It was formerly part of
U.S. Route 80, and became a
business loop for
Interstate 8 when U.S. Route 80 was decommissioned and replaced by the interstate. It is designated as a historic highway by the state of California. Only portions of what would become El Cajon Boulevard in both
La Mesa and
El Cajon were originally part of US 80. During a re-routing through
San Diego onto Park Boulevard in 1929, the western portion of El Cajon Boulevard was added to US 80. The next section of El Cajon Boulevard added to US 80 was between La Mesa and El Cajon around 1940. The State Theatre opened in 1940. Designed by architect
S. Charles Lee. The building possessed a 125 foot spiral tower with a blinking beacon on top that could be seen for miles, interior murals illuminated in
blacklight and colorful
terrazzo sidewalks out front. The theatre was demolished in 1987. The first
Jack in the Box restaurant was opened at 6270 El Cajon Boulevard by
Robert O. Peterson in 1951. The site had originally been a drive-in diner called "Topsy's", later renamed "Oscar's" after Peterson's middle name, which was a classic drive-in where food was served by
carhops to patrons in the parking lot. Jack in the Box was the first
drive-through, with the innovation of a two-way intercom that allowed one car to place an order while another car was being served. Other restaurants had previously offered drive-up window service, but Jack in the Box was the first major chain to make drive-through windows the focus of its operation. Today, most of the route from La Mesa to El Cajon has been overlaid by I-8. The final part of El Cajon Boulevard to receive the US 80 designation was a small piece between Park Boulevard and Normal Street in the late 1940s early 1950s when US 80 was re-routed off Park Boulevard onto the new
Cabrillo Freeway. US 80 ceased to exist legislatively within California after July 1, 1964. The street was the site of the
El Cajon Boulevard Riot in August 1960, also known as the Drag Strip Riot, considered one of the first major youth riots of the 1960s. In the latter part of the 20th century, El Cajon Boulevard developed an unsavory reputation as a hotspot for prostitution. On June 6, 1963, President
John F. Kennedy rode in an open "bubble car" in a
motorcade headed east on El Cajon Boulevard on his way to give a
commencement speech and receive an honorary degree at
San Diego State College. In 2008 and 2009, the
Voice of San Diego and
KPBS reported that El Cajon Boulevard was part of a circuit of west coast cities where
prostitution would move around to avoid warrants and arrests. After the interstate shifted traffic away from the boulevard, businesses suffered and it became a "hotspot" for vice and illegal
sex traficking. In 2015, a state of the art new
YMCA facility at the intersection with Fairmount Road opened up on land donated by philanthropist
Robert Price. Dedicated to serving community members in
City Heights,
Talmadge and
Kensington, disparate economic, ethnic and cultural differences of people who live on either side of El Cajon Boulevard were exposed. In 2020, a dedicated
bus-only lane intended to improve
traffic congestion and increase public transportation use was established as part of San Diego's "
Climate Action Plan" along three miles of the Boulevard in 2020. == Business Districts ==