Holbrook

Holbrook's most notable Route 66 landmark is  the Wigwam Motel, the sixth of seven teepee-themed lodges built across the country. But the town has  other gems of the Route 66 era from 1926 to 1978 when Interstate 40 replaced the Mother Road.

Holbrook has historic, unrestored stone buildings south of the railroad depot, including the Bucket of Blood Saloon. Other relics worth a look are a Whiting Brothers  filling station (see below)  and the Plainsman coffee shop.  The closed restaurant occupied a midcentury modern building that doesn't match its frontiersman theme. Sadly the Plainsman sign was sold to a collector in 2022.

Chester Lewis built the Wigwam Motel in 1950 after visiting Cave City, Ky., where architect Frank Redford built the original Wigwam in 1938. The teepees  had radios that charged guests a dime to connect to the airwaves.

Lewis paid that revenue to Redford in exchange for the rights to  the Wigwam concept. Lewis sold the Wigwam in the 1970s but his family bought it back in 1988 after his death. The other remaining Wigwam motels are in Cave City and San Bernadino, Calif. 

Joe & Aggies's Cafe started serving locals and travelers in 1943 in a pink building at the center to town. But it closed a few years back after a Covid shutdown. 

The 1956 Globetrotter Lodge on Route 66 originally was the Sun n' Sand motel. The Globetrotter was a popular independent motel until recently but it too is  closed. Several other vintage motels in Holbrook have given way to chain motels near Interstate 40. 

Founded: 1881
Elevation: 5,069
Population: 5,067

This steakhouse has seen better days. Pigeons are welcome in the sign.

Go west to Joseph City:
http://www.ontheroadarizona.com/josephcity66.html

A classic Buick and Studebaker are part of the decor at Holbrook's 1950 Wigwam Motel, one of seven tepee-theme hotels.

Wigwam Motel looked barren in this 1979 photo, a year after Interstate 40 bypassed Holbrook. (Photo by John Margolies/Library of Congress)

Chester Lewis saw the original Wigwam Motel in Cave City, Ky., designed by Frank Redford, and decided to build one on Route 66 in Arizona.

The Plainsman opened on Route 66 in 1966, the same year as a film of the same name. It's been closed for years. The sign was sold and removed in June 2022.

The midcentury modern Sahara Inn began as a Whiting Bros. Motor Hotel.

Joe & Aggie's opened in 1943 but closed a few years back.

This muffler shop was east of the Wigwam Motel. Originally it was part of the Forest Cafe and Motel on Route 66. The building was razed in 2024.

A vintage Whiting Bros. filling station with fluted wooden posts is falling into ruin on the east side of Holbrook.

Dairy Queen still has an old style blue and white neon sign in Holbrook.

Pow Wow Trading Post has added herbal ventures to its towering sign.