Day Trip: Holbrook, AZ

SOUTHWESTERN USA
RS ROAD TRIP


August 26, 2017 (Day 19)
Day Trip: Holbrook, Arizona
Day Trip Miles: 10 / Total Trip Miles: 2,871

Today's Route

(Click on map to enlarge)

Holbrook, Arizona (elevation 5,100 ft / population 5,100) was formerly known as Horsehead Crossing. Holbrook was founded in 1881 when the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad arrived—the town was named after the chief engineer, Henry Holbrook. Early Holbrook was a town of railroaders and cattlemen, outlaws and rugged lawmen.  

1950s Postcard - Hiway House Motel 

Holbrook has been the home to many Route 66 motels and eateries—Holbrook Motel; Plainsman Restaurant; Hiway House Motel & Coffee Shop; Motel Tonto; Woods Inn; Whiting Motel and Wigwam Motel. Today, most of these vintage motels are out-of-business and/or badly deteriorated. 


PHOTOS
(Click on Photo for a Larger Image)

 Vintage Route 66 Cafe

Located on Historic Route 66, Joe & Aggie’s is the oldest restaurant in Holbrook, dating back to 1946. The cafe opened the same year that Bobby Troup headed west in his Buick convertible on Route 66 and wrote the song “(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66.”

{Photo on flickr}

Sleep in a Wigwam

{Photo on flickr}

Wigwam Motel
{Photo on flickr}

Wigwam Motels (aka "Wigwam Villages") is a motel chain of teepees built during the 1930s and 1940s. Originally there were seven different locations: two locations in Kentucky and one each in Alabama, Florida, Arizona, Louisiana, and California. Frank Redford developed the concept after adding teepee-shaped motel units around a museum he had built to house his collection of Native American artifacts. Redford applied for a patent on the ornamental design of the buildings, and was granted a Design Patent in 1936. Three of these distinctive historic landmarks have survived.  Two of the surviving motels are located on historic Route 66: in Holbrook, Arizona, and on the boundary between Rialto and San Bernardino, California. All three of the surviving motels are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Chester Lewis built the Holbrook Wigwam Village in 1950. The motel was based on the original plans of Frank Redford. Lewis became aware of the distinctive wigwam designs when passing through Cave City, Kentucky in 1938. He purchased the rights to Redford's design, as well as the right to use the name "Wigwam Village." In a novel royalty agreement, coin-operated radios were installed in Lewis's Wigwam Village, and every dime inserted for 30 minutes of play would be sent to Redford as payment. Lewis operated the motel until closing it in 1974 when Interstate 40 bypassed downtown Holbrook. Two years after his death in 1986, Lewis' sons Clifton and Paul and daughter Elinor renovated the motel before reopening it in 1988.

The Roxy

The Roxy Theater opened in 1954 on Route 66, replacing an earlier Roxy Theatre that dated back to the 1930s. The Roxy seats 327. The theater closed in 1994, but reopened in 2003 after a renovation project.

{Photo on flickr}

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Later Today
Mary and I drive south to explore the Petrified Forest section of Petrified Forest National Park.

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Tomorrow
We drive to the southern rim of the Grand Canyon National Park. 

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Copyright
These photographs are the property of Leon Jackson, and are protected by copyright laws. Photographs may not to be downloaded or reproduced in any way without the written permission of Leon Jackson. © 2017 Leon Jackson. All Rights Reserved.

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