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 in 1890. |
Winslow in 1921. |
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 1920s
and ’30s TWA ran eight flights a day. Howard Hughes, the owner of TWA, was a
frequent visitor.
Winslow was the biggest city in the region through the
1950’s. Fred Harvey thought 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 town.
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.
Kristy standin' on the corner. |
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.
2 comments:
It has always been interesting to me how song writers get the ideas for and write their songs. The story I heard about “Take it Easy” was that Jackson Browne was creating it on the piano and got stuck at the line “...such a fine sight to see...” and kept playing it when Glenn Frye just walked by and sang the whole next part off the top of his head,”...It’s a girl my lord in a flatbed Ford...”
Terry,
And the song is so iconic now. I've heard similar things about Elton John. He wrote some of his most famous songs in about 15 minutes. Such talent. Thanks for stopping by!!
Kristy
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