By 1912, the year of Arizona Statehood, Winslow was referred to as “the metropolis of Northern Arizona.” Its business district on Front (now First) Street and Kinsley Avenue was bustling with clothing stores, laundries, drug stores, barbers, markets, bakeries, restaurants, saloons, hotels, and boardinghouses.

Built around 1900, the gazebo at Front and Kinsley was the city’s gathering point for community events such as war-bond drives and concerts by the Ellis Boys Band. The gazebo was torn down in the 1940s, when the business district had long since moved one block north to Second Street, a section of US Route 66 since 1926.

In 2005, Janice Griffith, founding director of the Old Trails Museum, was on the task force planning the First Street Pathway and suggested re-creating the gazebo near its former site: “I felt it was very appropriate to bring something back that we had lost.” This downtown green space is available to rent from the City of Winslow for a $50 daily fee.

Entry submitted by OTM Director Ann-Mary Lutzick. Visit the Old Trails Museum to discover more of Winslow’s rich history: www.oldtrailsmuseum.org