Route 66 Canyon Lodge

 Seligman Historic District is located in Seligman, AZ. The district is  roughly bounded by First and Lamport Sts. and Picacho and Railroad Aves.   Chino St., now renamed Historic Route 66, is the main east-west  artery, and Main St. the primary north-south street in the district. The  1926 alignment of Route 66 begins at the corner of Lamport St. and East  Railroad Ave., and extends along E. Railroad Ave. to Main St. then  north on Main St. to the corner of Main and Chino Sts. 

Seligman Historic District in Seligman, AZ Photo courtesy of Rhys Martin 

         Quick Facts     Significance:  Historic district along Route 66      Designation:  National Register of Historic Places         

Seligman Commercial Historic District is the commercial heart of the  small community of Seligman, Arizona and the commercial center of  Northern Yavapai County. First a railroad center, Seligman’s commercial  core grew when Route 66 came through in 1926. The district is an  important reminder of how transportation systems influenced the  development of communities in the American West. The district contains a  significant collection of railroad and auto related commercial  architecture. Seligman offers today’s travelers a real understanding of  what kinds of commercial establishments were available to motorists  travelling the Mother Road.
 

Seligman got its start when James A. Lamport, a land surveyor, obtained a  homestead claim in 1895 along the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad and  laid out a grid of 300-foot-square blocks along the tracks. In the first  decade of the 20th century, the Old Trails Highway, the first true  transcontinental roadway through northern Arizona, came through Seligman  along Railroad Avenue beside the tracks, then zigzagged along Havasu,  Main, and Chino Streets. This same corridor became Route 66 from 1926  until 1933. After that time, Route 66 took a new more direct east-west  route along Chino Street, eliminating the zigzags.
 

The Arizona Highway Department reported that more than 500,000 out of  state cars travelled Route 66 in 1937, but Seligman experienced its real  heyday after World War II, when returning veterans and other motorists  hit the road and made the Southwest a popular tourist destination.  Seligman’s businesses lured travelers along Route 66 with their  exuberant slogans, signs, neon lights, and other gimmicks, until  Interstate 40 opened in 1978, bypassing Seligman and signaling the end  of the heyday of the Mother Road.
 

In the Seligman Commercial Historic District, the 50-foot wide 1926 to  1933 alignment of Route 66 follows two blocks along Railroad Avenue and  one block along Main Street between Railroad Avenue and Chino. Driving  this segment gives today’s visitors an opportunity to experience what  Route 66 looked like in its infancy.
 

The early 20th century commercial buildings along the streets of the  district are similar to those from the same period in small towns across  America. Most are one story with central, sometimes recessed, entries;  transomed windows; sloping or flat canopies; and tall parapets. Examples  include Pitts General Merchandise Store and the the U.S. Post Office  from 1903, Pioneer Hall and Theatre and the Seligman Garage from 1905,  and Seligman Pool Hall from 1923.
 

After the 1933 rerouting of Route 66, commercial buildings in the  district became more ostentatious and exuberant manifestations of the  roadside architectural style. The Deluxe Inn, Snow Cap Drive-In, Supai  Motel, Nomad Motel, Canyon Shadows Motel, Aztec Motel, and Copper Cart  Restaurant exemplify this change. Automobile dealerships like Olson’s  Chevrolet and the Studebaker Agency, and repair shops such as Donovan’s  1-Stop Garage and the Snow Cap Drive-in attest to the popularity of the  automobile. Snow Cap Drive-In, with its neon lights and visual appeal,  is one of the best examples of roadside architecture in northern  Arizona. Donovan’s Texaco Station, Olson’s Shell Station, the Richfield  Oil Station, the Studebaker Agency, and Olson’s Chevrolet are  illustrations of the petroleum or automobile company franchises that  sprung up along Route 66.
 

After Interstate 40 bypassed Seligman in 1978, commercial activity in  the district declined steeply. A group of local business people  successfully lobbied the State of Arizona to designate Route 66 as a  Historic Highway in 1987, and Seligman’s Chamber of Commerce started  promoting the town as the “Birthplace of Historic Route 66.” The  National Park Service Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program provided a  grant to document and nominate the district to the National Register of  Historic Places. National Register listing of the district in 2005  focused additional public attention on Seligman and the value of  preserving the significant historic resources that illustrate its  history. 
 

Seligman Historic District is located in Seligman, AZ. The district is  roughly bounded by First and Lamport Sts. and Picacho and Railroad Aves.  Chino St., now renamed Historic Route 66, is the main east-west artery,  and Main St. the primary north-south street in the district. The 1926  alignment of Route 66 begins at the corner of Lamport St. and East  Railroad Ave., and extends along E. Railroad Ave. to Main St. then north  on Main St. to the corner of Main and Chino Sts.
 

See the Seligman Historic District National Register nomination form.
 

See the Seligman Historic District National Register nomination form.