Angel Delgadillo Route 66 Visitor Center,
Barbershop Museum and Gift Shop
and
Seligman, Arizona

Our next stop was Seligman, the town that inspired the producers of the animated movie, Cars. We could see right away that this town was going to be a lot of fun with its unique architecture, colorful gift shops, and scattered old cars and trucks, some of which are replicas for the movie. There were many tourists in town--three big tour buses were parked outside Angel Delgadillo’s Barbershop Museum and Gift Shop and there was a large gathering of motorcyclists at the other end of town.

After checking into our John Wayne and Marilyn Monroe themed rooms at The Canyon Lodge, we headed to the famous Delgadillo’s Snow Cap Drive-In, known for their “Cheeseburger With Cheese,” and “Sorry, We’re Open” signs, and the practical jokes played on patrons. Angel’s late brother, Juan opened the eatery in 1953, building it with scrap lumber. An eclectic collection of automobiles and Route 66 memorabilia is located behind the restaurant.

Then we walked several doors down the street to see Angel Delgadillo and his family. Angel was born on April 19, 1927 along Route 66 in Seligman and those images he had seen along that road remained with him. He saw the mass exodus of people escaping the Dust Bowl in the 1930s, the movement of troops and materials during World War ll, and the heyday and decline of the Mother Road. As an adult, Angel ran a barbershop as well as a gift shop, following in the footsteps of his father. Angel and his wife, Vilma remained on Route 66 and raised their family during the old road's good and bad times.

After the decline and eventual delisting of the Route from the United States Highway System in 1985, Angel founded the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona which resulted in a return of traffic to Route 66. His successful work led the way for all the other Route 66 states to form associations with a similar goal: to preserve the road.

Today Angel is one of the biggest Route 66 attractions for tourists coming from all around the world. He has been called "The Angel of Route 66," "The Ambassador," and "The Father of the Mother Road" and has received numerous awards, including The John Steinbeck Award, the Will Rogers Preservation Award, and was named the 2003 Arizona Culturekeeper by the Arizona Historical Foundation. Recently he was inducted into the National Barber's Hall of Fame. Angel's family story is related in the Smithsonian Institution's America on the Move permanent exhibition.

The sight and sound of passing trains are as much a part of Seligman today as it was 120 years ago. We saw and heard half-mile-long freight trains frequently rumbling by on train tracks behind Seligman's Main Street while we were there. The Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway was created when the Santa Fe Railway merged with the Burlington Northern in 1996.

Seligman has some interesting restaurants, including the Roadkill Café. The menu includes such items as “Rack of Raccoon,” “Long Gone Fawn,” “Rigor Mortis Tortoise,” and “The Chicken That Almost Crossed the Road.” Political correctness doesn't have a place here...the motto is “You Kill It, We Grill It.” Carol dined at this establishment years ago and "thinks" she had beef steak.

We opted for another highly recommended restaurant that night, Westside Lilo’s, after visiting several shops, the Rusty Bolt, and Route 66 Motorporium...that building is historic as it was the location of the Copper Cart, where Angel held his famous meeting to initiate plans for the rebirth of Route 66, which was realized on February 18, 1967. Motorcyclists from around the world were gathered in front of this establishment, which offers merchandise and Route 66 memorabilia for the biker community. Wanting to fit in, Lorie took on the “biker persona.”

The next morning we went back to Angel’s shop early to have the Route 66 launch of a humorous book written and illustrated by Carol about a dog traveling across the country to Los Angeles to embark upon the reality show circuit. The Delgadillo dog, Tanner, took part in the launch.

As we left the gift shop to continue our journey, we saw visitors from Asia gathering around Angel's signing desk as he inscribed Preserve America note cards for them to take home as mementos. The cards (which feature a drawing of Angel’s barber chair and his story) are the result of a collaboration between Carol and Angel.

Comments by Angel:

I met Carol Wallace back in the late 1990’s. Carol really impressed me as a person who was inspired by Route 66 and Americana. I did not know it at the time of our meeting, but Carol would become a lasting friend of mine and my two daughters, Mirna and Clarissa, and Clarissa’s husband, Mauricio, who now manage the gift shop. Carol would also have a lasting impression on our travelers. She created an original piece of art and note cards of my barbershop for her “Preserve America Collection” card and poster line. The card is very special to me because it is a rendering of my barber shop with my father’s 1926 barber chair, which I still use to this day. The art of my father’s chair and my barber shop is one of my most treasured pieces of barbering memorabilia.

Carol’s note cards have a very special place in our gift shop. I have a desk in the front of the gift shop where I sign Route 66 memorabilia for travelers from all over the world. My desk consists of a guest book for our visitors to sign in, our business cards, flags of the USA, and Carol’s note cards.

www.route66giftshop.com/historic-walking-tour
www.route66giftshop.com