They’ll be rockin’…‘on the corner in Winslow, Arizona’

Winslow, Ariz., is one of the most popular communities on Route 66.

 

The whole town (population 8,365) and then some are expected to participate in this year’s “Standin’ on the Corner Festival,” a two-day event on Sept. 25-26 to celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the legendary highway Route 66.

Just to jog your rock’n’roll music memory, in the early 1970s singer-songwriter Jackson Browne experienced car trouble and had to layover in Winslow until mechanics at a local garage could fix his vehicle. 

So, he wrote about his stay.

Well, I’m a 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….

Browne’s good friend Glenn Frey was credited as co-writer of the song “Take It Easy.” Frey had just formed a new band named the Eagles.

 

“Take It Easy” became the Eagles’ first recording in 1972. A smash hit, the single peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard “Hot 100.”

A large “Route 66” emblem is painted on the pavement at the intersection of 2nd Street and Kinsley Avenue in downtown Winslow.

 

Local community leaders created a public attraction known as “Standin’ on the Corner Park,” which was dedicated in 1999. 

The centerpiece is a 6-foot-tall bronze statue of a young, floppy-haired, denim-clad troubadour holding his acoustic guitar. 

The sculptor is Ron Adamson of Libby, Mont. He named the monument “Easy,” and his son Dustin was the model.

 

The backdrop is a magnificent, two-story mural that was painted by artist John Pugh of Truckee, Calif., who maintains a studio in Ashland, Ore. 

It’s titled “Slowin’ Down to Take a Look,” a tribute to the Eagles band. Pugh is one of America’s premier muralists, employing an illusionary three-dimensional technique that “fools the eye.”

His Winslow mural features a girl driving a 1960 model red flatbed Ford. She appears as “a cleverly cool” window reflection. 

(To add even more realism, the community foundation has parked a genuine red 1960 flatbed Ford truck nearby.)

 

A second statue was added to the park in 2016, a likeness of the Eagles’ Glenn Frey, who died earlier that year at age 67. Its sculptor is Dee Jay Bawden of Provo, Utah.

 

Winslow was established in 1880 as a division point on the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad. Division points had large rail yards and were important during the steam era. Trains would run from division point to division point where they would change engines and crews and switch cars.

The town was named after railroad executive Gen. Edward F. Winslow (shown below), or maybe it was old Tom Winslow, a wily prospector and hermit. (Locals are about evenly divided.)

 

The western portion of the Atlantic & Pacific was absorbed by the legendary Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. It became known as the Santa Fe Railroad in 1897.

 

This led the Fred Harvey Company to select Winslow as the site for development of a major hotel and restaurant complex that opened in 1930. Harvey built and ran all the hotels and restaurants of the Santa Fe Railway, eventually controlling a hospitality empire that spanned the continent.

“Winslow was the next to last Arizona town to be bypassed by Interstate 40,” said Diane Patterson, who once owned a downtown gift shop. “We used to watch hundreds of trucks roll by day and night.”

 

The festival revolves around music, and the impressive 2026 lineup of performers includes:

“One of These Nights,” an Eagles tribute band, as well as the “Josh Roy Band,” “High 90’s,” “Tommy Dukes,” “Pure Prophet,” “Chris Kane Trio” and “Ninth and Ash.”

One of These Nights

 

Josh Roy Band

High 90’s

Tommy Dukes

Food trucks, vendors and adult beverages will be available. Enter horseshoes and cornhole competitions. For more information, contact the Winslow Chamber of Commerce at winslowarizona.org.