Travels on the Mother Road, Route 66: Part 7c, Jack Rabbit and Holbrook, Arizona (2019)

Jackrabbit Trading Post, Joseph City, Sep. 4, 2019 (Kodak Ektar 25 film, Yashica Electro 35CC camera, polarizing filter)

 We will continue our drive east through Arizona. Near Joseph City, not much remains of Route 66, just the frontage road to I-40. West of town proper was the famous Jackrabbit Trading Post. A billboard with the logo "HERE IT IS" may be one of the best known Route 66 sights. Hundreds of tourists pose in front of the sign or sit on a big jackrabbit on the other side of the interstate. For the photograph above, I waited for some people to take their pictures and leave, and caught a BNSF train thundering through.

Room with a view, Joseph City (Fuji X-E1 digital file)

The terrain around Joseph City is a bit severe. I stopped in Joseph City during my 2016 trip but totally missed the Jackrabbit sign. The town has some urban decay material.

Dinosaur, 2214 Navajo Blvd., Holbrook, AZ (Kodak TMax 400 film, Hasselblad 501CM, 80mm planar lens, polarizing filter)

Holbrook was another old-time Route 66 town. There was not much of interest on Business 40, and I completely missed the Wigwam Village Motel. Fortunately, I visited a sister Wigwam Motel on Foothills Blvd. in Rialto, California, in 2016 (see Mother Road article 1). Here in Holbrook, I was pleased to see dinosaurs in town. The truck was sort of interesting, as well.

Travels on the Mother Road, Route 66: Part 7b, Twin Arrows, Arizona (2019)

Dear readers, we are back to Route 66, the Mother Road. On my 2019 western trip, I revisited some Route 66 towns that I passed through in 2017 and checked out some spots that I totally missed before. I will continue the trek from west to east as before, and will number the locations in the same pattern as before, for example, with Part 7 being Arizona.

Twin Arrows is an abandoned rest stop, trading post and gas station just east of Flagstaff. It is distinguished by a pair of steel arrows sticking out of the ground. As noted in the Route 66 Adventure Handbook (fourth ed.) "This is the type of feature which so distinguishes the old highway's attractions from today's cookie-cutter copies." It is a pity no one has tried to revive this rest stop, but possibly Flagstaff is too short a distance to the west, and travelers would just head into town if they needed gasoline or snacks.

The original Twin Arrows, near Flagstaff, Arizona (Kodak Ektar 25 film, Yashica Electro 35CC camera, polarizer)

As you can see, there is not much left to the place. Fortunately, in this dry climate, the arrows will not corrode for years. Maybe one day they can find a new home in front of a museum or similar attraction.

Most of these views are digital files from a Moto G5 mobile phone.

Standby for more 2019 Route 66 updates. For a quick stop in Seligman, Arizona, during this 2019 trip, click this link.

Travels on the Mother Road, Route 66: Part 6b, Seligman, Arizona (2019)

Dear Readers, on my recent trip to the US southwest, my friends and I stopped in Seligman, Arizona. It is a small town in Yavapai County at 1600 m elevation on the historic Route 66. During my 2016 Route 66 trip, I drove by and totally skipped the town. Poor choice; it is full of Route 66 kitsch. It is hard to tell how much is authentic, but the current residents are certainly capitalizing on nostalgia. Mid-day on October 21, 2019, the town was bustling with tourists from many countries.

At least 2 or 3 stores feature ice cream. A hot day in the desert under the blazing sun: why not indulge in an ice-cream-cold cone or cup of sugary and calorific goodness?

Eddie and Spencer checked out the old Chevrolet police car.

OK, it is not authentic Route 66, but who cares? J&R's Minimart sells Haagen Daz ice cream.

You can stay in Seligman, if you want. The motel (or motor court) may be authentic Route 66.

After rafting on the Colorado River for 16 days and using a groover, the device in the last photograph looked quite luxurious.

Stay tuned for more Route 66 updates soon. For older Route 66 articles, type "Route 66" in the search box.

All digital images were from my Fuji X-E1 digital camera.

Travels on the Mother Road, Route 66: Part 22, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Tulsa is the second big city in Oklahoma that Route 66 travelers passed through (coming from the west). According to the Route 66 Adventure Handbook, Tulsa was the home of Cyrus Avery, who was instrumental in establishing Route 66. Tulsa was historically a major oil city.

In the 1930s, Meadow Gold Diary erected a large rooftop sign on a low building on Eleventh Street (Route 66).  In 2004, the sign was saved and re-erected on a Route 66 commemorative brick base, now at Quaker Street. Nice work to save this handsome icon.

The Boston Avenue United Methodist Church is one of the most amazing examples of Art Deco architecture that I have seen outside of New York City. According to their tour web page,

It is considered to be one of the finest examples of ecclesiastical art deco architecture in the United States and has been designated by the Department of the Interior as a National Historic Landmark. It is also an international United Methodist Historic Site and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Like many Art Deco buildings, Boston Avenue United Methodist Church reveled in the use of various different building materials, so metal, glass, terra cotta, Indiana limestone and Minnesota granite can all be found. The exterior is decorated with numerous terra cotta sculptures by the Denver sculptor, Robert Garrison, who had been a student of Adah Robinson's in Oklahoma City. These sculptures include several groups of people at prayer representing Spiritual Life, Religious Education and Worship. In these groups again can be found the motif of two hands together upward in prayer. While the building is in many ways unique, the idea of the large, semi-circular main auditorium has an earlier precursor in another Methodist church, Louis Sullivan's St. Paul's Methodist Church, designed in 1910 and built, somewhat modified, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1914.

The building's straight, vertical lines suggest the church's reaching toward God, and the tower's four shards of glass are placed at angles to the four directions - receivers and reflectors of light. The downward-flowing lines in the terra cotta motif symbolize the outpouring of God's love and are echoed throughout the building. The tower is 255 feet high and fifteen floors. The first fourteen are offices, and the top floor is a small prayer chapel with space above for an electronic carillon.

11th Street (Route 66), Tulsa (Kodak BW400CN film, Olympus Trip 35 camera)

Route 66 signs will direct you through central Tulsa, although with traffic and other distractions, they can be a bit hard to follow. On the day I was in town, the temperature was blazing, but there was a brilliant clear sky. In the northern part of town, Route 66 follows Eleventh Street for several miles. This is now a typical nasty American strip, and there was not much Route 66 architecture. I hope the photograph above conveys the sense of summer heat.

Olympus Trip 35, Kodak BW400CN film, polarizer filter

8929 11th Street, Tulsa. Olympus Trip 35, Kodak BW400CN film, polarizer filter

We saw some old motels and car dealerships, but not as interesting pickings as I expected.

Oasis Motel, 9303 E 11th Street, Tulsa, Oklahoma

The Oasis Motel at 9303 East Eleventh Street has a Route 66 appearance. The sign is, I think, a modern one intended to resemble a classic Googie sign. Googie design elements developed in the 1950s as an offshoot of Streamline Moderne architecture. "This was achieved by using bold style choices, including large pylons with elevated signs, bold neon letters and circular pavilions."

Dear Readers, this ends my 2017 trip along Route 66. Some day, I will drive the section between Tulsa and Chicago. If you want to see my articles covering the Mother Road between Los Angeles and Tulsa, you can type "Route 66" in the search box or use a Google search:  Route 66 site:worldofdecay.blogspot.com .

En route to Tulsa, we passed through McGehee, Arkansas, another small town lost in time.

The four black and white photographs above are from Kodak BW400CN film taken with an Olympus Trip 35 camera, with a polarizing filter to darken the sky. I did not have the right size polarizer, so I simply held a 52mm polarizer over the Olympus' lens.

Travels on the Mother Road, Route 66: Part 21, east central Oklahoma

Heading out of Oklahoma City, we continue east on the Mother Road.

Arcadia

Arcadia is famous for an amazing example of woodworking: the Round Barn. It was constructed in 1898 and was restored a few years ago. It houses a gift shop, which is well worth a stop. The gift shop has photographs of other barns with unusual configurations. The round design is efficient in wood use and provides a large interior volume without the need for pillars. I asked the proprietor why there are so few true round barns, and he said one main reason was that construction required a level of skill similar to boat-building. The normal country farmer did not have the woodworking skill. Look at the astonishing roof in the photograph above (click to enlarge it).

Tuton's Drugstore from the 1890s is in an unusual limestone building. 

This old gas station at 109 Main Street may date to the Route 66 days. The asbestos siding on the building could be any date from the 1920s to the 1960s.

Chandler

Chandler has an old Philips 66 gasoline station with an appropriate Cadillac in front, awaiting gallons of gasoline and patiently awaiting restoration. I have previously written about an old Valentine diner on a side street in Chandler (click the link). A 2018 comment by a reader said the diner has been moved to another town for restoration. 

It looks like folks are conservative here in the Heartland. I hope it pays off for them.

Bristow

Bristow is a quiet town about 20 miles southwest of Tulsa. I did not see too much Route 66 memorabilia on Main Street. The downtown looks prosperous, and the shops are occupied. Nice little town.

We stayed the night in a modest motel run by a Pakistani gent. The place did not offer breakfast, so we headed downtown. Bristow has a real coffee shop! I am impressed, coffee culture is finally spreading out from the cities into smaller communities. As I recall, we had excellent coffee and scones.

Continuing east from Bristow, Route 66 passes under Interstate 44 and then curves to the east, eventually crossing and running south of the interstate again.

Kellyville

Kellyville is quiet. I saw an old brick warehouse that may have been once a shed for locomotives. 

Sapulpa

Contunuing east, we reach the small town of Sapulpa. This was once the home of Frankoma Pottery, according to the Route 66 Adventure Handbook. An older alignment of Route 66, Frankoma Road, winds through woods. The Rock Creek Bridge is an early-20th century keystone type. similar to the Fairground Street Bridge in Vicksburg.

The two photographs from Sapulpa are genuine Kodak BW400CN film, shot with a Olympus Trip 35 camera. Most remaining frames are digital images from Fujifilm X-E1 digital camera, with raw files opened with Photoshop Elements and black and white filtering with DxO Filmpack 5 using the Kodak Tri-X emulation.

Update: Here are some examples of gorgeous round barns in Indiana:

https://blog.jimgrey.net/2021/04/15/the-round-barns-of-fulton-county-indiana/

Travels on the Mother Road, Route 66: Part 20, west-central Oklahoma

Dear Readers, after several interruptions for other photographic projects, it is time to continue east on our Mother Road trek. After all those interesting sites in Texas, we finally reach Oklahoma. Many people think of Oklahoma when they hear the term "Route 66," probably because of old movies and the architecture of the many classic motor courts, drive-in restaurants, and gas stations that once served travelers.

Canute

One of the first Route 66 towns in western Oklahoma is Canute, named after "Cnut the Great," King of Denmark, Norway, and England (1016 - 1035). I am not sure how a small town on the prairie came to be named after a Viking, but anthropologists do have evidence that Vikings reached North America, so it is a appropriately noble name. Did they drive on Route 66? Regardless, Route 66 was routed through town in 1926, bringing some degree of prosperity as travelers patronized restaurants and motor courts.

Waiting patiently for the photographer to finish in Canute.

El Reno

Southern Manor, 319 S. Grand Ave, El Reno, OK.

Gallagher's Pub, W. Wade Street, El Reno, OK.

El Reno looked pretty rough to me. It is a historic town at the junction of Route 66 and the old Chisolm Trail. The Southern Manor on Grand Avenue was near the Rock Island Depot and was once a businessman's hotel. As of 2017, it was being used as a residence for elderly. They were in the process of moving out pending renovations. My Route 66 Adventure Handbook claims that El Reno is widely considered the home of the onion burger. OK.....

The Hotel El Reno Hotel is supposed to be the oldest surviving commercial building in the city. It was built in 1892 at 300 South Choctaw, then the city's business district. It operated as a hotel until 1975, when it closed and deteriorated. In 1984, the Canadian County Historic Society moved the building to its present location near the Rock Island Depot. Notice how much this modest frame building looks like the Gallagher's Pub in the photograph above.

Oklahoma City

Oklahoma City is the state capital and is a major metropolitan area. I did not take any pictures in town for several reasons. First, the car thermometer was showing 38° C, or 100° F, and I was lethargic and uninspired. Second, I did not see much Route 66 architecture or memorabilia, although there must be some scattered along the original route. The state capitol has producing oil wells on the capital grounds. The first automatic parking meters were invented and installed here in 1935. The city has an Arts District and a Bricktown, so someday I need to return and explore properly.

Most photographs are from a Fujifilm X-E1 digital camera, with most raw files opened in Adobe Photoshop Elements and converted to black and white with DxO FilmPack 5. Photographs 2 and 3 in Canute are from Kodak BW400CN film shot with an Olympus Trip 35 compact camera, with polarizer filter to darken the sky.

Travels on the Mother Road, Route 66: Part 19, McClean, Texas

McClean is another now-quiet Route 66 Texas town that is trying to reinvent itself or at least attract more Route 66 voyagers. It looks like so many other small towns in the heartland: a main strip, sturdy square-front shops, of which some are occupied but many empty, an occasional hair/fingernails emporium, and an occasional government entity in one of the storefronts. This could be in Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, or Oklahoma.

The outskirts of town have some interesting farm sheds, but probably not of interest to the typical Route 66 traveler.

Ah ha, an artist has been at work on a 66 mural.

We saw another classic 1920s peaked-roof Phillips 66 station. This one was restored by the Texas Route 66 Association, according to the Route 66 Adventure Handbook ("Turbocharged Fourth Edition").

Here is a mid-century gas station, possibly clad with enameled steel panels, although not in the best condition.

This little house was across the street from the Phillips 66 restored station. The housing stock in McClean was mixed, but mostly rather rough. We only stayed a short while and proceeded on our way on the Mother Road.

Digital images are from a Fujifilm X-E1 camera.

Update: I found a black and white film photograph of the Phillips 66 station from my Olympus Trip 35 camera on Kodak BW400CN film. A polarizer enhanced the clouds. Comments welcome on whether you prefer the color or monochrome versions.