Cuesta Location 1

Location #1

This area is at the very southernmost part of the Cuesta Grade just before it begins it's climb. Now occupied by Del Vaglio Real Estate, according to several sources, it was once used a a resting and watering stop for mule teams going up and down the grade, probably in the mid 1800s and before Stagecoach road existed. The current apartments that appear in the below photos were originally a motel called the Cuesta Motel.

Updated 6/09/05.... After hearing from several people about an old gas station that existed back in the 30's and 40's, I did a little investigating, and discovered that, in addition to the motel, there was indeed a gas station here. It was a Gulf Oil station, and was located in the middle of what is now the parking lot for the realty office and apartments. A storage building now sits on top of the old cement foundation of the gas station. And according to Mike Elliott, a long time resident of the apartments, because the old 2-lane highway had to make a right turn at the bottom of the grade, occasionally, vehicles would lose their brakes and end up plowing into this Gulf gas station. On one occasion a guy was doing his business in the restroom when this happened, and he was just barely missed.

	View from the south. Originally, this was the office of the Cuesta Motel
	View from west of room A of old Cuesta Motel
	View of old Cuesta Motel from East
	View of bottom of Cuesta Grade from the south. The original route went directly in front of the motel, where the "no left turn" is painted.
	This storage building sits on top of the foundation of the old Gulf station.
	You can see the old cement slab on the sides of the building.
	Part of the old station foundation on the north side.
	Close-up view
	The roadcut on the left was not there until the mid-50's.. Traffic came around this turn and right in front of the station.

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