Welcome To Route 66 Arizona
American history, then and now.
The story of Route 66 in Arizona is the story of what made this state and this country the greatest in the world. The ability to move freely and explore the magnificient resources and opportunities available to the citizens of this country offered the ability to make our lives better and more prosperous...The American Dream.
Our DVD provides a wonderful mix of today with the historic. Narrated
by William Strickland who has captured the essence
of storytelling with humor, and the ability to draw you in to the trip
we take along the Mother Road.
Feel free to distribute these clips to your friends. Complete DVD's
are available for sale thorugh our site.
Along the way...
Seligman, was established in 1886 as the connecting point of Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, with a long abandoned rail line extending south to Prescott. As the railroad barreled through Arizona to align the rich resources of the west with the businesses of the east, it gave birth to many such towns along the way. The town owes its name to the Seligman brothers, two New York bankers who helped finance the rail line south. Jesse Seligman, who with his seven brothers came to America from Baiersdorf, Bavaria, soon earned worldwide recognition as a leader in international banking and railroad financing. For his efforts in raising money for the project, railroad officials chose to honor the New York financier by naming an emerging western town in the Arizona territory after him.
From the eastern border until you reach Seligman, Route 66 closely follows Interstate 40. From here, the old route veers away from I-40 on the longest unbroken original stretch of the Mother Road, taking you all the way to the California border and providing numerous vintage photo opportunities, ghost towns, and haunting views of the Arizona landscape. It is the home of Angel Delgadillo, rightly called the grandfather of historic route 66. He and his brother Juan were the driving force which brought about the eventual designation of the old highway now known as Historic Route 66 in Arizona.
Don’t miss the Twin Arrows Trading Post on your way through Winona to Flagstaff. Called the City of Seven Wonders, Flagstaff provides numerous opportunities for recreation and sight-seeing, not to mention its many Route 66 era buildings. Be sure to stop in at the Museum Club, at the east end of Route 66, before heading to the vintage downtown district that provides a peek at the historic Hotel Monte Vista, built in 1926 and the old Santa Fe Railroad Depot.
Continuing your westward journey, you will pass several small towns on your way to Williams, the very last town on all of Route 66 to be bypassed by the interstate. It is here in Williams, that you have the wonderful opportunity to take a side trip to the magnificent Grand Canyon, just some 60 miles north.
The next segment of the road may find your ears popping as you drop down from the mountains to the Arizona plains. At Seligman, the town displays its pride in the Mother Road with several vintage businesses including Juan Delgadillo’s famous Snow Cap Drive-In and his brother, Angel's barber shop. Though the barber shop is closed, it still stands intact, complete with equipment, and now serves as a Visitor Center run by the family.
At this point, Route 66 veers north away from I-40, where you will pass through several small towns including Grand Canyon Caverns, Peach Springs, and Valentine before dropping south again towards Kingman. Kingman is home to the historic Hotel Brunswick and the Arizona Route 66 Association in Kingman's Powerhouse Building. A short side-trip off Route 66 from Kingman will take you northwest some twenty miles to the well-preserved ghost town of Chloride.
Continuing south for a short period, Route 66 turns west again at McConnico, as you travel along the Oatman Highway. Oatman is a ghost town with a long mining history. Here, you will see vintage icons of the Old West before heading south to Topock, where you will cross the Colorado River to enter the Golden State of California.
Diamond Valley Productions, Inc. Prescott, Az. 928-925-0621