Flagstaff Arizona and the Railroad
by Priscilla Burgers
Title
Flagstaff Arizona and the Railroad
Artist
Priscilla Burgers
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
FLAGSTAFF ARIZONA AND THE RAILROAD by PRISCILLA BURGERS
The railroad has always had an important association with Route 66, and this is well illustrated in central Flagstaff. A walk along Santa Fe Avenue (Route 66) shows the influence of the railroad on the city's development, as every building is oriented toward the iron tracks. As automobiles replaced the train as the country's primary mode of transportation, the Route 66 corridor paralleling the tracks exerted a similar force on development. The Atlantic and Pacific Railroad laid tracks through Flagstaff and the rest of northern Arizona and New Mexico in the 1880s. After the Santa Fe Railroad's purchase of the line by 1885, Flagstaff became part of a continuous rail connection between St. Louis and the Pacific Ocean. Constructed after an 1888 fire and now used as offices by the Burlington, Northern, and Santa Fe Railway, this sandstone depot was at the geographic center of Flagstaff's development. The transportation connection enabled regional industries like lumber, cattle, and sheep to develop and thrive. By 1895, tourism was also an important industry, with visitors drawn by the cool summer climate and nearby Grand Canyon, Oak Creek Canyon, Walnut Canyon, and San Francisco Peaks. The National Old Trails Road, an early predecessor of Route 66, followed railroad alignments through Flagstaff and other areas of northern Arizona in the 1910's. Railroad traffic continued to be important, however, and in 1926, the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway built a new, more elaborate railroad depot across from this old one. The new Tudor Revival- and Queen Anne-influenced building is the Flagstaff Visitor Center today.
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Uploaded
December 16th, 2015
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