Hopi Drive and Navajo Blvd. were and are the two major streets in Holbrook and both were Route 66. Since nearly all commercial businesses were located on one of these streets, essentially any matchcover from a traveler-oriented business in the city of Holbrook is included. All of the Whiting Brothers regional matchcovers are listed in Holbrook since Holbrook was the headquarters of the enterprise.
The two main commercial streets through Winslow during the Route 66 era were 2nd Street (one way eastbound) and 3rd Street (one way westbound) so most old Winslow matchcovers are included in this database. Matchcovers from businesses with addresses on the cross streets or 1st Street are not included.
The website visitor will notice that many Winslow matchcovers do not have either a street address or highway number printed on them. But telephone directories published during the 1950s and 1960s confirm that these businesses were on US Highway 66 including Crawley’s (406 W. 2nd), Drumm Court (317 W. 2nd), For Men (114 W. 2nd), Grand Café (101 E. 2nd), Hotel Chief (208 E. 2nd – Chief Apartments today), Kenny’s Liquor Store (218 E. 2nd), Knotty Pines (1500 E. 3rd), La Posada Hotel (2nd Street and remodeled and open today) and Lorenzo Hubbell (523 W. 2nd).
US Highway 66 in Flagstaff was on East Santa Fe Avenue from the downtown area all the way east and South Sitgreaves (today Milton), but in west Flagstaff the matchcovers usually say “West Highway 66”. An early alignment of Highway 66 included Beaver Street and Mike’s Pike in downtown Flagstaff so matchcovers from the Du Beau Motel (Beaver at Phoenix) and Bill Preston Chevron (Mike’s Pike) are included. Telephone directories issued during the 1950s and 1960s confirm that other businesses were on US Highway 66 when no address or highway number is printed on the matchcover including the Flamingo Motel (602 W. Highway 66 – now Super 8), Goble Tire Service (206 E. Santa Fe) and Young & Yates Chevron (124 E. Santa Fe).
The Peoria Inn and the Sunnyside Café were listed in early telephone directories as “East of Flagstaff” beyond the city street numbering system but since these businesses were traveler-oriented I assume they were on Highway 66.
Matchcovers from some Flagstaff businesses such as the La Fonda Café (E. 2nd Street) and Yiya’s Coffee Shop (US Highway 89) are not included.
The only matchcovers from businesses in Flagstaff knowingly not exactly on Highway 66 that are included are from the Weatherford Hotel and the Hotel Monte Vista, both of which are one block north of Santa Fe Avenue. Both hotels have always been associated with the highway and were listed in Jack Rittenhouse’s booklet “A Guide Book to Highway 66” published in 1946.
Route 66 initially passed through Williams on Bill Williams Avenue but as traffic increased Bill Williams Avenue was dedicated to eastbound Route 66 and Railroad Avenue carried westbound Route 66. Essentially all front strike matchcovers from Williams businesses were located on one of these streets. Some later matchcovers were from businesses on Grand Canyon Blvd. (like Buckles, for example) so they are not included. The one exception is the matchcover from the Pine Ridge Courts located at 110 South Lewis about one block south of Bill Williams Avenue as it would just have to have signage on Route 66 telling travelers how to get to it. And, besides, the Pine Ridge Courts still stands today as unnamed apartments. Many of the matchcovers displayed from Williams that do not have addresses are easily identifiable as being from old Route 66 as there are multiple street scene postcards that actually show these businesses. But telephone books also confirm these locations including the Adams Grocery (125 W. Bill Williams Avenue), the Beacon Café (114 W. Bill Williams), the Canyon Club (132 W. Bill Williams), Cheshire Motors (520 E. Bill Williams Avenue and listed in Jack Rittenhouse’s booklet cited above), the Coffee Pot (117 E. Bill Williams), the Sultana (301 W. Bill Williams and still in business), Sutton’s Hotel Cottages (321 W. Bill Williams and later the Whiting Brothers motel and now the National 9 Motel with an adjusted street address of 315 W. Bill Williams), and the Towne House (525 W. Bill Williams Avenue).
The matchcover from the Highway Diner, with locations in Winslow, Williams and Flagstaff, lists no addresses. Well, with a name like “Highway Diner” you would have to figure that the businesses would be on Highway 66 and you would be right. Old telephone directories confirm that the Winslow location was at 320 East 2nd Street; the Williams location was at 237 East Bill Williams Avenue; and the Flagstaff location was at 208 West Santa Fe Avenue and all of these addresses were valid Route 66 locations.
One matchcover from the Qumacho Inn Café in Peach Springs (7-8375) indicates incorrectly that the business was located on U.S. 60.
Any front strike matchcover from Kingman that says “66” on it or is from Front Street or from Andy Devine (Front Street re-named) is included. Some rear strike matchcovers from Andy Devine are included if we can trace the business lineage back to the commissioned Route 66 days. Telephone directories confirm that the Hotel Beale (325 E. Andy Devine); Richey’s Café (311 E. Andy Devine); and the Rail Buffet (339 E. Front) were all on Route 66. The location of the Gaddis Café has been verified from street scene postcards. The Kingman Café became the Kimo Café which was remodeled in the 1990s to become today’s Mr. D’z Route 66 Diner at 105 E. Andy Devine. The locations of the Old Trails Club and the Richards Motel are unverified but we think that maybe Richards Motel is the old Richards Court at 324 Topeka just across the railroad tracks from Andy Devine. These matchcovers are included in the database for now but we’d like to know if anyone knows more about the actual locations of these old businesses.
Matchcovers from Kingman businesses on US Highway 93 or Beale Street are not included. There were several motels on US Highway 93 and a number of businesses, like the Senz Liquor Store, that were on Beale Street.