Route 66 in Flagstaff: The Mother Road at 100

Route 66 turns 100 this year, and November 11, 2026 is the exact centennial: the day in 1926 that the federal highway system gave the route its number and put Flagstaff on the map. Flagstaff is one of the few towns where the Mother Road still runs through the middle of downtown, and it is the only city in Arizona where the highway split into two alignments, a legacy you can still walk today. Here is how the road came through town, what survives of it, and where to see it, with every fact sourced and every event pointed back to the calendar that verifies it.

Why 2026 is the big year for Route 66

Route 66 was established on November 11, 1926 as a U.S. highway running roughly 2,448 miles from Chicago to Santa Monica. Congress made the 100th anniversary official years in advance: the Route 66 Centennial Commission Act, signed into law in late 2020, created a national commission to plan and coordinate the centennial. Festivities have been running across the country all through 2026, building to the official date of November 11, 2026.

The route66centennial.org commission page

For Flagstaff that date is personal: the town sits squarely on the Mother Road, and this November it is the exact date of a birthday party at the Flagstaff Visitor Center down on the historic highway.

Why the road ran through Flagstaff the way it did

Flagstaff's highway history reaches back before 1926. Lt. Edward Beale's wagon road came through the future townsite in 1857, the railroad followed in 1882, and the National Old Trails Highway paved the way for U.S. 66. The original 1926 alignment ran on the south side of the railroad tracks, along what is now Phoenix Avenue and Mikes Pike, crossing the rails at Beaver Street to serve the spur that fed the Riordan lumber mill.

Walk This Talk: Flagstaff's original Route 66 alignment, from Discover Flagstaff

By the mid-1930s, Dust Bowl-era traffic clogging downtown pushed the state to dig a railroad underpass in 1934 and 1935 and reroute the highway to the north side of the tracks, onto Santa Fe Avenue, which was originally called Railroad Avenue. That road, still known as Historic Route 66, has been the Mother Road's passage through downtown ever since, and Flagstaff remains the only city in Arizona where both the 1926 and the 1930s alignments survive.

Flagstaff's Route 66 page at the official tourism visitor site

One more distinction worth knowing: at about 7,000 feet in elevation, Flagstaff is the highest city along the entire ~2,440-mile route, a mountain town where Route 66 travelers traded desert heat for ponderosa pines and the San Francisco Peaks on the horizon.

The landmarks that are still standing

Almost a century on, a surprising share of the roadside economy survives in Flagstaff, and much of it surrounds the historic corridor:

• The 1926 Santa Fe Railway Depot at 1 East Route 66, now the Flagstaff Visitor Center and Amtrak station. The 1930s reroute aimed the highway straight at it, and it is the natural place to start a tour.
• The Weatherford Hotel, which opened downtown on January 1, 1900, generations before the highway got its number.
• The Hotel Monte Vista, built in 1926 and opened January 1, 1927, with novelist Zane Grey among its early backers; its neon sign is one of the most photographed along the route.
• The Babbitt Brothers building downtown, tied to the ranching family that shaped Flagstaff commerce for generations.
• The Museum Club, the 1931 log-cabin roadhouse known as "The Zoo," at 3404 E Route 66, still hosting live music today.
• Motel Du Beau (1929), one of Flagstaff's first motels, on the old motel row.
• Mother Road Brewing Company, which takes its name from the highway and sits right on the original 1926 Mikes Pike alignment.

The Hotel Monte Vista's own history page

The Museum Club's events and calendar

How to see Route 66 in Flagstaff today

Start at the Flagstaff Visitor Center on the historic corridor and follow the free self-guided walking tour: sixteen stops trace both the 1926 and the 1934 alignments, from Heritage Square to the depot. Drive the historic strip on Santa Fe Avenue, cruise the old motel row, and end the evening at Mother Road Brewing or one of the downtown theaters, because in Flagstaff the Mother Road is a working main street, not a museum.

The Discover Flagstaff Route 66 centennial guide

More from the road: the full things-to-do guide to Flagstaff

Marking the centennial in Flagstaff this year

Flagstaff has been celebrating all year: the Route 66 Centennial Celebration filled Aspen Avenue near Heritage Square in June with classic cars and street music, a centennial car show and Weenie Walk ran in April, and the Mother Road Classic Car Show returned in mid-August. Two milestone moments are still ahead as of this writing: on November 11, 2026, the exact 100th anniversary, the Flagstaff Visitor Center hosts The Mother Road's 100th Birthday Bash with classic cars on display and a free community celebration, and at 1:00 PM that same day Arizona writer Roger Naylor celebrates the centennial at the Museum of Northern Arizona.

Both November 11 events, sourced and verified, on the What's Happening page

Events can shift, so check the roundup before you plan the drive down Santa Fe Avenue, and follow the community calendars it links to for the full picture.

What the highway heritage means for life here

For newcomers, Route 66 is part of why downtown Flagstaff feels the way it does: historic motels, vintage neon, and a main street literally shaped by an old road. The 100-year marker is a good excuse to drive the corridor, and a genuinely useful lens on the history woven into the neighborhoods near downtown.

Downtown Flagstaff neighborhood guide

The complete Moving to Flagstaff guide

Current Flagstaff market data and listings at Flagstaff Property Experts

Mike's live listings on his Zillow profile