FORGOTTEN AMERICA, ROUTE 66: WILLIAMS, ARIZONA, THE GATEWAY TO THE GRAND CANYON

 

One particular scene from Pixar’s Cars (one of the most charming tributes to America’s Highway the movies have produced) stands in my memory. Learning to love the Podunk town of Radiator Springs where he currently finds himself sentenced to labor after a night of reckless driving damaged the town’s crumbling roadway (yes, the references to Route 66 are many and subtle), Lightning McQueen, the daredevil racecar, cuts loose and takes off for a drive through the desert with his new friend Sally, the resident Porsche. Mostly they frolic through the desert landscape characteristic of Radiator Springs until the scenery changes to a pine forest where they splash through puddles.

It’s a beautiful scene, capturing the diverse landscapes of Route 66. And so, as I made my way to Williams, Arizona, the desert gradually became a forest with pines thinner than I was used to seeing. I loved the wide variety of vistas offered by the road, but the pine forest gave me a distinct comfort reminding me of the pine forests back east.

It would prove a fitting welcome to what would be my favorite city on this trip. Ironically, Williams also marks a sad point in the history of Route 66. When I-40 bypassed the town in October of 1984, the death-knell of Route 66 was officially recognized. A year later, the Mother Road, America’s Highway, the path to dreams for so many was decommissioned.

And yet, the portion of Route 66 that passes through Williams vibrated with life in a way I had not seen elsewhere. The very year that Route 66 saw its effective demise in Williams, its portion in that city was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The strip abounds with historic buildings that once served as the city’s post-office, drug store or department stores and have now been given a new lease on life as souvenir shops, saloons and convenience stores. Many of these buildings, dating back to the early 20^th-century, just as the population of Williams (which was founded in 1881 by an eccentric trapper by the name of William Shirley “Old Bill” Williams, have survived fires and decay. But with the astounding resiliency that defines Route 66 and the courageous pioneers and dreamers who have traversed it over the decades, they stand tall.

After all, long before Route 66, transportation was the foundation of Williams.

A year prior to its founding, work began on the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad, which saw an influx of railroad workers who brought and raised their families in the camps surrounding what a year later would be incorporated as Williams, Arizona. After the Atlantic and Pacific was completed in 1882, the Saginaw Lumber Company brought business to the new town the following year along with more inhabitants.

Seven years later copper was discovered in the mountains just north of the city and mining became the dominant industry in Williams until 1901 when the Santa Fe Railway turned the abandoned mining tracks as passages to the Grand Canyon, attracting tourists by the score. This legacy lives on in the city that, once again in 1984, was christened the Gateway to the Grand Canyon.

For all its liveliness, Williams is a relaxing city and a much welcome change of pace. I discovered a pleasant restaurant, Station 66 Italian bistro which pays tribute in both namesake and architecture to its former life as a Texaco gas station. The outdoor seating helps make the most of the warm summer weather and musicians often perform before guests. Across the street is the Pine Country Restaurant which I recommend for its wide variety of pies. I spent most of the evening learning about the historic buildings and preparing for the next day when Williams would be my own gateway to the Grand Canyon.