Standin' on the Corner Park in Winslow, Arizona

Is it a monument to Route 66 or a monument to The Eagles' "Take It Easy"? Standin' on the Corner Park in downtown Winslow, Arizona is a tribute to both!

Winslow, Arizona was a booming travel town along historic Route 66. Following the completion of Interstate 40 in the late 1970s, many Winslow businesses suffered from the lack of tourists stopping by as they zoomed past on the highway. According to the official Standin' on the Corner website, the downtown Winslow area lay stagnant for almost 20 years until a group of volunteers organized to create the Standin' on the Corner Foundation, dedicated to the restoration of downtown Winslow.

Standin' on the Corner Park was conceived in May of 1997 with a series of planning meetings by the Foundation. The main requirement was that the park would be based upon The Eagles' song "Take it Easy". The only things that would be in the park would have to have been mentioned in the lyrics to the song.

The mural, created by John Pugh, is a perfect backdrop to the small city park. Depicting "a girl, my Lord in a flatbed Ford" reflected in storefront windows, the Standin' on the Corner mural also features an eagle in one of the upper "windows" as tribute to the band that put the town back on the map.

During our visit to Winslow, Arizona the man and I posed for photos next to the statue in Standin' on the Corner Park. The man depicted in the sculpture by Ron Adamson is very reminiscent of The Eagles during their early 1970s popularity. The young man, wearing jeans, boots and the period-synonymous vest over a long-sleeved shirt is also holding a guitar, resting on one boot.

Standin' on the Corner Park was built with donations via inscribed paving bricks ranging in price from $50 to $250. The Foundation still accepts brick donations for the ongoing upkeep of the park.

The annual Standin' on the Corner Festival takes place the fourth weekend in September every year featuring music by Eagles tribute bands and other entertainment as well as an auction to raise funds to support the Festival and the park.

Another other interesting site while we visited Standin' on the Corner Park was the large, red Flatbed Ford truck parked on the street adjacent to the park. From across the street, we heard Eagles music and followed it to Roadworks. Roadworks is a tourist gift shop filled with all kitsch items related to Route 66 and "Standin' on the Corner". We did see a nice selection of replica signs, but found the general inventory to be reminiscent of a tourist trap.

For anyone who is an aficionado of Americana and Route 66, it's worth the brief side-trip in Winslow, Arizona to visit Standin' on the Corner Park.

Sources: Standin' on the Corner Foundation ; Roadworks