Historic endpoints of US Highway 20

Photo credits: Chris Elbert; Dan Moraseski

Regarding historic endpoints of US 20 in Boston, Dan writes:

"In 1926, US 20 ended at the intersection of Park Street and Beacon Street (below), near the State House (at far left)."

EveryScape, 2008

There's a better view of the State House in the photo below, which was taken looking north on Park; US 20 originally began to the left on Beacon:

EveryScape, 2008

"Sometime in the 1930s, part of Beacon became one-way westbound, so US 20 was moved to the end of Commonwealth Avenue at the Public Garden (below)."

EveryScape, 2008

That's looking east on Commonwealth at Arlington Street; the Public Garden is on the far side of Arlington. The cars are at a former east end of US 20. To the left is a sizeable median between here and westbound Commonwealth. The photo below is looking north on Arlington:

EveryScape, 2008

The historic endpoint of US 20 is just to the left of the camera. The historic beginning is just ahead, to the left on the far side of Commonwealth Mall. The shot below was taken from the other side of the Mall, looking west on Commonwealth:

Elbert, July 2006

That was a later beginning of US 20 - it ran from this point to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming... until 1940, which is when it was extended even further west. Some historic maps suggest that when US 20 was first extended west from Yellowstone, it ended in Albany OR for a year or two:

Elbert

That scan is from the 1941 official state highway map. Note how US 20 is shown running through Lebanon to Albany, but the road between Albany and Corvallis is marked as SR 26, as is today's US 20 from Corvallis towards Newport.

US 20 and SR 99E (historic US 99E) are co-signed through downtown Albany. Back in 1940, both directions probably used 8th Avenue (or Pacific Boulevard), but today 8th carries only westbound/southbound traffic, while eastbound/northbound is routed onto 9th (one block to the south). The photo below is heading east on 9th Avenue:

Elbert, Nov. 2004

That's where 99 and 20 traffic splits; to the right used to be the west beginning of US 20. Below we're looking west on 8th, just after 20 and 99 traffic have merged:

Elbert, Nov. 2004

US 20 ended there for a year or two, but then in the early 1940's it was extended through Corvallis and on to its current western terminus at Newport. You can view photos from there - as well as from the current eastern terminus - on my main US 20 page.