community development

Gone But Not Forgotten

"The Stony Wold Motel, Kingman, Arizona is constrcuted entirely of black malapai stone, a volcanic stone found abundantly in colorful Arizona. Thoroughly fire proof. Interiors are luxuriously furnished in Monterey furniture with an emphasis on comfortable beds....

Myth, Legend & BS

The forlorn looking White Rock Court is counted among the rarest of Route 66 motels. It is a prewar auto court. And it was the only motel in Kingman to be listed in the Negro Motorist Green Book. In 1915 when Edsel Ford and his college buddies followed the National...

A Memorial Day To Remember

Plans for landscaping of the grounds at the new Mohave County Courthouse were delayed due to WWI. But by the mid-1920s retaining walls had been completed and trees planted. Then in 1928 a monument with plaque that read, “IN MEMORY OF THE MEN AND WOMEN OF MOHAVE COUNTY...

Another Time Capsule

The Old Trails Garage dates to 1915. It was built by J.W. Thompson for M.G. Wagner who had operated the original Old Trails Garage on South Front Street, now Topeka Street. At the time this was the course followed by the National Old Trails Road. This is one of the...

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The VIP Treatment

The VIP Treatment

The 19th century courthouse in Pontiac, Illinois is an architectural gem. Casting long shadows across the square is a towering monument to honor Civil War veterans of Livingston County. Mayor Rathbun and President Theodore Roosevelt officiated at the dedication...

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The Phoenix – Part Two

The Phoenix – Part Two

Like it or not, times change. Between 1930 and 1950, just like with Route 66, Kingman changed rather dramatically. And the Kingman of 1966 was not the Kingman of 1950, 1980, or 2000. With the city council giving the green light to the implementation of the Downtown Infrastructure Design Project on May 16, the historic heart of the city will experience the most dynamic transformation since the Route 66 bypass.

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Gunfighters, Folk Artists, and Trains

Pontaic, Illinois harnessed Waldmire’s popularity in the Route 66 and folk art community as an integral component in the development of tourism that literally transformed the town into a destination. Kingman, Arizona has an an orignal Bob Waldmire mural, and a display of his orignal work, at TNT Engineering, orignally a Ford dealership built along Route 66 in the 1960s.  
Waldmire’s work isn’t recognized or promoted in the Kingman’s official tourism marketing. An innovative narrated self guided historic district walking tour developed by Kingman Main Street finally put the mural and other public art displays in the spotlight. But a year after its introudction the walking tour still hasn’t been included in the city’s tourism marketing initiatives. 

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The Phoenix – Part One

"Prescott is a Wonderful Tourist Destination - Go hiking or mountain biking on our peaceful and beautiful Northern Arizona trails, visit our downtown antique shops, or enjoy shopping and dining on Prescott’s downtown square. There’s so much to do in Prescott,...

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Route 66 Centennial, Tourism and Hard Knocks

Route 66 Centennial, Tourism and Hard Knocks

In 1926 it was simply one of the roads in the newly minted U.S. highway system. But by 1950 it was without a doubt the most famous highway in America. And today that fame has spread throughout the world even though officially Route 66 no longer exists. For me personally, Route 66 was one of the highways that we followed on our journey west from Virginia in the summer of ’59. And in June of 1966, it was the primary highway that we traveled in our epic move from Michigan to Kingman, Arizona. Then, for the next few years, it was a part of annual pilgrimage to visit with family in Michigan, in Tennessee and in Alabama. 

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