Angel & Vilma Delgadillo's Route 66 Gift Shop & Visitor's Center

Seligman, Arizona - The Birthplace of HISTORIC Route 66

Enjoying a root beer float from Delgadillo's Snow Cap Drive-In on a HOT summer day (thank you, Denise!) and then walking into Angel & Vilma's Delgadillo's Route 66 Gift Shop & Visitor's Center...



In 1926, the idea of Route 66 was born. Although much of Route 66 was in use that first decade during construction, it was not until 1938 that it was reported as continuously paved from Chicago to Los Angeles. Originally Route 66 ran through Seligman along the railroad tracks, where Railroad Avenue lies today. Before long it was moved one block north to where it has remained.

Because Route 66 crossed areas of the country that were mostly flat terrain with moderate climates, the new highway provided easy driving from the Midwest to the Pacific. Route 66's untraditional diagonal course connected numerous rural towns bringing greater mobility to the people of the remote communities as well as
the travelers passing through.

As traffic started flowing through town, the ranch and railroad-based Seligman became linked to greater America in another way besides the railroad. Because the birth of Route 66 coincided with the depression it did not immediately help bring a great deal of prosperity to the small town. But later in the more prosperous years after World War II, more mobile Americans started touring the country in their cars. Residents began
to develop new businesses and services for travelers. Motels, restaurants, gas stations, and automobile service stations occupied the town.

Because America was becoming increasingly mobile President Eisenhower committed himself to building a system of efficient national highways across the country. In 1956 the Federal Aid Highway Act was passed.

This led to the freeway system that we know today which runs past all the small towns that Route 66 once connected. By 1970 almost all of the original sections of America's Main Street were bypassed by freeways. In 1978, Interstate 40 opened just a couple miles south of Seligman, replacing U.S. Highway 66 as the main thoroughfare across northwest Arizona. Not until 1984 did the final section of the Chicago-to-Los Angeles highway get bypassed by the freeway system just 43 miles east of Seligman in Williams, Arizona. The most famous road in America was no more.

Seligman is known as The Birthplace of Historic Route 66 not because it is the birthplace of Route 66 itself but because it is the birthplace of its rejuvenation as a historic highway. In 1987, residents of Seligman, most notably, Angel Delgadillo, along with fellow Route 66 lovers in Kingman founded the Historic Route 66 Association of
Arizona and through their efforts the State of Arizona dedicated U.S. 66 from Seligman to Kingman as Historic Route 66. Now all stretches of Route 66 in Arizona are
designated as historic and Seligman is its birthplace.

Seligman has the pleasure of being the first stop heading west on the longest uninterrupted stretch of Route 66. For approximately 160 miles, from exit 139 on I-40 all
the way to Topock, Arizona, the nostalgic-minded can drive back in time and experience America's Main Street much the same as did travelers from different eras.

Historic Route 66 has been resigned and many stretches are scenic byways. There are even new Burma Shave signs up to help get the full historic experience. Route 66 does indeed live on and Seligman is proud to be a part of the living history that is The Mother Road.

Route 66 Seligmann - Hackberry

Route 66 Seligmann - Hackberry
See this too: The Story of Seligman And Angel Delgadillo.

???? History and Haircut with National Treasure Guardian Angel of Route 66 | Seligman AZ

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Three years after our first Route 66 Wet Shave experience, HairCut Harry returns to Seligman, AZ, to finally get a haircut and American history lesson from the Guardian of U.S. Route 66, Angel Delgadillo, who explains to us all the problems in this country and how we the people can continue to keep America a great place to be!

90-year old barber and founder of Historic Route 66 of Arizona, Angel Delgadillo, gives us all a lesson in life!!

Filmed at Angel and Vilma’s Route 66 Gift Shop and Barbershop located on historic Route 66 in Seligman, Arizona. Angel is a founder of the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona, established in 1987 to campaign for Historic Route 66 signage on the former US highway; similar initiatives have since been established in every U.S. Route 66 state.

Open 7-days a week, so stop by and say hello to Angel!!
Delgadillo's Route 66 Gift Shop, 22265 Historic Rte 66, Seligman, AZ 86337.

Check out our first visit to Angel when I get a “Classic Old Time Wet Shave by the Guardian Angel of Route 66 – Seligman AZ ” -

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Sand Hills Curiosity Shop Erik OK 120603

While touring Route 66 we wandered into Erik Oklahoma late on a Sunday Afternoon. While scoping out the Sand hills Curiosity Shop , a place decked out with incredible memorabilia Harley Russell invited us in and gave us the great souvenir of the visit and trip. This is a mandatory stop if you're driving the Mother Road. Read it all at 66in25 on Blogspot!

U.S. Route 66 Highway Gift Shop, Williams, Arizona, 6 August 2015, Sidewalk, Parking, GP128841

U.S. Route 66 Highway Gift Shop, Williams, Arizona, 6 August 2015, Sidewalk, Parking, GP128841