Then and now: Modernization of Highway 50

South Lake Tahoe in 1956. Photo/Stephen Gennerich collection

This mid-1950s view of Highway 50, left, is looking toward Stateline. No marked lanes, no stoplights, easy street parking, and all wires overhead on poles.

Small, but visible, in the exact center of the photo is the faint blue Lawrence’s Department Store sign fronting the same building which today houses Chevy’s restaurant. The large blue and white “Ski Heavenly Valley” sign/marquee fronting Del’s Market at right is the corner site of today’s Red Hut Cafe at Ski Run Boulevard.

Looking toward Stateline today. Photo/Bill Kingman

Today, seven miles of Highway 50 through South Lake Tahoe is marked five lanes wide, with no parking on the roadway. There are 18 traffic signals between Stateline and the Y.

Another sign of modern times is one of the Caltrans traffic cameras seen atop the pole which we can view on the Internet from anywhere in the world.

— Bill Kingman