When past meets future would be an apt description of the historic 2014 International Route 66 Festival. That festival was a crossroads—literally and metaphorically—where history, innovation, opportunity, economic development, and the international Route 66 community intersected.
In August 2014, a grassroots initiative spearheaded by the Route 66 Association of Kingman, Arizona formed to bring this transformative event that was themed “Kingman: Crossroads of the Past & Future” to town. That festival, and its attendant Crossroads of the Past & Future Conference, left ripples in the Route 66 community that still echo today.
1. The Vision: Crossroads of the Past & Future Conference
One of the most ambitious components of the 2014 festival was the Crossroads of the Past & Future Conference. Much of the material is still relevant. Fortunately it can still be viewed in its entirety on the Mohave County YouTube channel.
The conference gathered historians, Route 66 association leaders (state, national, and international), electric vehicle experts, tourism professionals, economic development directors, and city planners. Speakers included luminaries in the Route 66 world—among them Michael Wallis – representatives from European Route 66 groups, and Kaisa Barthuli, Director of the National Park Service Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program.
The goal was to explore how the legacy of U.S. 66 could blend with emerging technologies, sustainable travel, and new forms of interpretation to ensure the highway remained relevant into the centennial and beyond. There was also a focus on strengthening the international Route 66 community by providing inspiration and fostering development of a network of cooperative partnerships. It was a bold attempt to reposition Kingman as the crossroads of the past and future, not just as a stop on the way to somewhere else.
2. The Electric Vehicle Exhibit & the Historic EV Foundation
One of the most tangible “future-forward” elements in Kingman during that festival was a display of historic electric vehicles. Organized by the nascent Historic Electric Vehicle Foundation, the exhibit featured classic EVs from various eras as well as modern electrics. Many of the vehicles displayed became the foundation for an embryonic EV museum that would chronicle the 130 year history of EVs.
The small exhibit in the Powerhouse Visitor Center was relatively dormant until 2023. But the Historic Electric Vehicle Foundation has purchased several historic buildings, and reached an agreement with the City of Kingman for another. Grants have been acquired and fund raising initiatives will launch soo.
There is an ambitious plan to have stage one of he museum and conference center open in 2026. That would be timely as it would set the stage for the dawn of new era on Route 66 during the highways centennial year.
In many ways, the EV exhibit at the 2014 festival acted as a bridge. It connected nostalgia and innovation, and reminded festival-goers that the road ahead is as important as the road behind.
3. The Route 66 Walk of Fame: Promise and Abandonment
Another centerpiece of the 2014 festival was the Route 66 Walk of Fame. It was conceived as a promotional tool for an annual Crossroads of the Past & Future Festival, and to make Kingman a focal point for the Route 66 centennial.
The idea was simple. Every year before the festival the Route 66 community would nominate and vote on inductees. Then at each festival the commemorative bricks for the inductees would be installed. For the centennial edition of the festival the city would have a focal point that was internationally known as a destination.
The festival foundered after the first year. It was rebadged as Best of the West on 66 in 2015. And that was it. The tourism office shifted focus toward more established events.
In the wake of the festival, a few inductees were honored. For example:
- Dries Bessels and his wife Marion (founders of the Dutch Route 66 Association) were honored in Kingman with a brick in the Walk of Fame.
- Other 2015 inductees included Czech Route 66 Association founders Zdnek & Eva Jurasek, Australian enthusiasts and toru company owners Dale and Kristi-Anne Butel, artist Bob Waldmire, and preservation pioneer John Wiess.
The Walk of Fame generated tremendous international media interest. And it became a destination. A television station fromm Australia traveled to Kingman. Tour groups posed with the embryonic Walk of Fame. Inductees traveled from throughout the United States and Europe. The evidence mounted that this was a novel way for Kingman to position itself on the Mother Road’s global stage. And visionaries could see that this would be a major attraction during the highways centennial.
4. Walk of Fame, Part Two
The project proved fragile from the start. Grassroots initiatives and volunteers are crucial for fostering development of a sense of community and community purpose. But volunteers tire. Vaolunteers have jobs and families. And volunteers move.
As the city of Kingman’s tourism office declined to sustain the festival and conference, support for the Walk of Fame also dried up. That, however, was not the end of the story.
Some of the Walk of Fame bricks were salvaged and incorporated into Depot Plaza. This joint project between the City of Kingman and Kingman Main Street became the starting point for the innovative Kingman Tours project.
Developed by Talisman Magic Marketing for Kingman Main Street, Kingman Tours was a virtual as well as physical tour of the historic business district. The physical tour used QR code technology to create a narrated, self guided tour.
The old Walk of Fame has faded as a destination. But it is a focal point for Depot Plaza and Kingman Tours. And Kingman Main Street sells commerative bricks in the plaza as a fund raising mechanism.
5. Attendance, Footprints, and Ripple Effects
The 2014 festival attracted people from more than 30 states and six countries. As the event was largely organized by volunteers in less than 9 months, the festival reflects the power of a passionate grassroots initiative.
Local news outlests were surprised and noted “thousands” of visitors. For a number of communities that had representatives at the festival the event became a proof-of-concept for heritage tourism as a catalyst for downtown and economic revitalization.
The first European Route 66 festivals can be traced to the initial discussion at the 2014 festival. And the annual Route 66 Miles of Possibility Conference was patterned after the 2014 Crossroads of Past & Future Conference.
Another example of the festivals impact is found at the iconic U Drop Inn in Shamrock, Texas.
6. Larry Clonts, Shamrock, and the U-Drop Inn Transformation
In an interview Larry Clonts, Director at Shamrock EDC, recounted that at the conference he had an opportunity to talk with people associated with Tesla and with the Historic Electric Vehicle Foundation. The conversation turned toward the future and Route 66 as an “electric highway.”
That gave Clonts an idea. What if Shamrock’s restored U-Drop Inn could incorporate EV charging? So, a Tesla Supercharger and EV charging station was installed at the U-Drop Inn. The buildings past as a 1930s cafe and gas station was blended with modern technology to create an EV-friendly stop for a new and future generation of traveler.
By linking classic Route 66 nostalgia with the future of mobility, Clonts helped place U-Drop Inn a the crossroads of the past and future. It was a manifestation of the theme that Kingman embraced in 2014. The U-Drop Inn now houses a museum, visitor center, retro café, and becomes a frequent stop for EV travelers.
Shamrock’s success offers a compelling case study. A small town borrowed ideas from Kingman’s festival and reused them to revitalize its own downtown asset. And it became a template for other communities.
7. Kingman’s Walkthrough Revival
Depot Plaza is perfectly positioned at the historic railroad depot (4th Street & Andy Devine Ave.). This is the intersection of two evolutionary alignments of Route 66.
The plaza as a starting point for Kingman Tours has played a role in transforming the flow of foot traffic in the historic business district. For several years the Powerhouse Visitor Center was a reverse funnel. It was the destination. People stopped. People left.
Now the flow of foot traffic is from the Powerhouse. That has given business owners a boost. In turn this has contributed to an increase in sales tax revenues.
And Depot Plaza is becoming the attraction envisioned for the Walk of Fame. The commemorative bricks from the Walk of Fame, bricks sold by Kingman Main Street, and a life-sized bronze sculpture of me commissioned by Kingman Main Street has made the plaza a destination.
Kingman Tours, Depot Plaza, and adaptive reuse of those Walk of Fame bricks speak to the resilience of ideas. And again this is a testmonial about the power of grassroots initiatives.
8. Beale Street Infrastructure & Streetscape: Building the Canvas
The 2014 festival is often referenced as a turning point. This event is credited as being the dawn for the historic district renaissance that is ongoing.
The latest manifestation of that renaissance is the award winning Beale Street Streetscape / Infrastructure Project. Upon completion the Beale Street corridor from First to Sixth Streets was transformed into a more walkable, historic-character street.
The project scope included ADA-compliant sidewalks, curb ramps, lighting, landscaping, wayfinding signage, street furniture, pavement improvements, and improved pedestrian crossings. In 2025, Kingman’s Beale Street project was honored with a Project of the Year award from the Arizona Chapter of the American Public Works Association (APWA), recognizing its success in small city / rural revitalization.
Years passed between discussion, planning, and execution. But what’s key is that infrastructure improvements created a more inviting environment for businesses, pedestrians, and public events. That set the stage for the smaller-scale cultural and heritage projects to thrive. And it fostered an environment ideally suited for entrepreneurs with vision.
But it also highlighted the glaring disconnect that hindered the city’s ability to fully capitalize on the opportunites created by the 2014 festival. The Beale Street infrastrucutre project included beautifully designed wayfinding signs with a downtown map, and historic photo with brief descriptor.
Missing was any reference to the Kingman Tours project developed by Kingman Main Street. No QR code. No notation about “discover more of the historic heart of Kingman with Kingman Tours.”
This is a classic lesson. Your festival can be a catalyst for revitalization. But then future festivals and projects will only be as strong as the streetscape that supports it.
9. Kingman vs. Pontiac
In a future project we will examine how Pontiac, Illinois was transformed from a moribund midwest small town with stunning historic district into a destination. And we will also do a comparative study of Pontiac and Kingman.
This blog will center on heritage tourism, the sense of community that comes with it, and how a community can be transformed when architecture, civic will, and storytelling align. Kingman’s experience, meanwhile, offers valuable cautionary insight. Even brilliant concepts need a robust foundation of funding, institutional commitment, and phased scaling to endure.
That said, Kingman is far from a failure story. The EV museum exists and is moving forward. The tours are active even if they are disconnected from components that could have been linked. Depot Plaza, a dream several years ago, is now a gathering spot and destination. Beale Street is now more inviting and as evidenced by crowds numbering in the thousands that turn out for First Friday festivities, is fast being restored as the historic heart of the city.
The festival of 2014 planted seeds, even if the full orchard has yet to mature.
10. Questions for the Road (And Invitation to You)
If you’ve made it this far, I have a few questions for you—yes, you, the reader:
- Which elements of Kingman’s 2014 vision do you see as most salvageable today?
The EV museum? The Walk of Fame? The conference format? - What funding models do you believe would sustain a route-driven downtown revitalization?
Dedicated tax, public-private partnerships, nonprofit endowment, or else? - Have you visited Kingman (or Pontiac) and have observations or photos to share?
Tell us in the comments—where did the walking tour resonate (or disappoint)? - Should Kingman revive the Walk of Fame in the centennial era?
If yes, who would you induct? - What would you change in how Kingman structured the 2014 festival, if you were advising the city?
I sincerely invite you to join the Jim Hinckley’s America network—subscribe to this blog and the Coffee With Jim podcast. Share your stories, and offer feedback. Together, we can find what works and what doesn’t when trying to revitalize a historic business district.
Whether you are a small-town planner, a heritage nonprofit director, or simply a traveler who cares about community and the stories behind the road, your ideas matter. Use Kingman and Pontiac as case studies. Map what succeeded, what failed, and what might yet blossom.
Together, we’ll keep turning stones along Route 66 and in small town America, connecting past and future one step at a time.
Safe travels —
Jim Hinckley
Jim Hinckley’s America
Thank you. Shared adventures are the best adventures.