Flagstaff, Arizona

We really enjoyed our visit to Flagstaff. It’s a thriving city that has enthusiastically embraced its Route 66 heritage, so there’s a lot to see here.

We drove into Flagstaff from Winona on US 89, which was Route 66 until 1947 and is still called Route 66 here. Our first stop was the Museum Club at 3404 East Route 66.

Museum Club in Flagstaff

The Museum Club is a classic Route 66 roadhouse, built in 1931. It may be the largest log cabin in the Southwest. We loved the split branch that frames the doorway.

If you are planning to drive to the Grand Canyon from Flagstaff via US 89, there are very few places to get something to eat between here and Grand Canyon Village. We would be heading to the Grand Canyon after Flagstaff, so we stopped for lunch at Miz Zips at 2924 East Route 66.

Sign for Miz Zips on Route 66 in Flagstaff 

Miz Zips in Flagstaff

Miz Zips is a classic Route 66 restaurant, open since 1952, with a menu of mostly breakfast items and sandwiches. We got a BLT and a patty melt. Both were great!

Interior of Miz Zips

There are a lot of old motels along this stretch of Route 66. One is the Western Hills Motel at 1580 East Route 66.

Western Hills Motel neon sign

The Western Hills Motel was built in 1951. I’ve read that its (restored) neon sign is the oldest in Flagstaff, but older motels downtown have neon signs that I think were installed in the 1930s.

A block past the Western Hills Motel is the Route 66 Dog Haus.

Route 66 Dog Haus (from FlagstaffArizona.org)

Signer-songwriter Jackson Browne was driving through Flagstaff when he saw a girl in a Toyota pickup truck exiting this restaurant’s driveway…and slowing down to take a look at him. At the suggestion of Eagles member Glenn Frey, Browne incorporated the memory into their song “Take It Easy,” changing the line to one about a girl in a flatbed Ford. The song was the Eagles’ first #1 hit. It mentioned Winslow, Arizona, rather than Flagstaff. That one word changed the town of Winslow forever, as I explain in my post on Winslow.

A mile past the Dog Haus is downtown Flagstaff. This is a historic district, and there’s a lot to see here within a few blocks. So we parked at the Visitor Center and walked. (The Visitor Center parking lot is one of very few places along Route 66 where you must pay to park.)

I’ve mentioned in other posts such as the one on Gallup that Route 66 runs alongside railroads throughout much of the Southwest. That’s true in Flagstaff--the railroad runs along the south side of Route 66 here. The Flagstaff Visitor Center at 1 East Route 66 is in the city’s railroad depot, built in 1926—the same year that Route 66 was designated.

Flagstaff Visitor Center, as seen from the 1934 alignment of Route 66

Until 1934, Route 66 ran behind the depot, on the other side of the railroad tracks. When Route 66 was moved to its current “alignment” through Flagstaff, the road was re-graded, leaving the depot a few feet below street level.

On the west side of the Visitor Center, a huge Route 66 shield has been painted on the pavement.

West side of Flagstaff Visitor Center

We started our walking tour by first exploring the 1926-1934 alignment of Route 66. We walked west past the Route 66 shield at the Visitor Center. Then we turned left (south) on Beaver Street. We could immediately see a huge neon sign for the Motel DuBeau.

Sign for Motel DuBeau

One of the hallmarks of Flagstaff is its huge neon signs. They were erected by hotels and motels in a 1930s “sign war” to attract rail passengers and Route 66 travelers. 

We crossed the railroad tracks carefully—a train comes through every few minutes! In a block we reached Phoenix Avenue. It’s hard to believe that this little side street was Route 66 from 1926 to 1934. The original “alignment” of Route 66 continues on Phoenix Avenue a block west, then turns left on Mikes Pike for about 3 blocks, where it joins the newer Route 66 alignment.

Instead of turning west, we turned east on Phoenix Avenue. The Motel DuBeau is here, under its huge neon sign, at 19 West Phoenix Avenue. It was built in 1926--the same year that Route 66 was established. It was the first motel in Flagstaff and one of the first in the country.

Part of Motel DuBeau in Flagstaff

Another part of the Motel DuBeau in Flagstaff

A block east of the Motel DuBeau, we were able to look up Leroux Street and see the south side of the Visitor Center facing the railroad. It’s a really beautiful building!

View of the south side of Flagstaff Visitor Center

On the southeast corner of Phoenix Avenue and Leroux Street is the Motel Sierra Vista with a beautiful neon sign. (It is not marked on Google Maps.)

Motel Sierra Vista in Flagstaff

I found a good article in Route 66 times speculating on when the Motel Sierra Vista was built. I also read that it once had a big neon sign like the Motel DuBeau.

A couple of doors past the Motel Sierra Vista on Phoenix Avenue is another wonderful old building. I couldn't find any information on it, but I love the stone.

Building on Phoenix Avenue in Flagstaff

On the other side of Phoenix Avenue is a huge mural called “Mother Myth.”

"Mother Myth" mural on Phoenix Avenue in Flagstaff

On the southwest corner of Phoenix Avenue and San Francisco Street is another huge neon sign, this one for the Downtowner Motel. (It is not marked on Google Maps.)

Downtowner Motel neon sign

Note that the sign also says “Nackard.” J. K. Nackard opened the Downtowner Auto Court around 1919-1921 (sources give varying dates). 

Part of the former Downtowner Motel

The Downtowner was expanded a few times in the 1920s and 1930s, eventually going halfway down the block, including the building pictured below.

Another part of the former Downtowner Motel

We had a hard time making out the neon “ghost sign” on the roof, but I found a close-up of it on Flickr.  If you can study the Flickr photo without getting a headache (!), you may be able to make out two ghost signs on top of each other. One says Downtowner in block letters; the other says Nackard Inn in script letters. It’s easier to see the ghost signs for Motel and Sensible Rates. In the 1940s or 1950s, the Downtowner Auto Court was renamed the Nackard Inn. Later it was renamed the Downtowner Motel. I’m guessing that "Nackard” was added to the Downtowner’s huge neon sign when the motel was renamed the Nackard Inn.

One last piece of trivia: The Nackard Inn appeared in the 1957 Green Book as a motel open to African-American travelers.

We turned back north on San Francisco Street, which is also pre-1934 Route 66. At the railroad tracks (where we again watched carefully for trains!) we could see another, smaller railroad depot on the right.

Flagstaff railroad depot

The pre-1934 Route 66 alignment ends at the current Route 66. We continued north on San Francisco Street another block to a hotel with yet another enormous neon sign: the Hotel Monte Vista It was built in 1926 and is at 100 North San Francisco Street.

Hotel Monte Vista in Flagstaff

Across San Francisco Street from the Hotel Monte Vista, on the northwest corner of San Francisco Street and Aspen Avenue, is the beautiful Babbitt Building. It was built in 1888 as a general store.

Babbitt Building in Flagstaff

We turned left (west) on Aspen and walked one block to the striking Weatherford Hotel on the southwest corner of Aspen Avenue and Leroux Street.

Weatherford Hotel in Flagstaff

The Weatherford Hotel was built in 1900, damaged by fire in 1929, and restored in the 1970s.

We turned right (south) on Leroux Street. There are more great buildings along Leroux Street. Notice the cool neon sign for Alpine Pizza.

Great buildings and a neon sign on Leroux Street in Flagstaff

At the corner of Leroux Street and Route 66 is the McMillan Building, also known as the Bank Building. It was built in 1887 as a bank and hotel.

McMillan Building, also known as Bank Building, in Flagstaff

You can see why we really enjoyed our visit to Flagstaff. There are great old buildings and interesting Route 66 history here. Downtown Flagstaff is thriving. When we come back, we’ll try to have lunch at one of the many restaurants downtown.

From Flagstaff we did not continue along Route 66. We decided instead to visit the Grand Canyon, something many Route 66 travelers have done over the decades. So we backtracked on Route 66 and headed north on US 89 toward the east entrance to the Grand Canyon’s South Rim. We rejoined Route 66 in Williams, Arizona.