The Imperial Highway is a west-east thoroughfare in the counties of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

Riverside Riverside may refer to: Places Australia * Riverside, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston, Tasmania Canada * Riverside (electoral district), in the Yukon * Riverside, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Alberta * Riverside, Manitoba, a former rural m ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

, and Imperial in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. The main portion of the existing route begins at Vista Del Mar in Los Angeles near the Los Angeles International Airport and ends at the Anaheim–

city line at Via Escola where it becomes Cannon Street. Historically, the Imperial Highway extended from Vista Del Mar to

Calexico Calexico () is a city in southern Imperial County, California. Situated on the Mexican border, it is linked economically with the much larger city of Mexicali, the capital of the Mexican state of Baja California. It is about east of San Diego ...

, where a portion of the highway still exists. The original route was replaced with other highways, leading the older portions of the Imperial Highway to fall out of use.

Route

The total length of the

Greater Los Angeles Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino Coun ...

portion of the Imperial Highway is approximately , of which run through Orange County and through Los Angeles County. Between SR 91 and SR 39, Imperial Highway is signed as State Route 90. A ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

'' freeway portion of the route in

Yorba Linda Yorba Linda is a suburban city in northeastern Orange County, California, United States, approximately Ordinal directions, southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. It is part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area, and had a population of 68,336 at th ...

is also known as the Richard M. Nixon Parkway. The portion in Los Angeles County between Lakewood Boulevard and Valley View Avenue is located about one mile north of, and runs parallel to,

Rosecrans Avenue Rosecrans Avenue is a major west-east thoroughfare in Los Angeles and Orange Counties, California, USA. It has a total length of 27.5 miles (44.3 km). The street is named after U.S. Union General William S. Rosecrans, who purchased of ...

Cities

Starting from Cannon Street & Via Escola in

, going east to west Cannon Street becomes Imperial Highway upon entering Anaheim. The highway then passes through the cities and communities of

Anaheim Hills Anaheim Hills is a planned community encompassing the eastern portions of the city of Anaheim, in Orange County, California. History Prior to the development, a few scattered low-density neighborhoods existed in the area, including Peralta Hills ...

, Placentia, Brea, Fullerton,

La Habra La Habra (archaic spelling of ''La Abra'', ) is a city in the northwestern corner of Orange County, California, United States. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,239. A related city, La Habra Heights, is located to the north o ...

La Mirada La Mirada ( Spanish for "The Look") is a city in southeast Los Angeles County, California United States, and is one of the Gateway Cities. The population was 48,527 at the 2010 census, up from 46,783 at the 2000 census. The La Mirada Theatre ...

Santa Fe Springs Santa Fe Springs (''Santa Fe'', Spanish for "Holy Faith") is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is one of the Gateway Cities of southeast Los Angeles County. The population was 16,223 at the 2010 census, down from 17,43 ...

(some sections in La Mirada and Santa Fe Springs are next to unincorporated LA County), Norwalk,

Downey Downey may refer to: People * Downey (surname) *Robert Downey Jr. Places * Downey, California, US * Downey, Idaho, US * Downey, Iowa, US Businesses * W. & D. Downey, photographic studio * Downey Studios, created out of a former Boeing plant Sch ...

, South Gate, Lynwood,

(

Watts Watts is plural for ''watt'', the unit of power. Watts may also refer to: People *Watts (surname), list of people with the surname Watts Fictional characters *Watts, main character in the film '' Some Kind of Wonderful'' *Watts family, six chara ...

, and

South LA South Los Angeles, also known as South Central Los Angeles or simply South Central, is a region in southwestern Los Angeles County, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of downtown. It is "defined on Los Angeles city maps as ...

– a portion after South LA is in unincorporated LA County), Inglewood,

Hawthorne Hawthorne often refers to the American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne may also refer to: Places Australia *Hawthorne, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane Canada * Hawthorne Village, Ontario, a suburb of Milton, Ontario United States * Hawt ...

, El Segundo (southside of street only), and Westchester (part of Los Angeles on the northside). Imperial Highway ends at Dockweiler Beach on Vista Del Mar near Playa Del Rey, just past

LAX Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the W ...

Freeways

Along its route, Imperial Highway crosses over or under these freeways from west to east: * Interstate 105 * Interstate 405 * Interstate 110 * Interstate 710 * Interstate 605 * Interstate 5 * California State Route 57 * California State Route 91 *Interstate 8

Transportation

Metro Local Los Angeles Metro Bus is the transit bus service in Los Angeles County, California operated by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro). In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . , there ar ...

lines 120 and formerly 625 run through Imperial Highway, as well as Norwalk Transit line 4; Metro line 625 ran between Pershing Drive and

La Cienega Boulevard La Cienega Boulevard is a major north–south arterial road that runs between El Segundo Boulevard in Hawthorne, California on the south and the Sunset Strip/ Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood to the north. It was named for Rancho Las Cienega ...

. Metro line 120 runs between Aviation Boulevard and Norwalk Station, and Norwalk line 4 between Norwalk Station and Beach Boulevard. Imperial intersects with the Metro A and C Lines at Wilmington Avenue in Willowbrook at the

Willowbrook/Rosa Parks station Willowbrook/Rosa Parks station (formerly Imperial/Wilmington/Rosa Parks station) is a major transport hub and Los Angeles Metro Rail station that serves the A Line and C Line. The station, located at the intersection of Imperial Highway and ...

. Western terminus coordinates (El Segundo):
Eastern terminus coordinates (Anaheim):

History

Imperial Highway was initially conceived as a commercial route connecting

Imperial County Imperial Count (german: Reichsgraf) was a title in the Holy Roman Empire. In the medieval era, it was used exclusively to designate the holder of an imperial county, that is, a fief held directly ( immediately) from the emperor, rather than from ...

to Los Angeles County. A segment remains today in Imperial County which connects Interstate 8 near

Ocotillo ''Fouquieria splendens'' (commonly known as ocotillo (), but also referred to as buggywhip, coachwhip, candlewood, slimwood, desert coral, Jacob's staff, Jacob cactus, and vine cactus) is a plant indigenous to the Sonoran Desert and Chihuahuan ...

. Another segment adjacent to Lake Elsinore (Riverside County) was once indicated on 1960s vicinity maps by H.M. Gousha ( Gousha), publisher of street maps.

Other uses

There are other Imperial Highways in the United States, including one in

(better known as Imperial Avenue) and in the

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

suburbs of

Redford Township, Michigan Redford, officially the Charter Township of Redford, is a charter township in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The township shares its eastern border with the city of Detroit. The population was 49,504 at the 2020 census. History S ...

and

Westland, Michigan Westland is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located about west of downtown Detroit. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 84,094. It is the 10th largest city and 12th largest municipality in Mich ...

. Westland's version runs two blocks, northeast from Hambleton Street, across John Hauk Road and stopping at Pardo Street.

References

External links

{{Streets in Los Angeles Streets in Orange County, California Streets in Los Angeles County, California Streets in Los Angeles Southern California freeways Anaheim, California Yorba Linda, California Fullerton, California La Habra, California La Mirada, California Santa Fe Springs, California Norwalk, California Downey, California Paramount, California South Gate, California Lynwood, California Watts, Los Angeles South Los Angeles Inglewood, California Hawthorne, California El Segundo, California Named highways in California