Two famous trees marking CA's midway point will make way for a wider highway. But there's a silver lining

To get to the alleged midway point of California from downtown L.A., you'd need to hit the 5 northward and eventually connect to State Route 99.

Some four hours and 235 miles later, you'll see the landmark colloquially known as "The Palm and The Pine," sitting unassumingly in the median on Highway 99. Blink and you could miss them — these two trees were planted to mark the purported spot that separates the northern part of the state from, ahem, the better sunny Southern part.

For as long as anyone can remember, they have stood at that location — the state's reputed center — like an odd hitchhiking couple as vehicles of all manners zip between the state's two halves. No plaques, no markers — meaning most Californians and drivers might even not know about their existence, let alone their symbolic significance.

The end of an era

You have about a good year and some to check out this California oddity for yourself, because the two trees are slated for removal to make way for the most California of things — a highway expansion.

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The Caltrans project is slated to begin in the fall of 2025 and will widen Highway 99 from four to six lanes along a 8-mile stretch. The expansion includes the addition of a concrete center divider for safety reasons — to be constructed at the very location where the Palm and the Pine are now.

"We have to remove the trees, unfortunately," said Larry Johnson, a Caltrans spokesperson for the area. "It just can't be in the center divide because of the way the project is going to be handled."

All is not lost

To pay tribute to the original Palm and Pine, the agency plans to devote a new area just off the freeway — "to the west side of where they are now," said Johnson — to make it all better.

Instead of two trees, the plan is to have a grove.

"We're going to plant 15 new palm trees and 15 new pine trees," said Johnson, along with an irrigation system. "So hopefully that irrigation is going to let those trees blossom and be around for the next hundred years as well."

The ballad of The Palm and The Pine

How the Palm and Pine found themselves standing side by side in the middle of a bustling highway at the center of California is a story that befits the best of California mythologies — because nobody actually knows how it happened.

Johnson at Caltrans said he's read articles dating the trees back to around the 1920s — but that's about it. One thing he is more certain about: Caltrans had replaced the pine after its predecessor was knocked down from what he remembered as a storm in the mid-2000s.

"Caltrans apparently did not keep as good a record of that particular part of the highway as you would expect," said book author and columnist Steve Newvine, who lives in Central Valley and has written copiously about the two trees.

Newvine, a former TV news broadcaster, found out about the Palm and the Pine from a friend some 15 years ago. He was so taken by their symbolism that he started digging deeper into their history.

"There are some theories that maybe a business owner put the trees in front of the business and then when the highway was expanded they just left the trees there," said Newvine.

Another rumor Newvine heard had it that the trees were planted by college students as some sort of project. But the best testament Newvine found of the trees' stubbornly mysterious provenance is that Huell Howser himself had fallen short at cracking the puzzle.

"He did a half hour show on California's Gold," said Newvine. "At the end of the 30 minutes... he didn't know, and nobody really knew for sure."

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The center will not hold

One thing that has been debunked is that the trees are not, in fact, situated at the dead center of the state.

"The true center of California is 40 miles to the east of those trees in a community called North Fork," said Newvine.

Still, the landmark has become an indelible part of the California imagination. Not only was it referenced in a folk song, but its quirky poeticism continues to inspire businesses looking for a cool name.

"To me it represents what's possible in California. You can have the warmth and the other benefits from the southern part of our state. And you can drive to the open spaces and experience the seasonal weather in the north," said Newvine.

As to the removal of this symbol, the writer said it's about "progress." He remembered when Highway 99 was so busy and dangerous the advice once upon a time was for drivers to stay away.

"We'll get through this, losing the trees," said Newvine. "You'll have 15 palms, 15 pines, I got to believe that is going to be a good representation for the region. I'm optimistic that it will be a positive way to showcase the communities."