Route 66 Neon Signs

In 1934, Route 66 was rerouted through Flagstaff. The original 1926 alignment ran along what is now Santa Fe Avenue, but the reroute shifted traffic to South San Francisco Street and Milton Road. Suddenly, motels on the Southside were on the highway, and they needed to be seen.

What followed was a neon arms race. Motel owners competed to build the biggest, brightest, most eye-catching signs. The signs that remain today are originals, not reproductions, pieces of commercial folk art from the mid-twentieth century.

In Flagstaff, these neon signs are not museum pieces. They still glow above active businesses on streets that people drive every day. The 1934 reroute was a turning point, and why it happened is a story you need to hear on foot.

The rest of this story? You will hear it on the tour.