Palm and Pine Design Contest

Greetings All!

We are looking for volunteers to help create a design for a Pine and Palm shirt and stickers to help promote and spread awareness of the historic landmark before it goes away in early 2026. The design should incorporate both trees, a US 99 shield, and something to the affect of “Where the Palm Meets the Pine”, “Heart of California”, and “Historic Highway 99 Association of California”. As it will be your design, feel free to include some sort of signature or initials on the design to mark them as from you. If you have a different idea, let us know! We look forward to seeing what you all come up with.

Your design should be submitted by September 15, 2024. The winner will be chosen by members of the Association by October 1, 2024. The winner will receive a $30 gift card to the Historic Saugus Cafe in Santa Clarita and the Second Place winner will receive a $5 gift card to the Saugus Cafe. Both will receive a free one-year membership to the Association.

All submissions should be in either JPG or similar format. Please don’t submit proprietary file formats.

Good Luck and Thank you for your continued support! We can’t do this without you! Use the form below to submit your e-mail address to send your submission to us.

Palm and Pine Update – July 2024

Greetings All!

I wanted to give some updates on the Pine and Palm. I recently had a meeting with Caltrans District 6 to discuss the project and what our intentions are for the landmark trees.

Signage

We explained that, while we appreciated and liked their idea of planting more trees along the southbound side of the roadway, we would like to see a marker or sign placed in both directions to help commemorate the site and increase public awareness of the landmark itself. They agreed this would be a good idea in concept but were uncertain if it could gain approval as the signs as proposed may not be MUTCD compliant. The main issue was with the graphics of the pine and palm itself, as they are not standard for signage. Should the sign be approved, that portion of the sign would likely have to be removed. There is precedent for such a sign in Oregon which marks the 45th Parallel along I-5. The Pine and Palm are similar in nature, though not as specific, so that should help us in our quest for approval. We look forward to finding a way to make this happen.

Median Barrier

Caltrans also is looking into putting something on the median barrier itself, which has been done in many other locations through the state. These, in addition to the signs and new trees, should help mark the site and its significance. We are confident we can make something happen at the Pine and Palm site, even if it takes longer than construction.

Existing Trees

The existing trees may not likely survive, unfortunately, due to the problems of moving such plants. If they are moved, those accepting the trees may have to bear the costs of the move, which can be prohibitive to some. Their disposition isn’t likely to be known for a while and we will try to keep everyone informed as to where they end up. For now, we have until early 2026 before they are torn down, so make sure to enjoy them while they last.

The Caltrans project calls for planting 15 new pine and palm trees along the southbound side of the roadway 330 feet south of the existing location.

Caltrans Proposal for new trees in relation to the existing trees

Design Help

As a side note, we are looking for an artist to design a “Pine and Palm” logo for placement on t-shirts and stickers which we’d like to sell. Let us know if you’re interested in helping us with this project. We are looking to get things started soon.

Contact Information

99 Alert – The Pine And Palm

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The Pine and The Palm

The historic Pine and Palm in the Heart of California is planned to be removed in the next year and we need your help to save them!

Caltrans is planning to widen Highway 99 through the area to six lanes, which will necessitate the removal of the historic site. As a mitigation, they plan to plan 15 pines and palms along the southbound side of the highway. While a nice gesture, the elimination of the historic site is alarming and problematic. They are not proposing any additional measures at this time.

https://dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/district-6/district-6-projects/06-0h220

We propose the trees be relocated and saved if possible. We also propose that signs be placed at the location to mark the historic site and bring it further into public view. They could be relocated to the shoulder or possibly to a local museum. These trees, in one form or another, have marked the transition between Northern and Southern California since the 1920’s and they must not be lost to “progress”. Help us save these historic trees by writing to Caltrans District 6 and tell them you want to see these trees saved as well as the location marked properly. You can also contact the state Assembly and Senate representatives to assist in this effort.

While we have a design for the sign already, we are open to additional submissions. We intend to hold a public vote on the sign design in the near future.

We need your help! Contact us or donate if you’d like to get involved in our efforts!

Contact Information
Donations

Contacts

Reference the “South Madera Six-Lane Project” and the Pine And the Palm when contacting them. Tell them the Historic Highway 99 Association of California sent you!

Caltrans District 6 Public Information Officer
d6.public.info@dot.ca.gov

Assemblymember Jim Patterson

Senator Marie Alvarado-Gil

Where The Palm Meets the Pine

Just south of Madera, 1.75 miles south of Ave 12, and 2.1 miles north of Ave 9 (or more specifically at 06-MAD-99-05.7), there lies a pine tree and a palm tree in the median of Highway 99. It has been there since the 1920’s and marks the former halfway point in California. The Palm Tree, a Canary Island Date Palm, represents Southern California and the Pine Tree, a Deodor Cedar, represents Northern California. In 2005, the pine tree fell down but was replaced by Caltrans in 2007 as this is a somewhat historic marker. In the next couple of years, Caltrans District 6 intends to remove the Pine and Palm for a highway widening project. New trees are planned to the west of the current site but no marker at this time. For more information about this Caltrans project, please go to the link below:

https://dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/district-6/district-6-projects/06-0h220

We, the Historic Highway 99 Association of California, intend to have signs placed in both directions at this location to mark the historic site. While it might not exactly be the “halfway” point in California, it is close enough and has been there since the 1920’s. We are looking to work with local agencies such as the County of Madera, Caltrans District 6, City of Madera, and others to gain support and assistance with this effort. We already have a tentative design for the sign and cost estimates for its fabrication.

Donations

If you would like to be involved in this project (03-MAD21002), let us know! We can use help either through donations of labor or money. Any donations are likely tax-deductible as we are a 501c3 organization.

Our Project Documents

Board Update – Need Your Help!

Greetings All!

We are looking for a new Treasurer for our board of directors. Ideally, we would like to have someone with experience with the forms required to be submitted by non-profit organizations such as ours. At a minimum, we are seeking help with our forms to ensure this organization remains up to date with the State and Federal governments.

We look forward to hearing from you soon! Thank you all for your continued support!