Winslow’s J.C. Penney store started on Front (now First) Street in 1914. In 1926, it relocated to the new Trimble Building at 102 West Second Street alongside the Pay’n Takit store. Built at a cost of $18,000 (around $281,000 today), the two-story building was described in the Winslow Mail as “particularly attractive, with its handsome design of white, tan and blue face brick.” Seven hundred people attended the grand opening of the two stores, which “strike a new note in service, efficient arrangement and system, and beauty of appointments, fixtures and stock display,” creating a “distinctively modern and attractive shopping center.”

In 1959, Manager E. Cecil Allen, manager of the store since 1947, oversaw a comprehensive remodeling and modernization of the store costing $25,000 ($264,000 today), including more sales space and new lighting and flooring. The Winslow location was also one of a small group of Penney stores offering their new credit system, allowing customers to avoid a service charge if they paid their bill within a month.

After almost fifty years at the same location, the J.C. Penney store closed in the 1970s at what had come to be known as the Rasco Building, after the Rasco Variety Store where the Pay’n Takit used to be. A fire destroyed the building in October 2004, but fortunately the east wall—with the Standin’ on the Corner Park mural on its east side since 1999—remained intact.

The City of Winslow obtained ownership of the property, with the collapsed Rasco Building, and began clearing the site in 2006. The city managed the development of the Route 66 Plaza in phases, with the stage work done locally by Hardy Masonry (foundation and wall), McCauley Construction (concrete and steel canopy), and Ben Foster Repair (electrical). This downtown green and performance space is available for community events for a $50 daily usage 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