Few streets in San Diego have the same historical and visual appeal as does El Cajon Boulevard. What was once a wagon road connecting San Diego to its rural east county, later became the western terminus of Highway 80, making it a major thoroughfare for the increasingly accessible automobile, and warranting it Boulevard status (upgraded from Avenue) by 1937.

Understanding and accepting the street’s history and relationship with the automobile helps anyone crazy enough to try to cruise it alone on foot.  It helps make sense of all the motels, car dealerships, repair shops, and drive-thru restaurants. It was also home to Jack in the Box precursor Oscar’s Drive-In.

But much of its currents condition and disuse as a major route for commerce came after the construction of the new Interstate 80 running through Mission Valley in the late 50’s and early 60’s, eventually becoming Interstate 8, and the influx of shopping malls in Mission Valley, Grossmont, and College Grove.

Today fewer people use El Cajon Blvd as a way of driving between San Diego and its eastern communities, and even fewer walk. It’s not surprising that City Heights, the most densely populated and ethnically diverse area along the corridor, remains the most pedestrian area.

My involvement and interest with the Boulevard can be said to have started since birth, as my first home was just blocks away in what is germanely named the College Area when my father was attending SDSU.  On the western end in University Heights sits the San Diego Unified Schools District headquarters, situated in the buildings once housing San Diego State Normal, the birthplace of SDSU. Since this school district has been my main employer for the last six years, and I answer to no boss but the district’s automated calling system, I often refer to this site as my Big Brother. I also spent a few years renting a studio a few block away.

Picking up after the few mile stretch of Interstate 8 that once was a part El Cajon Blvd, the eastern portion ends in El Cajon Valley at Main Street, a continually refabricated downtown district ideal for classic car enthusiasts.

The church my family has attended since my childhood is only blocks away, and I spent my youth attending Mother Goose Parade’s and raiding area thrift stores. And everywhere in between sit restaurants I frequent, venues at which I’ve played, and schools at which I’ve taught, as well as my alma mater, Grossmont High School.

With all of these historical and personal ley lines along this route, it’s no wonder I would want to walk it. So I decided to set out on foot, starting at the Boulevard’s most western point and taking at least one photo on every block as I walked along the north side of the street. This meant that I would not allow myself to cross the next block until I’d taken a photo of something on that block that caught my eye.

I started off around 10am on the lawn of the Teacher’s Training Annex of the old Normal School. I tried to take as many candid shots of fellow pedestrians as possible, which wasn’t always easy, considering the general lack of pedestrians on a weekday in the summer.

But signs stuck out, either old or ironic, as did derelict and abandoned buildings.  I didn’t speak to many people along the way, but wound up having a lengthy conversation with one man, Ron Moya, art teacher at Hoover High, who, along with his A.P. art class, was out restoring paintings that they had previously put up on area electrical boxes.

Unfortunately, I had to abort my mission about midway through due to a dead camera battery and no access to the charger. So after catching lunch at Living Room Cafe, I walked down to SDSU and hitched a ride home with friend and mentor, Bill Nericcio.

To maintain some sense on continuity in the photos, I picked up where I left off at the same time the following day. Relative to the more thriving and diverse areas from the day before, I found the areas of Rolando and La Mesa far more drab and desolate.

When I got to Baltimore Dr. I took a detour through La Mesa’s industrial center and Grossmont Center rather than walking on the freeway, and experienced the uncanny effects of walking around once familiar territory when I got to Grossmont High.

I met up with the Boulevard where it starts back up in the valley, and continued on to downtown El Cajon where I rested next to ducks on the lawn next to the courthouse and jail where my sister came to pick me up.

(Visit the photos page to see all 150 photos from my 12.6 mile journey down El Cajon Blvd.)