Interested in joining the Automobile Club of Southern California? Learn more about the benefits of the Automobile Club Of Southern California …
Most people consider the Automobile Club of Southern California to be an emergency roadside assistance service. However, they also provide directions and maps to assist consumers with travel planning.
Services
This includes car rental services, locating ship and cruise services and allowing you to enjoy discounted travel. Apart from this you can even book hotels and tickets for airplane travel. Not only can you search online for maps, but you can also get travel directions or speak personally to a trip advisor who can offer valuable advice.
It is also possible to get the departure to destination directions if you are taking a road trip. A car loan or insurance arrangements can also be acquired through the Automobile Club of Southern California.
History of the Automobile Club of Southern California
It was established in the 1900s in Los Angeles with the aim of providing better road services, proposing traffic laws and improving overall driving conditions in the nation as a pioneer in motor clubs.
It was actually responsible for creating one of the first highways known as the Ridge Route, which runs through the Tehachapi Mountains and the San Gabriel Mountains.
These link Los Angeles with Bakersfield and with the Central Valley. In fact, it is the establishment of this route that prevented splitting the state of California into two separate states from the mountains.
Initially the club had utilized cartographers to conduct a survey of the roads in the state of Southern California and then developed the singular signing system. There were many traffic signs of the porcelain and steel type. This process was stopped when the state of California took charge in the middle of the 1950s.
Growth and Progress of the Club
In the 1920s the auto club’s main office was established on the corner of Figueroa Street and Adams Boulevard. In fact, it was designed by the reputed architect Sumner P. Hunt. The beautiful building was initially designed in the style known as the Spanish Colonial Revival theme. Today it functions as the district office for the State Government of Los Angeles.
Even though the headquarters of the club are still located in Los Angeles, its administrative division has shifted to Costa Mesa. In fact the courtyard functioned as the premises for the Annual Outing Show from 1934 to 1941. It actually promoted the RV vacations and motor camping as a vacation option. When the Great War started this campaign was halted and it was not revived again.
The Automobile Club of Southern California took on a leadership role in the war by taking on the drives for collecting metal and scrap rubber. They were popularly known for their contribution to the war effort. They encouraged everyone to give rides to the servicemen who were hitchhiking from different areas in a campaign entitled “Give Them a Lift”.
In recent years it has become affiliated with one of the largest insurers that provide coverage for home insurance as well as RV’s, trucks and cars as well as water crafts. In fact, the insurance division is perhaps the largest affiliate of the AAA or American Automobile Association.
