The Winslow Commercial Historic District is roughly bounded by 3rd, Williamson Ave., 1st, and Warren Ave. in Winslow AZ. It contains many buildings along US Route 66 which ran through town until Route 66 was disestablished in the 1980s.
From the National Park Service website: (
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"SUMMARY
The Winslow Commercial Historic District is comprised of an intact grouping of one- and two-story commercial structures in the historic central business district of Winslow, Arizona, dating from 1883-1935. The buildings form facade lines along the street rights-of-way which reinforce the commercial character of the District.
Most properties retain their significant character-defining elements and are in fair condition, although most storefronts and some entire facades have been altered. Many alterations are reversible. The buildings of the district form coherent streetscapes which evoke a feeling of time and place.
...
A few buildings are worthy of special note. The Breed Building (9-10),
built in 1883, was the first permanent building in Winslow and is built of native sandstone. The Post Office (6-97) is a stucco Federalist Moderne structure which stands out as being quite different in character from other buildings in the district. It was the last building built within the historic period (1935). The Navajo County Bank Building (9-7), built in 1904, has a regionally characteristic Indian motif in the parapet brickwork. The Elks Building (6-9) retains a high degree of integrity, and by virtue of its size and location, is a landmark building in the District. The J. C. Penney Building (6-34) is the largest, and earliest example of a cast concrete building in Winslow, built between 1916 and 1927. It is now faced with polychrome brick, added in the 1920s."
An old Trading post/curio shop building just 1/2 a block west of the Navajo County Bank is one of the Blasterz favorite buildings in this district (although officially listed as non-contributing), based on its remarkable ghost sign and the interesting and tragic history of the family that ran this post.
For sheer beauty, the Navajo bank Building can't be beat, though. It had been home to Dar's Diner and what looked to be a cool ice cream shop, but the ice cream shop closed because the owner didn't have the first clue about how to run it profitably (or so we were told by townies).
In the meantime, when visiting Winslow eat at Dar's Diner (in the western half of the bank building) -- where the breakfasts come with delicious homemade jams from an old Navajo woman who "on the rez" who makes fruit jellies and jams with her homegrown fruit. Blasterz give Dar's 5 stars out of five :)
More information on this building can be found here: (
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"The Navajo County Bank (9-7)opened the first bank in Winslow in June, 1900. It was a branch of the regional bank which later became known as the Navajo Apache Bank and Trust Company. In 1916, the Navajo Apache Bank and Trust was reorganized and its branch in Winslow was named the Arizona State Bank of Winslow. By 1917, it had enlarged its building for additional storeroom space and was a well-established banking institution"