This 1920s postcard shows Rainbow Bridge along the San Simeon Highway on the dramatic coastal route south of Carmel, California.
Construction of California’s early coastal highways during the 1910s and 1920s transformed access to the rugged central coast. Engineers designed bridges and roadways that followed steep cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean, linking communities such as Carmel, San Simeon, and Monterey while opening the region to automobile tourism. These scenic routes quickly became iconic examples of early highway engineering in the American West and laid the groundwork for the later development of the Pacific Coast Highway.
The postcard illustration presents a sweeping view of the arched Rainbow Bridge spanning a deep coastal ravine carved into the red cliffs above the shoreline. The roadway extends across tall concrete supports before curving into the hills beyond, while the Pacific surf breaks along the narrow beach below. The composition emphasizes both the scale of the bridge structure and the striking natural landscape that made California’s central coast one of the most celebrated scenic drives of the early automobile era.
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