by jimhinckleysamerica | Aug 12, 2023 | community development, Kingman Arizona, Lifestyle, RECOMMENDED LOCATIONS, Route 66 centennial, Route 66 history, Route 66 restaurant, Travel, urban exploration
Scoops on 66 in Kingman, Arizona is the dawn of a new era for an historic building with a mysterious past. ©Jim Hinckley’s America
My world is always full of surprising twists and turns but I never imagined that a Saturday morning would be spent in search of Boston Friedel. This particular quest actually started several months ago.
The owners of this distinctive stone building along Route 66 in Kingman, Arizona were working to unravel its mysterious past. Since working with Kingman Main Street on phase one of a narrated, self guided walking tour, documenting the history of the buildings in the historic district has been a passion. And this particular building has intrigued me for quite some time so I offered my assitnce.
It is now home to Scoops on 66, a delightful handcrafted ice cream shop. It was originally a cafe. But when did it open and who built it?
In Search of Answers
Well, the gas station next door opened in 1947. The picture of the station show the building with a simple cafe sign. And there is ample evidence that it was a cafe in 1940.
Becky Fawason, director of the Kingman Area Chamber of Commerce, turned up an interesting item of unknown origin in old records. “September 1925 – November 1925, Judge LeRoy V. Root – Temporary Chairman while organizing Chamber office located in Boston Friedel’s lunch room in the 200 block of Front Street (now Andy Devine Avenue, a rock building next to the Highway 66 car wash.”
That simple note opened an entire can of worms, and deepend the mystery of the building with its distinctive window and door trim. There are numerous buildings in Kingman with the same trim work, but we have yet to decipher their origins. These include the Assembly of God church built in 1936, the Siesta Motel built in aboout 1929, a wing of the Richardson Auto Court built in the mid 1930s, and the Bell Motel razed several years ago.
In Search of Boston Friedel
The note from the chamber of commerce raised an array of questions. In 1925, the core business district centered on Fourth Street, and Front and South Front Street. Here you had the railroad depot, the Harvey House, a Packard and Chalmers dealership, and a gas station, cafe and free camp ground for travelers on the National Old Trails Road. The Loving and Withers store with office block, several restaurants, the Palace Saloon, Hotel Beale and Hotel Brunswick, Palace Saloon and Old Trails Garage were also nestled at this intersection.
Front Street deadened at the Powerhouse, First Street, just one block from the building now housing Scoops on 66. And across from the Powerhouse, now Locomotive Park, was the county rodeo grounds and ball field. So, why would there be a cafe and a chamber of commerce office two blocks from the main business district on a dead end street?
Well, I decided to delve into newspaper archives. How hard could it be to find stories about someone with a name as distinctive as Boston Friedel? As it turned out, it was more difficult than imagined but I wasn’t surprised.
The first discovery was dated November 1920. I learned that “Boston” was a nickname. And I learned that he opened an “eating emporium” across from the Santa Fe Depot. This raised more questions. Across from the depot on Front Street was a pharmacy, a restaurant ( but not Boston’s), a Ford dealership and a store. So, was Boston’s emporium across from the depot, south of the tracks?
There was a gas station on the corner of South Front Street and Fourth Street directly across from the depot south of the tracks. Next door was a small cafe with unknown name, and a free campground.
And A Bit More Confusion
The water was muddied even more with discovery of a snippet dated September 9, 1921. “Boston” Friedel has opened a horseshoe lunch counter on South Front Street, in a new building erected for the purpose on land leased from Mary Sweeney.” The stone building used by Scoops on 66 is on Front Street, now Andy Devine Avenue.
The search for Boston Friedel is in its early stages. But I have yet to even determine his real first name. I have learned that he was active in the local gun club, but the articles just say Friedel. And there are a couple of interesting items associated with county elections published in the late teens. One article notes involvement by J.L. Friedel. Another notes L.J. Fridel, and a third reads Robert L. Friedel.
And now a quest has become two. What is the history of the little stone building? And now I am in search of Boston Friedel. But this is Jim HInckley’s America, and we share America’s story. And Mr. Friedel, and Scoops on 66, is definitely a part of that story.
National Old Trails Road in Kingman, Arizona Photo Mohave Museum of History & Arts
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by jimhinckleysamerica | Jul 18, 2023 | Adventure, automotive history, community development, ghost town, Kingman Arizona, National Old Trails Road, Route 66 centennial, Route 66 history, urban exploration
The National Old Trails Road in Kingman, Arizona circa 1918. Photo Mohave Museum of History & Arts.
Subjugation of the Hualapai people followed a brief war in the late 1860s. And as a result, over the course of the next twenty years the northwest corner of the Arizona territory was inundated with a veritable flood of prospectors, ranchers, miners, investors, crooks, grifters, and outlaws. They poured into the area over the Beale Road, Mohave Prescott Road, and on steamboats plying the Colorado River. And, of course, sprinkled among the new arrivals were also opportunitsts and entrepreneurs such as Conrad Shenfield.
Opporotunity Arrives in Mohave County
In November 1882 news that the track laying crews of the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad were entering Mohave County from the east sparked infectious excitement throughout the region. The railroad would change everything. With its completion to the Colorado River, the cost of transportation for people and goods would plummet.
A letter from railroad survey engineer Lewis Kingman published in territorial newspapers fueled the excitment. He noted that it was the company’s intention to reach the Colorado River before the spring in 1883.
And he also gave a glimpse of how northwest Arizona would be transformed with completion of the railroad. Kingman claimed that more than thirty teams of supplies loaded in Williams were leaving for Hackberry, Mineral Park, and the railroad camps west of the track each week.
Meet Mr. Shenfield
To ensure that the railroad reached the river before the summer of 1883, the company employed nearly six hundred men to survey, cut grades, spread ballest, build bridges, and cut and lay ties as well as rails. One of these employees was Conrad Shenfield.
Shenfield was a subcontractor for the Atlantic & Pacific Railraod. His exact duties have been lost to history. But what is known is that he quietly acquired land at carefully selected locations along the railroad at various points. One of those places in a mesquite wooded flats east of Atlantic Springs that was sheltered by bluffs of volcanic tufa stone was initially established as a railroad construction camp.
The grassy Hualapai Valley ideally suited for ranchng was located a short distance to the east. The broad Sacramento Valley that stretched to the Colorado River lay to the west. The forested Hualapai Mountains lay to the south. And in the surrounding Cerbat Mountains, rich deposits of gold, silver, lead and other minerals were fueling a boom. Shenfield recognized the opportunities. He pictured the site as the hub for mining, ranching and transportation once the railroad was completed.
Kingman: Land of Opportunity
And so he began surveying a 160 acre town site at the temporary western terminus of the railroad. Next, he began selling lots in what was dubbed Middleton Siding. As it turned out there was a slight flaw in Mr. Shenfield’s ambitious plans.
Conrad Shenfield told propspective buyers that he had acquired “town site privileges.” But he had only filed for those privileges. It was June 9, 1886 before he ws awarded the deed. But this did not stop him from selling property, or from people buying property in the land of opportunity.
The following advertisement was published in the Alta Arizona weekly, dated January 27, 1883: “For particulars as to prices of town lots in Kingman address C. Shenfield or C.W. Middleton, at Mineral Park. A perfect title given soon as the patent for the 160 acres upon which the new town is located arrives from Washington.”
Within a few months, a tent city quickly sprang up along the tracks and siding, the name was officialy set as Kingman with the filing of a post office application. The initial survey was a large square of 34 city blocks cut in half from east to west by the main line of the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad. There were two primary boulevards. Front Street ran parallel to the tracks on the north, and South Front Street ran on the south side of the tracks. The center point was land designated for a depot on Fourth Street.
Dawnof A New Era
Well, as they say, the rest his history. In late October 1883 the railroad announced that survey work had commenced for the construction of a warehouse, depot and loading platform. Kingman boomed, Within a few years the county seat was relocated from Mineral Park, and that once promising community faded into obscurity.
Shenfield and the railroad laid the foundation. The National Old Trails Road, Route 66 and then I40 ensured Kingman’s bright and promising future into the 21st century and beyond.
by jimhinckleysamerica | Jul 10, 2023 | Adventure, automotive history, community development, Hollywood history, Kingman Arizona, Lifestyle, National Old Trails Road, Route 66 authors, Route 66 centennial, Route 66 history, Route 66 restaurant, Travel, Travel Tips, urban exploration
The historic Hotel Brunswick on Route 66 in Kingman, Arizona. ©Jim HInckley’s America
The towering old stone hotel has been casting a long shadow in the historic heart of Kingman, Arizona since 1909. It is a tangible link to Arizona territorial history, a nearly forgotten chapter in Ford family history, and even with famous Hollywood celebrities.
John Mulligan arrived in northwest Arizona in the 1870s, about the same time that John W. “Watt” Thompson came to the Arizona territory from New Brunswick, Canada. Mulligan, a stonemason by trade, quickly learned that there was more money in applying his skills than in mining or prospecting even though he had been moderately successful in both pursuits.
A Legacy Built of Stone
According to his obituary published in the Mohave Miner in 1935, in 1881 on the southwest corner of what is now Beale and Fourth Street, Mulligan built the first house in a rough and tumble Atlantic & Pacific Railroad construction tent camp that would become known as Kingman.
The obituary also noted a few of his other contributions to the development of Kingman. He was the primary contractor for the Hotel Beale and Hotel Brunswick.
He was also a charter member of the Elks Lodge. And he was the contractor that built the lodge that still stands on the corner of Fourth and Oak Street. The obituary says that he laid some of the stone “with his own hands.”
He was also the concrete contractor for the Mohave County Jail built between 1909 and 1910. Another relic that stands on courthouse grounds.
The Hotel Beale, Hotel Brunswick, territorial jail and the courthouse built in 1915 are some of the points of interest on the narrated self guided historic district walking tour. This innovative project was developed by Kingman Main Street.
The Ill Fated Partnership
On an array of projects including mining, property speculation, and construction Mulligan partnered with John Thompson. In 1907 the partners began work on their most ambitious project to date, the construction of a stylish, modern hotel on Front Street, now Andy Devine Avenue (Route 66), in the same block as the Hotel Beale.
Named the Brunswick by Thompson, when completed in 1909 this would be the first three story building in Kingman. Using locally quarried Tufa stone from the Metcalf quarry, Thompson and Mulligan planned for this to be one of the finest hotels in the northwest part of the territory.
After completion of the hotel work began to make it competitive with the neighboring Hotel Beale. A newspaper article dated February 1911 noted John Mulligan’s return to Kingman. He had been in Los Angeles purchasing fine furnishings for the third floor of the hotel.
In 1912, the Mulligan and Thompson partnership unraveled. Speculation for the split continues to this day but the actual reasons are lost to history. Reportedly the men would never speak again. The Hotel Brunswick was divided, literally, with construction of a that wall that separated the building into equal halves.
The agreement reached gave each partner twenty-five hotel rooms. Mulligan was also given the original lobby and the bar. Thompson acquired the restaurant. Oddly enough it appears that the hotel continued operating under a single name – Hotel Brunswick.
The Ford Connection
In 1915, Edsel Ford and his college buddies set out on an epic adventure from Michigan to the Panama Pacific Exposition. Photo Historic Vehicle Association
In the summer of 1915, Edsel Ford and a few college buddies set out from Dearborn on a grand adventure. The destination was the Panama Pacific Exposition in San Francisco, but like an increasing number of tourists, they set out to see the exotic cultures of Santa Fe and the pueblos in New Mexico. The natural wonders of sites such as the Grand Canyon and Painted Desert were also attractions, so they followed the National Old Trails Road to Los Angeles before proceeding up the Pacific coast.
Unofficially it was also a businiess trip. Edsel inspected a number of Ford agencies, including the one in Kingman. And he often made use of a Ford garage for needed repairs during his adventure.
Ford’s travel journal entry for Thursday July 15, 1915, reads, “Got going from Williams about 11:00. Had lunch at Ash Forks. Loafed along; found it very hot. Bought some gas and oranges at Seligman. Stutz broke another spring and returned to Seligman. Cadillac and Ford went on to Kingman, arriving at midnight, Brunswick Hotel.”
Changing Times
Attesting to the hotel’s prominence the Hotel, Garage, Service Station and AAA Club Directory published in 1927 listed two recommended lodging options in Kingman. The Hotel Beale at $1.50 to $3 per night, and Hotel Brunswick at $1 per night. Evidence of its decline is found in the Directory of Motor Courts and Cottages published by AAA in 1940. The hotel is no longer listed.
Mulligan sold his portion of the property in about 1925. It sold again in about 1928, the Brunswick name was dropped, and it became the Ideal Hotel.
Then in 1930 it was sold again. An article published in the Mohave Miner in November of that year noted, quote, “The name Hotel Brunswick has been restored to what is now known as the Hotel Ideal, it was announced on Wednesday of this week by George La Plante, manager.” It was also noted that extensive work to modernize the hotel was underway.
It was during this period that the distinctive but dated appearing front portico with balcony was removed, and the neon sign added. In the years that followed several cafes operated from the former restaurant including Scudder’s, Richey’s and Lockwood’s Chicken in the Rough.
There is another celebrity association with the hotel. Local legend has it that Clark Gable and Carol Lombard attended a brief reception at the bar after marrying at the St. Johns Methodist Episcopal Church in March 1939.
Dawn of A New Era
The Thompson side of the hotel was sold to Joe Otero in 1959. After a remodel he opened the El Mohave restaurant. It proved to a be popular eatery for locals and for travelers on Route 66. And it was also a favorite of Senator Barry Goldwater when he was in Kingman. In 1966 Otero purchased the rest of the property and closed the hotel. He also removed the dividing wall on the first floor and linked the bar and restaurant.
The restaurant closed in 1980, and the old hotel was left vacant until 1994 when it was acquired by Priscilla and Rennie Davis. Restoration commenced with rebuilding the staircase in its original configuration and replacement of the portico and balcony. For a brief time, the hotel, bar, and restaurant were again open for business. Even the original switchboard, on loan from the Mohave Museum of History & Arts, was placed in its original location. It proved to be a short-lived endeavor. The historic district renaissance was still more than a decade away.
In 1998 the hotel again closed. A series of new owners purchased the property with plans for renovation and restoration of business. But it was not until 2012 when it was acquired by Werner Fleischmann, a Swiss developer, that intermittent work commenced in earnest.
There is still a question about the future of the hotel. Rooms? Apartments? Offices? But there is no question about the restaurant. Fully refurbished it is about to open as Garibaldi’s!
Renaissance
When Kingman Main Street asked for my assistance with development of the narrated walking tour, I jumped at the opportunity. This was an excellent way to bring the city’s history to life, and to share stories of men like John Mulligan and John Thompson. It was also a great way to share America’s story, and inspire road trips by telling people where to go. That is what we do at Jim Hinckley’s America.
by jimhinckleysamerica | Jul 4, 2023 | Adventure, automotive history, community development, Hollywood history, Kingman Arizona, Lifestyle, RECOMMENDED LOCATIONS, Route 66 authors, Route 66 centennial, Route 66 history, Travel, Travel Tips, urban exploration
Amural by iconic folk artist Bob Waldmire at TNT Engineering on Route 66 in Kingman, Arizona.
The holiday weekend has been dominated by thoughts about Bob Waldmire, Route 66 and life in a desert crossroads. This deep thinking was sparked by a host that posed questions about Bob Waldmire’s association with Kingman. And then she expressed surprise that given Waldmire’s fame, especially in the Route 66 community, this mural wasn’t heavily promoted. She noted that in her quick search only the website for the narrated self guided historic district tours referenced the mural.
I found her observations interesting. But what I have been turning over in my mind was one particular comment. “I am more amazed by what is not being promoted in Kingman than what is.”
Let’s see a show of hands, how many people know that there is an original Bob Waldmire mural along Route 66 in Kingman, Arizona? How many people know that the building with the mural, now a machine shop, was a primary filming location for Roadhouse 66 starring Willem Dafoe and Judge Reinhold? And how many people know that there is a display of Waldmire’s unique pen and ink folk art at TNT Engineering in a former Ford dealership next to the mural?
Questions Asked
This past week I sat for several interviews including one with RM World Travel Connection with Rudy Maxa. Most of them followed the set format that I have gotten used to over the years. A few questions were asked from a script, there was a set timeline, and a plug for Jim Hinckley’s America as well as my latest book.
The urban hiking trails in the mountains near Kingman, Arizona provide access to stunning desert landscapes. ©Jim Hinckley’s America
One of the hosts surprised me. First, with the pre-program conversation that made it quite clear that she had done some homework. Then with a call afterwards to talk in even more detail.
As I meditated on the conversation, I began composing a list of Kingman attractions with an emphasis on what is not being marketed. Topping the list was the innovative walking developed by Kingman Main Street that was unveiled during National Road Trip Day festivities in May 2022.
Destination Kingman
- Oatman, Arizona has profited mightily from the marketing of the myth that the Oatman Hotel has a connection to the marriage of Clark Gable and Carol Lombard. But in Kingman it isn’t a myth. They married at the Methodist-Episcopal chruch, now county offices on the corner of Fifth and Sprintg Street. This was followed with a very brief reception at the Brunswick Hotel. This the same hotel where Edsel Ford stayed in July 1915
- J. Anne Butler is an internationally acclaimed sculptress. She was commissioned by the Queen of England, and her work graces gardens throughout the world. One of her works stands along Route 66 at the historic railroad depot. It is a statue of an author known throughout the world
- Additional public art displays include a mural by artist and animator J. C. Amberlyn, and a sculpture by Donald Gialanella
- The Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs once played in Kingman, And George Grantham that played in a 1920s World Series lived in Kingman for years, and is buried in Mountain View Cemetery
- The Route 66 corrdior was signed as Front Street until 1955. During an episode of This Is Your Life, it was renamed to honor prolific character actor Andy Devine. Devine grew up in Kingman, and his faher Thomas Devine owned the Hotel Beale for many years
- Two of the top rated, and most scenic, trail systems in Arizona are located in Kingman. One is peppered with historic sites. Another is bisected by a territorial era road
- Two award winning microbreweries
- The world’s only museum dedicated to electric vehicles
- A diverse arts community that includes performing arts, galleries, and art studios
- New and vintage neon signage including a circa 1930 Packard sign, a 1962 OK Used Car sign, and a 1930s Welcome to El Trovatore sign
The more I give thought to this, and add to the list, a question comes to mind over, and over again. Why isn’t Kingman a destination city?
by jimhinckleysamerica | Jun 16, 2023 | community development, Kingman Arizona, Lifestyle, Route 66 authors, Route 66 centennial, Route 66 history, Travel, urban exploration
In this photo of Fourth and Beale Street in Kingman, Arizona, the Powers building dominates the corner. the expansive Central Commerical building surrounds it on both sides. Photo Mohave Museum of History & Arts
The Central Commercial Building is less than one block off Route 66. It is a tangible link to more than a century of Kingman history with a fascinating and surprisinig story.
On the corner of Fourth and Beale Street is the former Powers Building that is now home to the Art Hub. Named for M. I Powers, president of Citizens Bank, the building dates to 1911. Originally the ground floor was occupied by the Citizens Bank and Kingman post office Upstairs was an office complex for the towns leading attorney’s and doctors as well as several mining companies.
Many original architectural details remain. Leaded glass windows over the heavy oak doors provide a glimpse into the buildings former glory. Likewise with the marble entry ways, and the vault that is now used for storage.
A Mercantile Empire
In 1916 Lovin & Withers purchased property along Fourth Street from the alley to Citizens Bank. The company also purchased the adjoining property on Beale Street east to the Mohave Miner offices, now the parking lot for Floyd & Company. Work commenced on what was to be Central Commercial, the largest and most modern store in northern Arizona with razing buildings on both sides of the bank and the excavation of a cellar.
The Central Commercial complex on Beale and Fourth Street that was built around the bank opened on August 20, 1917. It was a gala celebration. A nearly full-page advertisement in the Mohave Miner read, quote, “Central Commercial Company successor to Lovin & Withers cordially invite you to the opening of their new store. Music by Los Angeles Colored Orchestra. Dance by above at open air pavilion 9:00 P.M.” The cornerstone for the store that was promoted as the finest in northern Arizona with a full inventory for home, ranch, or mine was Lovin & Withers Mercantile.
Henry Lovin and John Withers were Mohave County pioneers with vision. By 1900 they had built a fortune in mining, real estate, and ranching, and through profitable partnerships. They celebrated the dawn of the new century with establishment of Lovin & Withers Mercantile.
The partners contributions to the development of Mohave County were diverse. Lovin served two terms as Mohave County Sheriff, served on the committee that drafted the state of Arizona constitution, and was Mohave County’s first state senator. Withers served on the board of directors at Citizens Bank, was a major partner in several mining companies, and with Lovin built numerous homes in Kingman as rental properties.
Within ten years Lovin & Withers Mercantile was one of the largest retailers in northwestern Arizona. Stores in Chloride, Oatman, Goldroad and other mining camps supplied the remote towns with an impressive array of goods from barbed wire to produce and auto parts. To supply their far-flung mercantile empire, the company pioneered the use of trucking in Mohave County.
The Second Chapter
An article published in 1916 indicates that Jay Gates had become the front man for the company. Quote, “W.L. Peters who has made this his territory for the past fourteen years for the Swift Packing Company and F.C. Flicklinger of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company were guests of Jay Gates of Lovin & Withers Company on a trip to Chloride.”
Gates was a recent arrival in Kingman. In search of opportunity Jay Gates had left Elkins, West Virginia in 1911 and set his sights on California. For reasons unknown he stopped in Kingman. As it turned out this was rather fortuitous. The opportunity he sought was found with employment at Lovin & Withers.
An article published on July 14, 1917, noted that, quote, “The interior of the building of Lovin & Withers, now known as the Central Commercial Company, is fast filling with hardwood furniture of all kinds. The wall shelf cases are all of hardwood and are enclosed to keep the dust and dirt from the interior with glass doors. Refrigeration and glass of all kinds have been provided and once in operation will make this the best-appointed store in this southwest country.”
Corresponding to the construction of Central Commercial was a full remodel of the Powers Building and Citizens Bank. A brief article in Volume 18 of Coast Banker published in 1917 noted that, “The Citizens Bank has taken possession of its remodeled banking room, and now has one of the most modern and best equipped banking headquarters in this part of the state.”
Gates and Central Commercial were to play pivotal roles in Kingman and Mohave County development. Stores were opened in Flagstaff, Ash Fork, Seligman, Oatman, Chloride, and Goldroad, the Route 66 corridor after 1926. By this year the company was also opereating a series of distribution centers and a regional trucking company.
In December 1922, it was announced that Gates had facilitated establishment of a Rotary Club chapter in Kingman and would serve as a director. He would be involved with numerous civic organizations including the gun club. Then in 1923, Gates purchased controlling interest in Central Commercial. His family would manage the store until 1978 when it was acquired by Babbitts, an Arizona based department store.
A Celebrity Connection
There is also a celebrity association with Central Commercial and the Gates family. On April 6, 1926, George Farley Grantham married Ruby Lois Gates, the sister of Jay Gates.
Grantham was born in Galena, Kansas in 1900, moved with his family to Goldroad, Arizona in 1910 and attended school in Kingman. A few years later his family moved to Flagstaff where he attended Flagstaff High School and Northern Arizona University.
A gifted athlete, at the end of the 1922 season he was hired as a second baseman for the Chicago Cubs. Between 1922 and 1934 he played for the Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, and New York Giants. He also played in the 1925 and 1927 World Series.
After retiring Grantham and his family relocated to Kingman. He died on March 16, 1954 and is interred in Mountain View Cemetery in Kingman.
The Central Commerical complex and Powers Building are tangible to territorial era history. They are also points of interest on the innovative narrated, self guided historic district walking tour developed by Kingman Main Street. As author Jim Hinckley provided narration for the tour, it is anohter example of what we do best at Jim Hinckley’s America – tell people where to go and share America’s story.
