The water tower in Kingman, Arizona, proudly states, "Welcome to Kingman, Heart of Historic Route 66." The city fathers might be a bit optimistic, but Route 66 does run through Kingman on Andy Devine Avenue, and there are a number of interesting vintage motels to examine. Notice the dry terrain in the distance. Although the city is located on the eastern edge of the Mojave Desert, it experiences a "cold semi-arid climate" (BSk) instead of desert, according to the Köppen climate classification.
The El Trovatore Motel (named after Giuseppe Verdi's opera
Il Trivarore?) is a quintessential Route 66 stopover. I should have stayed here but had checked into a dive on the other side of town.
Nice mural! I processed this frame in color to show the brilliant colors. This must represent Elvis before his sequined outfit Vegas era. Marilyn gets around, too.
This was a cleaver map showing the Route 66 stretching to Chicago in the distance.
A Native American brave and Mr. Magoo also fit into the decorative scheme. Interesting place.
Across Andy Devive Avenue from the El Trovatore, the R&R Body Shop was restoring a Chevrolet Greenbriar rampside pickup truck. According to
Wikipedia, "The Rampside had a side ramp to be used for loading and unloading cargo. These were used by the Bell Telephone Company, because loading and unloading of cable drums was eased by the side ramp."
The Neuter clinic was a short distance away. I wonder who was to receive the service that morning?
The Acadia Lodge has seen better days. What is it with the Greek theme in these desert communities?
The Siesta Apartments were a step further down the food chain. I'm glad I stayed in the dive where I checked in the previous evening instead of the Siesta.
The older section of Kingman, near the depot, has a lot of empty buildings and empty lots.
North of I-40, Kingman is a modern American strip town with no Route 66 memorabilia. Historic Route 66 sets off to the northeast, soon leaving Kingman behind and traversing empty countryside. In about 25 miles from I-40, you reach Hackberry. Time stood still here.
Some of you old-timer readers may remember S&H Green Stamps. When you bought products from a participating store, you received some green stamps, which you pasted into a booklet. After you filled enough booklets, you could choose a toaster or other appliance from a catalog. I never figured out who profited from this arrangement, but surely the sponsors were assuming that many customers would forget their stamp books in drawers and never cash in.
I remember these kinds of gasoline pumps where the numbers were on a rotating wheel. They were easier to read in bright sun than the LCD displays on contemporary pumps.
Not much was happening at this Hackberry motel. Note the stone veneer on the building.
Route 66 continues east through more semi-desert terrain. I wanted a snack, and fortunately, there was a casino and Hualapai Tribal headquarters at Peach Springs. From there, Route 66 swung to the southeast, finally rejoining I-40 at Seligman. We will continue our tour in the next installment.
Digital images taken with a Fuji X-E1 digital camera. I used a polarizer on many frames to darken the sky, and I set my camera on square format to emulate Rolleiflex frames.
