Blue Cut was originally a rest area for Route 66. It was named for the bluish tint on the rugged hillside to the south. This bluish rugged hillside is the San Andreas Fault.
In the 1930s, this was also the spot where authorities stopped refugees from the Dustbowl regions of the mid-west that were looking for a better life in California. Refugees were kept here for a few days to a few weeks while authorities did background checks on the refugees.
After the 1940s, many businesses prospered here as travel along Route 66 increased. When I-15 was built in the 1960s, many of those businesses closed and the buildings disappeared.
The monument covers a lot of history in a small space as you can read below.
Face of Monument
I found the narrative very concise and informative on a monument and area I was unaware of. Unfortunately, the website jumps up and down, and is almost unreadable because of this. I don’t know if it is the fault of my laptop, my server, or the website. I hope this isn’t a permanent problem. Thank you to all who contributed to this.
Bill, thanks for the comment. We are still in the process of upgrading our website and there are lots of things we need to fix. I have taken note of this issue and will pass it along to our web developer. Follow us on Twitter @Route66CA for updates on when we will launch our updated website!