{{short description|Former highway in California}} {{Redirect|CA 42|the congressional district|California's 42nd congressional district}} {{Use American English|date=March 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}} {{Infobox road | state = CA | type = SR | route = 42 | map_notes = SR 42 last routing highlighted in pink. | length_mi = | length_round = | length_ref = | established = 1960 | decommissioned = 2000 | direction_a = West | terminus_a = {{jct|state=CA|SR|1}} in [[Westchester, CA|Westchester]] | junction = {{plainlist |*{{jct|state=CA|I|405}} in [[Inglewood, California|Inglewood]] *{{jct|state=CA|I|110}} in [[Los Angeles]] *{{jct|state=CA|I|710}} in [[South Gate, California|South Gate]] *{{Jct|state=CA|I|605}} In [[Norwalk, California|Norwalk]] }} | direction_b = East | terminus_b = {{jct|state=CA|I|5}}{{efn|The direct interchange with I-5 has since been demolished in 2013, 13 years after SR 42 was officially decommissioned.}} in [[Norwalk, CA|Norwalk]] | counties = [[Los Angeles County, California|Los Angeles]] | previous_route = 41 | next_route = 43 | previous_type = CA | next_type = CA }}
'''State Route 42''' ('''SR 42''') is a [[decommissioned highway|decommissioned state highway]] in the [[Southern California|southern]] region part of the [[U.S. state]] of [[California]], running along '''Manchester Avenue''', '''Manchester Boulevard''' and '''Firestone Boulevard''' in [[Los Angeles]] and the cities south of it. In its final official routing that lasted from 1968 to 2000, SR 42 ran from [[State Route 1 (California)|State Route 1]] west of [[Inglewood, California|Inglewood]] (near [[Los Angeles International Airport]]) east to what was then a direct interchange with [[Interstate 5 in California|Interstate 5]] in [[Norwalk, California|Norwalk]].<ref name="metro.net"/> Though signed as SR 42, it was officially [[California State Route 105 (1968–1993)|Route 105]] until it was replaced by the parallel [[Interstate 105 (California)|Interstate 105]] on October 14, 1993.<ref name="bridgelog" /> The entire route was deleted from the [[California Freeway and Expressway System]] in 2000, with the remaining portion of SR 42 being relinquished to local jurisdictions in that year.<ref name="cah 42">[https://cahighways.org/041-048.html#042 California Highways: Former State Route 42]</ref> The direct interchange with I-5 was later demolished in 2013 in favor of widening that portion of the Interstate.<ref name="metro.net"/> However, some SR 42 signs may still remain along the route.<ref name="cah 42"/>
==Route description== State Route 42 began at [[Lincoln Boulevard (Southern California)|Lincoln Boulevard]] ([[State Route 1 (California)|State Route 1]]) as Manchester Avenue. East of [[Sepulveda Boulevard]], Manchester Avenue crossed into [[Inglewood, California|Inglewood]], where it is known as Manchester Boulevard. It jogged about two blocks to the north just west of [[Interstate 405 (California)|Interstate 405]], and back to the south after passing downtown Inglewood. Upon crossing back into Los Angeles, it again became Manchester Avenue.
At [[Central Avenue (Los Angeles)|Central Avenue]], SR 42 entered the unincorporated community of [[Florence-Graham, California|Florence-Graham]]. It then became Firestone Boulevard and passed through [[South Gate, California|South Gate]] and [[Downey, California|Downey]], and ended in [[Norwalk, California|Norwalk]] at a merge with [[Interstate 5 (California)|Interstate 5]] (the [[Santa Ana Freeway]]).
Two [[Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority|Metro]] stations serves the corridor: * {{LACMTA icon|A}} {{LAMs|Firestone}} * {{LACMTA icon|J}} {{LAMs|Manchester}}
==History== '''Legislative Route 174''' was defined in 1933 to run from [[pre-1964 Legislative Route 60 (California)|pre-1964 Legislative Route 60]] west of [[Inglewood, California|Inglewood]] east to [[pre-1964 Legislative Route 2 (California)|pre-1964 Legislative Route 2]] near [[Santa Ana, California|Santa Ana]].<ref name="cah LR 174">[https://cahighways.org/169-176.html#LR174 California Highways: Legislative Route 174]</ref> It was signed as '''State Route 10''' in the initial signage of routes in 1934, running from [[State Route 3 (California)|State Route 3]] (now [[State Route 1 (California)|State Route 1]]) to [[U.S. Route 101 (California)|U.S. Route 101]] near the present junction of [[Interstate 5 (California)|Interstate 5]] and [[Anaheim Boulevard]]. (US 101 and LR 2 left the current I-5 alignment north onto Anaheim Boulevard, eventually entering downtown Los Angeles via present [[State Route 72 (California)|State Route 72]].)
Note: the present alignment of I-5 between Chapman Avenue in [[Anaheim, California|Anaheim]] and Main Street in Santa Ana was also part of LR 174, after a short [[concurrency (road)|concurrency]] of LR 2 and LR 174 in Anaheim. LR 2 used those two streets through [[Orange, California|Orange]], but US 101 was moved to LR 174 once it was built, and so that part of LR 174 was never signed as SR 10. The bypassed section of LR 2 became [[State Route 51 (California)|State Route 51]] in the [[1964 state highway renumbering (California)|1964 renumbering]], but was removed from the state highway system in 1965.<ref name="cah 51">[https://cahighways.org/049-056.html#051 California Highways: Unsigned State Route 51]</ref>
By 1942, the piece of SR 10 east of [[State Route 19 (California)|State Route 19]] ([[Lakewood Boulevard]]) had been designated [[U.S. Route 101 Bypass (Los Angeles, California)|U.S. Route 101 Bypass]].<ref>[http://members.cox.net/mkpl2/hist/droz-laca42.jpg 1942 Gousha Los Angeles and vicinity map] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060424144455/http://members.cox.net/mkpl2/hist/droz-laca42.jpg |date=2006-04-24 }}</ref> [[U.S. Route 101 (California)|U.S. Route 101]] moved to the present [[Interstate 5 (California)|Interstate 5]] alignment, formerly US 101 Bypass, by 1959, and SR 10 was truncated to the present I-5/Firestone Boulevard junction.<ref>[http://members.cox.net/mkpl2/hist/map-ca1955-la.jpg 1955 Gousha Los Angeles district map] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726003121/http://members.cox.net/mkpl2/hist/map-ca1955-la.jpg |date=July 26, 2011 }}</ref>
{{Infobox road small |state=CA |type=CA 1957 |route=10 |location=[[inglewood, California|Inglewood]] - [[Norwalk, California|Norwalk]] |formed=1934 |deleted=1960 }} Around 1960, SR 10 was renumbered to State Route 42 due to the nearby [[Interstate 10 (California)|Interstate 10]] (numbered in 1957).<ref name="cah 42"/> This change, which would have normally happened in the [[1964 state highway renumbering (California)|1964 renumbering]], was done early due to the closeness of I-10. Route 42 was legislatively defined in that renumbering, running not only from SR 1 to I-5, but beyond to [[State Route 91 (California)|State Route 91]] in [[Anaheim Hills, Anaheim, California|Anaheim Hills]]. This route split from the existing SR 42 in [[Norwalk, California|Norwalk]] and ran east along unbuilt [[pre-1964 Legislative Route 176 (California)|pre-1964 Legislative Route 176]] to the intersection of [[State Route 39 (California)|State Route 39]] ([[Beach Boulevard (Orange County, California)|Beach Boulevard]]) and [[Imperial Highway]]. East of SR 39, Imperial Highway was state-maintained, and carried pre-1964 LR 176 and post-1964 SR 42 to its end at SR 91.<ref>[https://cahighways.org/maps/1963renumber.jpg District VII State Highway Numbering Map], September 20, 1963</ref> The whole route, from SR 1 to SR 91, had been added to the [[California Freeway and Expressway System]] in 1959.<ref name="cah 105">[https://cahighways.org/105-112.html#105 California Highways: Interstate 105]</ref><ref name="cah 90">[https://cahighways.org/089-096.html#090 California Highways: State Route 90]</ref>
{{Infobox road small |state=CA |type=SR |route=105 |location=[[Inglewood, California|Inglewood]] - [[Norwalk, California|Norwalk]] |formed=1968 |deleted=1993 }} In 1965, the unbuilt part from [[Interstate 605 (California)|Interstate 605]] east to SR 39 was transferred to [[State Route 90 (California)|State Route 90]], which had been defined in 1964 to end at I-605; this left a gap in SR 42. The part of SR 42 west of I-605 was added to the [[Interstate Highway System]] as [[Interstate 105 (California)|Interstate 105]] in March 1968,<ref name="cah Interstates">[https://cahighways.org/itypes.html California Highways: Interstate Highway Types and the History of California's Interstates]</ref> and the legislative changes were made that year - that piece became Route 105, and the piece east of SR 39 became a further extension of SR 90.<ref name="cah 42"/>
Despite being officially Route 105 since 1968, the route continued to be signed as SR 42, not only along its defined alignment from SR 1 to I-605, but past I-605 to [[Interstate 5 (California)|Interstate 5]] (which had loosely become part of SR 90 in 1965).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.westcoastroads.com/california/images005/i-005_nb_exit_120b_01.jpg |title=October 21, 2000 photo of signage on Interstate 5 north at former SR 42 |access-date=March 23, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051105230809/http://www.westcoastroads.com/california/images005/i-005_nb_exit_120b_01.jpg |archive-date=November 5, 2005 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Interstate 105 was constructed from 1982 to 1994.<ref name="cah 105" /> Even after the new route was finished, the old route continued to be signed as SR 42, even after the last section was relinquished in mid-2000.<ref name="cah 42"/> Some signs still remained in 2004.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.westcoastroads.com/california/images701/i-710_sb_exit_013_02.jpg |title=July 6, 2004 photo of signage on Interstate 710 south approaching Firestone Boulevard |access-date=March 23, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929090853/http://www.westcoastroads.com/california/images701/i-710_sb_exit_013_02.jpg |archive-date=September 29, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Since the widening of Interstate 5 between Interstate 605 and the Los Angeles-Orange County line, Firestone Boulevard does not connect with it anymore, instead ending at Bloomfield Avenue. Access to Firestone Boulevard from I-5 is now via [[Rosecrans Avenue]].<ref name="metro.net">{{cite news|last=Upton|first=Kim|date=March 3, 2013|title=Firestone Boulevard Ramps Will Close Permanently, plus Other Closures and Work on the I-5 South|url=https://thesource.metro.net/2013/03/29/firestone-boulevard-ramps-will-close-permanently-plus-other-closures-and-work-on-the-i-5-south/|work=TheSource|access-date=April 11, 2018}}</ref>
==Major intersections== {{CAinttop|former=yes|county=Los Angeles|post_ref=<br><ref name=bridgelog>{{Caltrans bridgelog|date=July 2007}}</ref><ref>[[California Department of Transportation]], [https://traffic-counts.dot.ca.gov/ All Traffic Volumes on CSHS], 1996</ref>}} {{CAint |location=Los Angeles |lspan=3 |postmile=0.00 |pmspan=2 |road=West Manchester Avenue |notes=Continuation beyond SR 1 }} {{CAint |mile=none |road={{jct|state=CA|SR|1|name1=[[Lincoln Boulevard (Southern California)|Lincoln Boulevard]]}} |notes=West end of SR 42 }} {{CAint |postmile=1.32 |road=[[Sepulveda Boulevard]] |notes= }} {{CAint |location=Inglewood |lspan=3 |postmile=2.91 |road={{jct|state=CA|I|405|name1=San Diego Freeway}} |notes=Interchange }} {{CAint |postmile=3.83 |road=[[La Brea Avenue]] |notes=Former [[California State Route 107|SR 107]] }} {{CAint |postmile=5.42 |road=[[Crenshaw Boulevard]] |notes= }} {{CAint |location=Los Angeles |lspan=7 |postmile=6.42 |road=[[Western Avenue (Los Angeles)|Western Avenue]] |notes=Former [[California State Route 213|SR 213]] }} {{CAint |postmile=7.42 |road=[[Vermont Avenue]] |notes= }} {{CAint |postmile=7.93 |road=[[Figueroa Street]] |notes= }} {{CAint |postmile=8.04 |road={{jct|state=CA|I|110|name1=[[Harbor Freeway]]|city1=Los Angeles|city2=San Pedro}} |notes=Interchange<!-- Former US 6/SR 11 --> }} {{CAint |postmile=8.19 |road=[[Broadway (Los Angeles)|Broadway]] |notes= }} {{CAint |postmile=8.39 |road=[[Main Street (Los Angeles)|Main Street]] |notes= }} {{CAint |postmile=9.44 |road=[[Central Avenue (Los Angeles)|Central Avenue]] |notes=East end of Manchester Avenue; west end of Firestone Boulevard }} {{CAint |location=Florence-Graham |postmile=10.97 |road=[[Alameda Street]] |notes=Former [[California State Route 47|SR 47]] }} {{CAint |location=South Gate |lspan=3 |postmile=11.61 |road=Long Beach Boulevard |notes= }} {{CAint |postmile=14.53 |road={{jct|state=CA|I|710|name1=[[Long Beach Freeway]]|city1=Pasadena|city2=Long Beach}} |notes=Interchange<!-- Former SR 15/SR 7 --> }} {{CAint |postmile=14.81 |road=Garfield Avenue |notes= }} {{CAint |location=Downey |postmile=17.45 |road={{jct|state=CA|SR|19|name1=[[Lakewood Boulevard]]|city1=Long Beach|city2=Pasadena}} |notes= }} {{CAint |location=Norwalk |lspan=3 |postmile=18.82 |road={{jct|state=CA|I|605|name1=[[San Gabriel River Freeway]]}} |notes=Interchange }} {{CAint |postmile=none |road=[[Imperial Highway]] |notes=Former [[State Route 90 (California)|SR 90]] }} {{CAint |postmile=none |road={{jct|state=CA|I|5|name1=[[Santa Ana Freeway]]|dir1=south|city1=Santa Ana}} |notes=Interchange; eastbound exit and westbound entrance; east end of SR 42. The entrance and exit were permanently closed in 2013 with the widening of I-5, and thus motorists have since been redirected south on Bloomfield Avenue and east on [[Rosecrans Avenue]]. }} {{Jctbtm}}
==See also== *{{portal-inline|California Roads}} *{{portal-inline|Greater Los Angeles}}
==Notes== {{Notelist}}
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==External links== {{Attached KML|display=title,inline}} {{commons category}} *[http://www.aaroads.com/california/ca-042.html California @ AARoads.com - State Route 42] *[https://www.cahighways.org/041-048.html#042 California Highways: SR 42]
{{Streets in Los Angeles}}
[[Category:Former state highways in California|042]] [[Category:Roads in Los Angeles County, California|State Route 042]] [[Category:South Gate, California|State Route 042]] [[Category:Transportation in Los Angeles]] [[Category:Inglewood, California]] [[Category:Downey, California]] [[Category:Norwalk, California]] [[Category:U.S. Route 101]]