Winslow, AZ
Standing on the Corner In... the town that won't quit
by David Ortiz
Winslow, Arizona’s claim to fame comes from that Eagles’ song—“Standin’ on the corner in Winslow, Arizona, and such a fine sight to see.”
Take it Easy, written by Jackson Browne and Glenn Frey and performed by The Eagles, was a runaway hit. It caused many visitors in northern Arizona to pull off the interstate, curious to see just what Winslow looked like.
You can literally stand on the corner in downtown Winslow—thousands of people do every year—and have your picture taken at the Standin’ on the Corner Park. The bronze statue at the park depicts a man—you guessed it—standing on the corner. The mural behind the statue shows the girl driving by in a flatbed Ford truck, “slowin’ down to take a look at me.” She’s in the song as well.
Local resident Janice Griffith, who runs the Old Trails Historical Museum, says “after the song came out in 1971, a group of us noticed how people would stop in downtown Winslow and have their picture taken on street corners.”
Janice’s friend, Marie Lamar, another long-time resident, explains, “A group of us got together and figured putting up the park might be a way to revitalize downtown Winslow.” They and a few other residents banded together and began the process of bringing the downtown to life again.
Janice shakes her head. “We’re the classic case of a town that got bypassed ... when they built I-40,” she says.
But Winslow has a history. Before there was the song, there was the railroad, and the famous La Posada Hotel, and Fred Harvey Girls (waitresses who worked in restaurants along the Santa Fe Railroad for Fred Harvey, a hotel developer).
In the 1920s, Winslow was a boom town, fueled by the Santa Fe Railroad—for decades, the lifeblood of the town. Named for Gen. Edward Winslow, president of the St. Louis and Santa Fe Railway, the community became a mecca for travelers crossing the county.
The local airport, still in operation, was designed by Charles Lindbergh and named for him. Janice Griffith tells of the time Will Rogers was there. “He was flying back to Los Angeles and got airsick,” she says, “so the pilot stopped in Winslow.” There is a photograph showing Rogers in downtown Winslow.
In 1930, La Posada Hotel, designed by Western architect Mary Colter, opened for business. It soon became famous as a premier hotel/restaurant staffed by Fred Harvey Girls. People such as Clark Gable and other movie stars stayed here—even Albert Einstein and the Crown Prince of Japan spent a night at La Posada. It was designed as a “grand hacienda” for comfort and style.
But the hotel closed in 1957, and the railroad began to downsize. When the new interstate, I-40, routed through traffic around Winslow, some townspeople worried about decline.
And then Take It Easy hit the airwaves.
For years afterwards, the tourists came and took pictures. Then, says Janice Griffith, they got the idea—“Why not capitalize on all those people taking all those pictures in downtown Winslow?”
The revitalization of Winslow began. Janice laughs, “You know that line in the song, “lighten up while you still can”? Well, that’s what Marie and I and others thought—this town needs to lighten up. Sure, the downtown looked terrible, but we figured you had to start somewhere.”
Thus was born the Standin’ on the Corner park. And then La Posada Hotel was bought by Allen Affeltt.
“The town had gone to sleep,” he says. “About the only real activity was all the tourists taking pictures in downtown Winslow.” Now the hotel has a chef trained in England and has 20 rooms available, and a restaurant featuring braised lamb shanks in a red wine sauce as well as ground beef and onions topped with mashed potatoes and cheese.
As resident Gloria Tsosie explains, “that song was the best thing that ever happened to this town.”
David Ortiz is a media relations specialist at Northern Arizona University.
first appeared: 4/8/2001
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10/31/08 7:55 PM
The lyrics are about the Rte.66 exit entry to Winslow, not the old song about standing on the corner. The young woman in the mural somewhat resembles the person who knew how to slow her stickshift flatbed truck flirtatiously. The part of town was viewable from the hitch-hike location at the highway. She simply was in the feed store area retrieving bales of hay for a horse. Ask Jackson, who helped me write many of the early verses of the tune. I like the sculpture work on the statue. The idea of a town location by a park is excellent, too. Winslow is a friendly place which deserves the publicity, and this modern folk legend.
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