Jill's Journal: In the middle of nowhere, on a highway with minimal traffic by California standards, is what is surely one of the most famous intersections of the last century. It was here that legendary actor James Dean, at the tender age of 24, collided with an even-younger college student in 1955. The blazing sun over the hills at the end of the day is blinding and while Dean’s last words to his surviving passenger were something to the effect of, “That guy’s got to see us,” the other driver, in a sturdy American car, did not. He supposedly turned right in front of Dean and his little Porsche Spyder. Dean was dead on arrival at the hospital in Paso Robles, a good 30 minutes away on modern roads.
The intersection was reshaped in the immediate years after the gruesome accident, with the harsh curve straightened out to avoid similar incidents. Today, on a barbed wire fence closest to the spot where Dean’s car came to rest, is a makeshift memorial with all sorts of interesting items ranging from cigarettes to old beer bottles and cans to 1950s-style sunglasses. There’s a plaque from Dean’s high school in Indiana and pictures of the accident scene, plus a number of coins and wilted bouquets.
About 900 yards west of the accident's location is a small parking lot with a memorial to Dean around a large “tree of heaven.” It's all located in a tiny town called Cholame, which consists of one beaten-down restaurant and a few scattered ranches. It’s hard to imagine anyone taking much notice of this town --then or now-- without its macabre day of 55 years ago, but it made for an interesting afternoon all these years later.
Jill's Journal: In the middle of nowhere, on a highway with minimal traffic by California standards, is what is surely one of the most famous intersections of the last century. It was here that legendary actor James Dean, at the tender age of 24, collided with an even-younger college student in 1955. The blazing sun over the hills at the end of the day is blinding and while Dean’s last words to his surviving passenger were something to the effect of, “That guy’s got to see us,” the other driver, in a sturdy American car, did not. He supposedly turned right in front of Dean and his little Porsche Spyder. Dean was dead on arrival at the hospital in Paso Robles, a good 30 minutes away on modern roads.
The intersection was reshaped in the immediate years after the gruesome accident, with the harsh curve straightened out to avoid similar incidents. Today, on a barbed wire fence closest to the spot where Dean’s car came to rest, is a makeshift memorial with all sorts of interesting items ranging from cigarettes to old beer bottles and cans to 1950s-style sunglasses. There’s a plaque from Dean’s high school in Indiana and pictures of the accident scene, plus a number of coins and wilted bouquets.
About 900 yards west of the accident's location is a small parking lot with a memorial to Dean around a large “tree of heaven.” It's all located in a tiny town called Cholame, which consists of one beaten-down restaurant and a few scattered ranches. It’s hard to imagine anyone taking much notice of this town --then or now-- without its macabre day of 55 years ago, but it made for an interesting afternoon all these years later.
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