An Historic Resource Survey of ROUTE 66 IN ARIZONA An Historic Resource Survey of ROUTE 66 IN ARIZONA Prepared for: ARIZONA STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICE 1300 W. Washington St. Phoenix, AZ 85007 By: MOTLEY DESIGN GROUP, LLC 1114 Grand Avenue Phoenix, AZ 85007 (602) 254‐5599 www.motleydesigngroup.com MDG Project # 11‐004 May, 2012 Introduction In recent years U.S. Route 66 has become a popular historical‐tourism destination for countless Americans and international travelers. This highway, which “runs from Chicago to L.A.,” has been singled out in the popular imagination as an icon representing American road culture and as a symbol of the freedom afforded by the automobile. In response to this high degree of public interest, in 1999 an act of Congress resulted in the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program, administered by the National Park Service. Among other activities, the program provides grants to the affected states for the identification and prioritization of Route 66 related resources. In 2010, the Arizona State Historic Preservation Office was awarded such a grant, intended to fund a comprehensive survey of potential Route 66 resources in Arizona, from the California state line to the New Mexico state line. Motley Design Group, teamed with SWCA Environmental Consultants, was retained to perform the survey. The bulk of the field survey was completed in four trips occurring between April, 2011 and August, 2011. This report is a summary of the team’s findings. Route 66 In Arizona Historic Resource Survey 1 Methodology Project Team Historical Architects: Motley Design Group, LLC Robert Graham, AIA, Principal Investigator Roberta L. Graham, Survey Coordinator Historians: SWCA, Inc., James Steely, Architectural Historian First Light Consulting, John Murphey, Historical Research Field Inventory The initial inventory list was provided to the consultant team by the Arizona SHPO. SHPO staff created the initial list from a combination of windshield surveys and inventory data from prior surveys and National Register nominations. The initial list was refined by the project team in consultation with SHPO to eliminate duplicates and exclude properties that were remote from historic Route 66 alignments. Field inventory by the consultants was preceded by intensive pre‐planning in order to minimize on‐ site time. Each site on the SHPO listing was located on USGS maps and previewed using Google Maps, Google Streetview, and/or Mapquest to the extent possible. Aerial photographs were annotated with locations of target sites. After all sites had been roughly located, inventory numbers were assigned to all target properties, generally ordered starting with #1 at the California line and proceeding east. Within cities and towns, the numbering varied slightly from a strict west‐to‐east regimen in order to group the properties more effectively in the field, particularly in those towns where the highway was split into one‐way pairs. In some areas, particularly between urban centers, the inventory numbering is discontinuous due to the removal or combination of some properties from the initial listing The field inventory was divided into four trips, each of three to six days duration, as follows: Trip #1: April 22‐27, California line to (but not including) Flagstaff Trip #2: June 22‐26, Holbrook to New Mexico line Trip #3: July 27‐31, Winslow east to Holbrook Trip #4: August 22‐24, Flagstaff east to Winslow The inventory was conducted to Arizona SHPO standards using the Arizona Historic Property Inventory Form. All photographs were taken digitally. Not unexpectedly, additional potential resources were encountered that were not on the initial SHPO listing. At SHPO’s instruction, all non‐residential properties found that occurred on historic Route 66 and appeared older than 1985 were considered. (An earlier cutoff date was used in instances where the highway is known to have been realigned prior to 1985.) Additional inventory numbers were assigned as these resources were encountered, starting with number 900. Following the field work, the inventory was transcribed into a Microsoft Access database system. The use of Access was specified by SHPO. The project team elected to use Access 2007 (or later) version Route 66 In Arizona Historic Resource Survey 2 because of its improved ability to embed photographic information into the database. This is essential to avoid having to inefficiently paste up or merge photographs into the hard copy form output. Unfortunately, very large database files are the result. As a final product, we have provided the overall Route 66 in Arizona inventory split amongst four database files, divided geographically. Historic Background Information Each property was researched as to its date of construction and use during the period of significance (1926‐1985) through a combination of field recording data, secondary and primary source material, photographic documentation and telephone inquiries. Data from previous surveys and listed and draft National Register nominations informed much of the current inventory. Newly recorded resources were researched using both popular and scholarly books on Route 66. Information gleaned from non‐scholarly books was employed when it could be verified through another source. Informing much of the background on motels were commercial postcards, which provided data on building layout, number of rooms, amenities, owner and often manager, and, in some instances, the extent of remodeling or updating of a motel. To this end, postcard collections in books, personal holdings and online archives were consulted. Some motels have had extensive advertising, allowing the researcher to trace the evolution of the business and its associated buildings. Acknowledging that postcards provide only a snapshot in time of a motel’s appearance and amenities, the researcher selected postcard data that mostly closely reflected the resource recorded in the field. For motels and other travel resources in Flagstaff, Williams, and Winslow, the researcher consulted interval years of a 50‐year span of telephone books and city directories digitized and made available online through the Flagstaff Public Library. Equally, period magazines and travel guides were reviewed for information and advertisements on tourist attractions and related businesses. To a lesser extent, digital newspaper collections were consulted. When no information could be found using these sources, the researcher made telephone inquiries to the local historical society, chamber of commerce, and/or directly to the current business. Given the restricted character count of the inventory’s entry field for this information, the developed background is not definitive. National Register Status Determination This survey includes recommendations on eligibility to the National Register of Historic Places for individual properties and districts. Our recommendations are limited to historic properties’ relationship to defined Route 66 historic contexts. Historic contexts for Route 66 have been developed and documented in other studies. A Multiple Property Documentation Form for “Historic Route 66 in Arizona” has been completed and later updated (Cleeland, 1989, and Stein, 1996). An MPDF has also been developed nationally. We have relied on these sources in defining eligible property types. The SHPO‐standard Arizona Historic Property Inventory Form includes recommendations on National Register eligibility summarized in check‐box format as: Previously listed (individually or in a district), Route 66 In Arizona Historic Resource Survey 3 Individually Eligible (or not), Eligible as part of a historic district (or not). Recommendations for eligibility for this survey generally were made conforming to the following guidelines. Previously listed properties (where the project team was aware of their prior status) are marked with their status as Individually Listed or Listed as Contributor to a Historic District and no further recommendations are given, unless found to be demolished or to have lost integrity, in which case that fact is noted. Properties constructed 1985 or later (or later than the appropriate date for sections of Route 66 that were decommissioned earlier) are marked Not Individually Eligible and Not Eligible as a Contributor due to age. Properties that do not appear to meet typical National Register integrity criteria are marked Not Individually Eligible and Not Eligible as a Contributor due to integrity loss. All properties that are not directly related to the established Route 66 historic contexts (but met age and integrity tests) are marked “Need Additional Study” and “Not Route 66 Context” is marked in the REASON field. Surveyed properties placed in this category include the following: o Theatres o Bowling alleys o Railroad related resources including depots and other facilities o Warehouses o Industrial plants o Retail commercial buildings that were not known to be used as a café or curio shop o Banks o Office buildings o Post Offices, other public governmental buildings except for ADOT or ADPS offices o Meeting/fraternal halls o Churches o Residences and apartments Property types appearing in the national Route 66 MPDF context, listed below, were marked as “Individually Eligible” if they met age and integrity tests: o Highway and Road‐Related Structures o Road Bridges o Gasoline/Service Stations o Garages/Dealerships o Diners/Cafes/Restaurants o Hotels/Campgrounds/Tourist Courts/Motels o Recreational/Travel Stops/Destinations o Roadside