By Kristy McCaffrey
Located in northeastern Arizona lies the town of Winslow. In
1880, Winslow became a division point for the Santa Fe Railway and in 1881
became a regular terminal. A post office was established in 1882. The town,
originally just a tent settlement, was named for General Edward F. Winslow,
president of the railroad.
 |
| Winslow, Arizona ~ 1890 |
Long before Flagstaff and Sedona became popular vacation
towns in Arizona, everyone visited Winslow and the La Posada Hotel for special
occasions. Built in 1929 by the Santa Fe Railway, it was the work of esteemed
architect Mary Jane Colter, known for the design of many structures at the
Grand Canyon. La Posada, however, was her masterpiece and favorite project.
 |
| La Posada Hotel |
La Posada is one of the last of a series of hotel-depot
complexes built across the Southwestern United States in a collaboration between
Fred Harvey and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. Designed for a
railroad traveling public, the original front door faced the tracks to the
south. It was thought that most guests would arrive by train and stay for
several days, so day tours to the Petrified Forest and Indian sites were made
available. For a fee you could get a driver, a guide, a picnic, and a custom
Packard or Cadillac touring car.
The Winslow-Lindbergh Regional Airport was designed by
Charles Lindbergh and is the last remaining airfield in the world drafted by
the famed pilot. Currently there are no commercial flights, but in the 1920’s
and ‘30’s TWA ran eight flights a day. Howard Hughes, the owner of TWA, was a
frequent visitor.
 |
| Winslow ~ 1921 |
Winslow was the biggest city in the region through the
1950’s. Fred Harvey thought that it would grow to be like Santa Fe and become the
cultural and money capital of northern Arizona. Downtown Winslow was so busy
that Route 66—originally routed through the town—became the first divided
highway in Arizona, and hosted department stores like Sears, Pennys and Wards,
a 400-seat theater, and over a hundred local businesses. Unfortunately, the
town declined as train travel became less prevalent and Interstate-40 bypassed
the area.
Winslow was made famous in the Eagles’ 1972 song “Take It
Easy”, written by Jackson Browne and Glenn Frey, and a monument on a street
corner in town commemorates the reference.
 |
| Me at the monument to 'Take It Easy'. |
“...standin’ on a corner in Winslow, Arizona and such a fine
sight to see. It’s a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed Ford, slowin’ down to take a
look at me.”
Today, La Posada Hotel has been restored and tourism
benefits the town, which lies in close proximity to the Navajo Reservation, the
Painted Desert, and Meteor Crater.
 |
| Inside La Posada today. |
