End of historic US highway 541
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US 541 was commissioned in 1931, a few years after the US route system was established, and it existed for only 20 years. Its original north end was in Tampa (at the intersection of Florida Avenue and Hillsborough Avenue). This image was looking north at that intersection:
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Nitzman, Sep. 2016
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Hillsborough carries US 92, and US 541 ended there at that junction. But after two years, US 541 was extended a bit further north, to the point where today's Business US 41 ends at mainline US 41 (near Chapman Lake). These photos were looking south on US 41; the north beginning of US 541 was along what is now signed as Business 41:
Nasiatka, Jan. 2002
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Nitzman, Jun. 2020
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US 541 essentially functioned as an alternate to US 41, or a long business loop; its south end was not far from Tampa, in Palmetto:
c. 1940, Rand McNally
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The photos below were all taken from the same perspective: looking south on 8th Avenue West (today's Business US 41) at 10th Street (FL hwy. 43). To the left was historically northbound US 41, and straight ahead was southbound US 41, so US 541 ended here. But in the middle photo, note the guy at left holding a custom historic US 541 shield. That was specially manufactured so that the sign could be temporarily posted at the historic terminus (last photo):
In 1951, the US 301 designation was extended south along what had been US 41 to Palmetto. The US 41 designation was moved over to what had been US 541, so there was no longer a need for the US 541 designation.
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Research and/or photo credits: Robert Droz; Jeff Morrison; J.P. Nasiatka; Alex Nitzman; Dale Sanderson; Michael Summa
Page originally created 2001;
last updated Dec. 7, 2023.
last updated Dec. 7, 2023.
