Monday, April 3, 2023

Kingman, Arizona

Kingman, Arizona, bills itself as “the heart of Historic Route 66,” and there’s plenty to see here. Since 1926, Historic Route 66 has run right through Kingman on Andy Devine Boulevard. (In the early to mid 20th century, Andy Devine was a popular movie character actor known for his distinctive raspy voice. He was born in Flagstaff, Arizona, but grew up in Kingman.)

We arrived in Kingman pretty late in the day, so we headed to our hotel, the Spring Hill Suites at 3101 East Andy Devine Boulevard. The next morning, after breakfast at the hotel, we headed southwest on Andy Devine Boulevard.

Just two blocks past the hotel, on the left, is a great neon sign for Lo’s Restaurant at 119 Tucker Street. The restaurant is permanently closed.

Lo's Restaurant's neon sign in Kingman

 About a mile and a half after Lo’s is Rutherford’s 66 Family Diner at 2011 East Andy Devine Boulevard. It’s in a former 1960s Denny’s with a classic boomerang roof.

Rutherford's 66 Family Diner in Kingman

A few hundred feet past Rutherford’s is the Orchard Inn at 1967 East Andy Devine Boulevard. The Orchard Inn was built in 1964 as the Astro Motel. It’s a great example of mid-century Googie (space age) architecture.

Orchard Inn in Kingman

About a quarter mile past the Orchard Inn is the Hill Top Motel at 1901 East Andy Devine Boulevard. It was built in 1954 and has a great neon sign.

Sign for the Hill Top Motel in Kingman

About a quarter mile past the Hilltop, on the south side of Route 66, is a treasure: the 1939 El Trovatore Motel at 1440 East Andy Devine Boulevard. El Trovatore is famous for its great neon sign.

Sign for El Trovatore Motel in Kingman

El Trovatore has another huge sign at the rear of the property.

El Trovatore sign at the rear of the property

But El Trovatore’s biggest claim to fame may be the World’s Longest Route 66 Map.

Part of World's Longest Route 66 Map at El Trovatore

The map stretches across every building in the property—and there are a lot of them!—so it’s impossible to capture the entire map in one photo.

Another part of the World's Longest Route 66 Map at El Trovatore

About a mile and a half past El Trovatore, we reached Kingman’s historic district. Here Andy Devine Boulevard becomes Andy Devine Avenue. At the intersection of East Andy Devine Avenue and 5th Street, we were greeted by three water towers on the south side of Route 66.

One of Kingman Historic District's water towers

One of the water towers was built in 1910.

All three of Kingman Historic District's water towers

Just past the water towers is Kingman’s train station at 402 East Andy Devine Avenue.

Kingman Train Depot

The train station was built in 1907 in Mission Revival style as a depot for the Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe Railroad. It’s still an Amtrak station. We parked here and took a walking tour of the historic district.

In front of the depot is a statue of Kingman resident Jim Hinckley, dedicated in March 2022.

Statue of Jim Hinckley in Kingman

Jim Hinckley is a Route 66 author and advocate. We used his book Travel Route 66 to help us plan our Route 66 road trips, so it was a thrill to see this.

Just past the depot, on the northwest corner of East Andy Devine Avenue and 4th Street, is the Beale Hotel. It was built in 1899-1900 to serve rail passengers.

Beale Hotel in Kingman

Just past the Beale Hotel, at 313 East Andy Devine Avenue, is the Brunswick Hotel. It was built in 1907-1909.

Brunswick Hotel in Kingman

Next to the Brunswick Hotel is the Old Trails Garage at 320 East Andy Devine Avenue. It was built in 1915.

Old Trails Garage in Kingman

On the south side of Route 66, a sign welcomed us to Kingman.

Welcoem to Kingman sign

The name of the post office at 229 East Andy Devine Avenue is Route 66 Post Office!

Route 66 Post Office in Kingman

Just west of the post office is a great neon sign for a long-gone drug store.

Desert Drugs neon sign in Kingman

A block and a half past the post office, at 105 East Andy Devine Avenue, is Mr. D’z Route 66 Diner. It’s in a former Shell service station.

Mr. D'z Route 66 Diner in Kingman

Across the street is a drive-through Route 66 sign.

Drive-through Route 66 arch in Kingman

Just past the drive-through sign is the Arizona Route 66 Museum and Powerhouse Visitor Center at 120 West Andy Devine Avenue. It was built as, yes, a power house in 1906 or 1907 (sources give varying dates).

Kingman Visitor Center

Across Route 66 from the Visitor Center is Locomotive Park, with a 1928 locomotive and a caboose.

Kingman Locomotive Park

On the north side of the park, at 301 West Beale Street, a gateway arch welcomes visitors to Kingman.

Kingman Gateway Arch

We walked east on Beale Street about three blocks. On the northwest corner of Beale and 4th Streets is a great art deco building at 201 North 4th Street. It now houses Beale Celebrations.

Beale Celebrations in a great art deco building

On the southeast corner of Beale and 4th Streets is the former Central Commercial Company general store at 410 East Beale Street.

Former Central Commercial Company general store in Kingman

Two doors past the Central Commercial Company building is the Gruninger Building at 424 East Beale. It was built in 1921.

Gruninger Building in Kingman

On the northeast corner of Beale and 5th Streets is the former Odd Fellows Lodge at 208 North 5th Street. It was built in 1915 in Mission Revival style. Next to it is a Route 66 mural at 509 East Beale Street..

Former Kingman Odd Fellows Lodge and Route 66 mural

Half a block past the mural, at 532 East Beale Street, is the Rickety Cricket restaurant with a great neon sign for the  Kingman Club sign out front.

Kingman Club neon sign outside Rickety Cricket restaurant

From here, we backtracked to 4th Street, then walked a block south to the water towers, the train depot, and our vehicle.

There is a lot more to see in Kingman. We decided to save a walk further north on 4th Street for another time. Along 4th Street there’s a 1939 Masonic temple, an 1896 little red schoolhouse, a former post office built in 1935, a 1904 Elks lodge, the 1951 Mohave county Court House, and the 1909-1910 Mohave County Jail, among other historic sites.

Just past the train depot, there are two Route 66s to consider. The original Route 66, which followed the National Old Trails Highway, turns south on 4th Street. In a couple of blocks, it bends right onto Old Trails Road. Old Trails Road twists and turns for a few miles before petering out. We took the newer 1952 alignment. Just past the Visitor Center, Route 66 bends left (south). Soon we could see the original Route 66 to the east, on the other side of the railroad tracks.

Route 66 south of Kingman, with the original Route 66 in the distance

In about 2 or 3 miles, Route 66 starts to run along the south side of I-40. Take the first right turn to cross I-40. Then take the first left turn onto AZ 10—the famous Oatman Highway and the next part of our Route 66 adventure.

A final tip: Consider getting gas before leaving Kingman. There aren’t many gas stations between Kingman and the California state line, and gas is more expensive in California.

2 comments:

  1. A lot of great information! I’ve taken the old 66 to Oatman, the road is a little rough especially by the Jail house.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you! Kingman is a great stop along Route 66.

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