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Brooke
08-22-2007, 11:28 AM
Here's a cute article about the town our guys made famous!

http://www.kentucky.com/476/story/155837.html

A rock 'n' roll revival in Winslow, Arizona
By JAMES MICHAEL DORSEY
Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

WINSLOW, Ariz. --Those who remember the Eagles can reconnect with the rock band's music in a surprising place. No, not in some Hotel California, but in the tiny town of Winslow, Ariz., about 100 miles from the Grand Canyon.

On the surface, it would appear there isn't much to do in Winslow. But look again - it's one of those little gems that rewards the traveler who takes time to stop and explore. This is especially true for fans of 1970s music and those who like to discover quirky places.

Basically, Winslow is a collection of small desert-style houses and some gas stations for those traveling through.

The La Posada Hotel, built in 1929, used to be the main tourist attraction.

Because Winslow sits on historic Route 66, it once reaped the benefits of countless tourists traveling that highway made famous by the popular television series of the same name, which ran from 1960 to 1964. But when Interstate 40 opened to the north in the late 1970s, it took the cars, tourists, and much of the area's revenue with it.

Before long, Winslow was on the verge of becoming a ghost town. So in 1997, the city decided to capitalize on the hit song "Take It Easy," written by Jackson Brown and Glen Frey and recorded by the Eagles.

One verse of the song goes, "Well, I'm standin' on the corner in Winslow, Arizona, and such a fine sight to see. It's a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed Ford, slowin' down to take a look at me."

"Take It Easy" was a long-lasting hit and continues to be played constantly on classic rock radio stations, and the residents of Winslow saw it as a way to breathe new life into their town.

So a local foundation formed a committee to come up with ideas and request proposals from artists and sculptors. In 1999 "Standin' on the Corner Park" opened to national acclaim.

When travelers get about 20 miles from Winslow in either direction, they see highway signs suggesting that they tune their radios to a local station for town information. When they do, they hear about the site, get directions to the park, and are invited to have their photos taken with the girl in the Ford truck.

Now, that's not an invitation that comes the vacationer's way every day!

In the center of town, the first thing you notice is a large trompe l'oeil mural covering the western wall of an aging brick building that shows what appears to be the reflection in a window of the girl in the flatbed Ford slowing down to take a look at a bronze statue of a young man - wearing jeans, shirt, boots, and vest - on the corner with his guitar.

A street sign reads "Standin' on the Corner," and the lyrics from "Take It Easy" play from several loudspeakers. Looking down on all this is an eagle perched on a second-story window. It is the song brought to life.

On any given day, even when the heat is oppressive, anyone wanting to stand on the corner to have a photo taken must first stand in line, as there is a steady stream of tourists waiting to become part of this piece of Americana.

Aging hippies stand shoulder to shoulder with Japanese tourists, mothers from Kansas with small children, and hipsters from New York, who all wait their turn with cameras in hand. To stand on the corner in Winslow is to re-enter the 1970s.

Naturally, businesses in town have capitalized on Winslow's bit of fame: Shops sell everything from reproductions of Route 66 highway signs and newly mastered DVDs of the old television series to Eagles CDs, hats, key chains, shoulder bags, and refrigerator magnets, as well as prints of the mural. Every store in town sells "Standin' on the Corner" post cards. Business is once again booming in Winslow.

And never more so than each September, when, for the past eight years, the annual Standin' on the Corner Festival has brought thousands of tourists to town. This year's festival will take place Sept. 28 and 29 and features the tribute band "Hotel California, a Salute to the Eagles."

Thanks to all this activity, the earlier situation has been reversed - many people now choose to bypass the Interstate highway and drive along old Route 66 through the Southwest to take in attractions such as the Winslow park. It has become part of a grass-roots movement to revitalize the old highway as an important piece of American history.

Sometimes song lyrics become catch phrases, making their way into the daily lexicon of the American language. But in the case of "Take It Easy," they have given new life to a desert town that seemed on its way to vanishing.


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sodascouts
08-22-2007, 11:31 AM
Interesting article. Thanks for posting!


Jackson Brown and Glen Frey

0-for-2! lol

Perfect Little Sister
08-22-2007, 01:26 PM
The now famous statue.
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b20/eaglesaddict05/DSC00331.jpg

What The Corner looked like this past May.
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b20/eaglesaddict05/DSC00319.jpg

The reason it looked like that.
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b20/eaglesaddict05/DSC00312.jpg

During some renovation on the building, a fire was started in the ceiling. One would hope they get it fixed by Sept. (I forget how long it's been like this but it seemed pretty long when my son told me)

Perfect Little Sister
08-22-2007, 01:29 PM
The little gift shop where Wonderful Son bought Mommy an Eagles keychain.
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b20/eaglesaddict05/DSC00306.jpg

Note the shoutout to the Eagles in the store windows.
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b20/eaglesaddict05/DSC00309.jpg

The Eagles wall behind the cash register.
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b20/eaglesaddict05/DSC00345.jpg

Perfect Little Sister
08-22-2007, 01:32 PM
The last two of the batch.
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b20/eaglesaddict05/DSC00289.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b20/eaglesaddict05/DSC00277.jpg

And that's all there is to do in Winslow. If you've seen Disney's movie Cars, Radiator Springs could be Winslow. lol

Brooke
08-22-2007, 01:42 PM
Haha! Cool pics PLS! It's great to see someone has actually been and seen it! Hopefully it's finished now! :D

Thanks!

Freypower
08-22-2007, 07:29 PM
Here is a plaintive request. If anyone else ever goes there I would like a postcard and fridge magnet, which should come as no surprise to most of you. 8) Thanks PLS.

DonFan
08-22-2007, 09:39 PM
Thanks PLS! Looks like Winslow is one place every Eagles fan MUST go, and after seeing your wonderful pictures, I think next summer I must plan a road trip out that way!

Brooke
08-22-2007, 10:38 PM
I loved your picture descriptions, too, PLS! Especially the "Wonderful son buys Mommy a key chain" one! :lol:

And DF, I'd love to go there too! A must see for Eagles fans everywhere! 8)

EasyFeeling
08-23-2007, 01:10 PM
Here is a plaintive request. If anyone else ever goes there I would like a postcard and fridge magnet, which should come as no surprise to most of you. 8) Thanks PLS.

No surprise, FP. :wink: It's funny... I have been at the North Sea beach 2 weeks ago (the coast is close to Bremen) and when I saw the postscards I immediately thought of you. :wink:
Very cool pictures, PLS. I would love to see that one day.

Mrs Frey
08-24-2007, 02:00 AM
Thank you, Brooke and PLS, for the article and the pics! I hope I get to go there one day.

Soda, I enjoyed your 0-2 observation! :lol:

glenneaglesfan
08-24-2007, 03:34 AM
Thanks for that, Brooke, and PLS, those pictures really bring it up to date - hope they can get it sorted before the festival! Love the Eagle wall in the shop - how I'd love to go there. Husband has always wanted to drive Route 66, so maybe I could persuade him.

rcknalwys
08-24-2007, 09:23 AM
Lucky you! I was able to visit Winslow several years ago and it was a real treat. Sadly, all my photos and items I bought were lost in a fire, so seeing your photos and reading the article brought back some great memories. Thanks for posting!

Ive always been a dreamer
08-24-2007, 09:11 PM
Thanks for those great pics, PLS. Wow - that would be a real treat to visit Winslow. If I ever get back to the Grand Canyon again, I am so there. That is a shame you lost your pics, rcknalwys.

DonFan
09-26-2007, 11:20 PM
More press on Winslow:

WINSLOW: A Fine sight to See, by Michael Senft
The Arizona Republic
Sept. 26, 2007 12:00 AM

When Glenn Frey sung those words 35 years ago on the Eagles hit Take It Easy, Winslow was a dying town on the Mother Road. Winona may have been remembered by people getting their kicks on Route 66, but Winslow was forgotten as Interstate 40 bypassed what was once the largest town in Northern Arizona.
But this road town will be remembered this weekend as thousands of Eagles fans from around the world slow down for the Standin' on the Corner Festival, which runs Friday and Saturday in downtown Winslow.

The festival features plenty of fun and food for the whole family, as well as two days of rock and roll, from local faves like Tommy Dukes and Mogollon, as well as Eagles tribute band Hotel California. The Eagles themselves have donated an autographed guitar, which will be auctioned off at the festival as well.

Now in its ninth year, the festival is the brainchild of the Standin' on the Corner Foundation, a group working to revitalize Winslow's downtown core. The group is an outgrowth of the La Posada Foundation, which successfully saved a historic Winslow hotel in the '90s.
"The Santa Fe (railroad) moved out and left the La Posada Hotel. But there was so much grass and old trees that it was worth saving. We then decided we needed a 'Standin' on the Corner' as well, because the only place for tourists to get their picture taken with a sign that said Winslow was in front of the post office," says Yvonne Howeth, a member of the board of directors of the Standin' on the Corner Foundation.

The result of the foundation's efforts is Standin' on the Corner Park in downtown Winslow. The park features a life-size bronze statue by Ron Adamson, depicting a tousle-haired man with a guitar, as well as a mural of a blonde woman in a Ford truck by John Pugh.
And the foundation's plan worked. Not that the revitalization hasn't been without bumps.

"The building the mural is painted on burned down several years ago and we thought we were going to lose the wall," says Howeth. "For the past three years the park was closed to the public while we tried to save the wall. It's been reinforced now, so the fence has come down and visitors can get their picture taken with the statue and mural again."

According to Howeth the park now attracts more than 1,000 visitors a week from around the globe. And with more than 7,000 expected for the festival, Standin' on the Corner Park won't be able to contain the crowds. The festival has been moved a few blocks away.

You won't see any members of the Eagles at the festival, however. However, they have seen the park.
"The band has been incredibly supportive, especially (drummer) Don Henley. They've visited the park, but they come late at night," says Howeth. "When Jackson Browne (who co-wrote Take It Easy with Eagles singer Glenn Frey) played in Window Rock a few years ago, he mentioned stopping at the park at three in the morning to avoid the crowds."

glenneaglesfan
09-27-2007, 05:37 AM
Great article, DonFan, thanks for posting that.

How cute that the Eagles and Jackson Browne have visited it. if I lived there I would become nocturnal in the hope of catching one of these visits!

DonFan
09-27-2007, 09:01 AM
How cute that the Eagles and Jackson Browne have visited it. if I lived there I would become nocturnal in the hope of catching one of these visits!

My thoughts exactly! (At least during touring season!)

Brooke
09-27-2007, 11:19 AM
I'm wondering if that is an "auto-signed" guitar or a "real signed" guitar to be auctioned and how much it will bring!

Cool about them visiting, too! Thanks DF!

SweetHolly
09-27-2007, 09:17 PM
How cute that the Eagles and Jackson Browne have visited it. if I lived there I would become nocturnal in the hope of catching one of these visits!

My thoughts exactly! (At least during touring season!)
Same here. 8)