arduous journeys, most of the men aboard ship were ill, chiefly from scurvy , and many had died. Out of a total of 219 who left Baja California, little more than 100 now survived. Eager to press on to Monterey Bay , Portolá and his expedition, consisting of Juan Crespí, 63 leather-jacket soldiers and 100 mules loaded down with provisions, headed north on July 14, 1769, marching two to four leagues (1 league = 2.6 miles)

546-1000: The Spanish Army , being commissioned as an ensign in 1734 and a lieutenant in 1743. He saw service in Italy during the War of the Austrian Succession and participated in the Spanish invasion of Portugal during the Fantastic War . Following the expulsion of the Jesuits from the Spanish Empire , Portolá was tasked with removing the Jesuits from Spanish missions in Baja California . He then ensured

585-470: The California coastline as far north as Monterey in 1602, but no significant Spanish settlement or even trading station had followed because those earlier explorations had failed to find a good harbor that the Spanish could have used for their long-standing Pacific maritime trade between Asia and Mexico: Monterey Bay, sighted by both Cabrillo and Vizcaíno, was exposed to rough currents and winds. In May 1768,

624-863: The East Coast of North America, had also sent explorers into the Pacific. Russian fur hunters were pressing east from Siberia across the Bering Strait into the Aleutian Islands and beyond. Dispatches of January 23, 1768, exchanged between King Carlos and the viceroy, set the wheels in motion to extend Spain's control up the Pacific Coast and establish colonies and missions at San Diego Bay and Monterey Bay , which had been discovered and described in reports by earlier explorers Juan Cabrillo and Sebastián Vizcaíno . Vizcaíno had mapped

663-558: The Golden Gate, and thus it was not exposed to rough ocean currents as was Monterey Bay, which had been known to the Spanish since Cabrillo's exploration in the sixteenth century. Despite the earlier explorations of Cabrillo and Vizcaíno, and despite two centuries of Spanish sailing the Pacific for trade between Asia and Mexico, the San Francisco Bay had been missed because of the fog that frequently shrouded its entrance. If

702-588: The Linda Mar district of Pacifica. From 1848 until 1879 the routing, known as Road Trail, was changed to run east and west along the ridge of Pedro Mountain from Saddle Pass turning north and descending the ridge above Adobe Drive and on towards the Sanchez Adobe . From 1879 to 1914 the routing was changed entirely, called the Half Moon Bay - Colma Road, and transversed over the mountain closer to

741-664: The North Peak Access Road (which goes to the top of Montara Mountain ), just before Green Valley. Gaspar de Portol%C3%A0 Captain Gaspar de Portolá y Rovira (January 1, 1716 – October 10, 1786) was a Spanish Army officer and colonial administrator who served as the first governor of the Californias from 1767 to 1770. Born in Catalonia into an aristocratic family , he is best known for leading

780-465: The San Francisco Bay had been discovered earlier, the region surrounding would have been settled by the Spanish earlier since it would have provided a safe, convenient harbor for Spain's Pacific maritime trade. Portolá's party then headed back to San Diego, exploring and naming many localities in the region south of what eventually became known as the Golden Gate . Surviving on mule meat for most of

819-558: The Spanish Visitor General, José de Gálvez , began to organize an expedition , by sea and by land. Portolá was created "Governor of the Californias" and given overall command. Junípero Serra , leader of the expedition's Franciscan missionaries, took command of spiritual matters. Sea and land detachments were to meet at San Diego Bay. The first ship, the San Carlos , sailed from La Paz on January 10, 1769 and

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858-696: The area to become Santa Barbara on August 19, and the present-day San Simeon area on September 13. Unable to remain on the coast due to the steep, difficult terrain, the party turned inland. They marched through the San Antonio Valley and on October 1, Portolá's party emerged from the Santa Lucia Mountains and reached the mouth of the Salinas River . After a march of some 400 miles (640 km) from San Diego and about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from Velicatá, they had reached

897-399: The bay they were seeking. But they failed to discern the coastline's semi-circular shape, described by Vizcaíno as round like an "O", even though members of the party had twice marched along its beach. Having failed to find their goal, they marched on north and reached the area at the north end of the bay, where Crespí named a creek Santa Cruz on October 18. Pushing on, they reached a creek in

936-720: The bay, a Mass was conducted near the oak tree that the Carmelite missionaries with Vizcaíno had worshiped under in 1603, and possession was officially taken. On June 3, 1770, they laid the beginnings of the Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo and founded the Presidio of Monterey . Governor Portolá's task was finished. He then left Captain Pedro Fages in charge, and on June 9 he sailed for San Blas , never to return to Upper California. In 1776, Portolá

975-465: The creek is gone, but a trail is available to the ranger's residence on the north side of the creek. The route continues to the northern park boundary beyond the Saddle Pass above Pacifica. Hikers will find the route moderate to rigorous, climbing to an elevation of 930 feet (280 m). The road continues on down into Pacifica to become the city's Higgins Way. Pedro Mountain Road intersects with

1014-476: The crumbling pavement of Pedro Mountain Road can still be found between Montara and Pacifica. In some places, the roadbed has washed out or been partially buried by landslides. A short stub of the highway is still in use in Montara, near the local nursery. Nevertheless, the old routes are still accessible to hikers. One longtime coastside resident, Charlie Nye, Jr., recalled: "The road coming over Pedro Mountain

1053-428: The expedition's chaplain, again marched north. The expedition followed the same route they had the previous winter while returning to San Diego. After 36 days on the road, with only two days of rest, Portolá arrived at his second cross on May 24, 1770. He then saw that on a clear day and from a certain point of view the round harbor assumed the proportions described by the earlier enthusiastic explorers. Having recognized

1092-592: The expedition: San Diego de Alcalá on July 16, 1769 and Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo on June 3, 1770. Rivera reached the site of present-day San Diego in May, established a camp in the area that is now Old Town and awaited the arrival of the others. Because of an error by Vizcaíno in determining the latitude of the San Diego Harbor, the ships passed by it and landed too far north before finding their way back. The San Antonio arrived on April 11 and

1131-540: The journey, they arrived on January 24, 1770. On their way past Monterey Bay, they again failed to recognize it as the same bay that Vizcaíno had described in 1602. One of Portolá's officers, Captain Vicente Vila, convinced him that he had actually been exactly on the Bay of Monterey when he placed his second cross at what later became Pacific Grove . After replenishing supplies at San Diego, Portolá and Serra decided on

1170-626: The missions were turned over to the Franciscans and later to the Dominicans . Spain was driven to establish missions and other outposts on the Pacific Coast north of the Baja California Peninsula by fears that the territory would be claimed by foreign powers, in addition to its Catholic proselytizing mission and insatiable need for additional sources of income. The British , who had established several colonies on

1209-694: The natives, was led by Captain Fernando Rivera y Moncada , and departed from Velicatá on March 24. With Rivera was the priest Juan Crespí , diarist for the Franciscans. The expedition led by Portolá, which included Junípero Serra (the President of the Missions), along with a combination of missionaries, settlers, and leather-jacket soldiers, including José Raimundo Carrillo , left Velicatá on May 15. Junípero Serra founded two more missions during

Pedro Mountain Road - Misplaced Pages Continue

1248-529: The ocean on very steep and rutted switchbacks from above the Shamrock Ranch towards Martini Creek. The steepest sections of this routing were virtually impassible to automobiles, with a grading of 24%. . From October 31, 1915 to June 1937 another new (paved) routing, called Coastside Boulevard (Highway 57) was routed up from Higgins Road in Pacifica, rising back towards Saddle Pass, and was welcomed as

1287-421: The present-day town of Pacifica on October 31. On November 4, having crossed the low coastal mountain range above the creek, the party was stunned to catch a glimpse of the enormous San Francisco Bay from the mountain range, as the bay was previously unknown to the Spanish. This sighting was crucial to the later settlement of California because unlike Monterey Bay, it was surrounded by land on all sides except

1326-405: The top ' , or 'the topmost'), which was used as title for a senior Byzantine military rank and office. The word was Latinized as [capetanus or catepan] Error: {{Lang}}: invalid parameter: |labels= ( help ) , and its meaning seems to have merged with that of the late Latin capitaneus (which derives from the classical Latin word caput , meaning head). This hybridized term gave rise to

1365-558: The wrecked cars can still be found in ravines below the route. “Even with a thoroughly reliable driver and trustworthy car,” Motoring magazine warned in 1913, “Pedro Mountain Road is in such poor condition that anyone going this way is simply inviting disaster.” The danger was underscored by a large sign that read: “DANGEROUS FOR AUTOMOBILES—TAKE ROAD VIA SAN MATEO” Motorists who chose to ignore this sign encountered grades as steep as 25 percent in some places. Hairpin turns called for “the coolest heads, firmest hands, and strongest brakes that

1404-568: Was appointed the governor of Puebla . After the appointment of his successor in 1784, he was advanced money for expenses and returned to Spain, where he served as commander of the Numancia cavalry dragoon regiment. On February 7, 1786 he was appointed King's Lieutenant for the strongholds and castles of Lleida. He died that same year, in October. A 9 foot (2.7 m) statue in Pacifica, California

1443-614: Was completed, the state located most of the highway parallel to the right-of-way, even along the treacherous Devil's Slide. In 1933, this section of roadway was coded into the highway system as Legislative Route 56. The next year in 1934 the highway would be signed as State Route 1 until the highway was rerouted along the Devil's Slide in 1937. This new routing replaced State Route 1 from 14th Street in Montara, to Rockaway Beach Avenue in Rockaway Beach (present day Pacifica) Portions of

1482-455: Was sculpted by the Catalan sculptor Josep Maria Subirachs and his associate, Francesc Carulla. It was given to the people of California by the Catalan government in 1988. The statue was taken down on January 18, 2024, after years of complaint that the statue was honoring European colonization in the area. A ten-foot high oil-on-canvas portrait of Portolá by Albert Herter in 1929 hangs in

1521-491: Was terrible, just awful. Words can’t describe it. It was just impossible. It went around turns and more turns, hairpin turns, short turns, backward turns. There were potholes on top of potholes. When you come down here today and complain about a few earth-slides on Devil’s Slide, well, that’s nothing compared to that old Pedro Mountain Road." Part of the road begins at a chain link fence at the existing stub in Montara and continues north to Martini Creek. The original bridge across

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