Volunteers Revive an Old Trading Post on Route 66
The Painted Desert Trading Post's rescue exemplifies what can be achieved by grassroots preservationists.
Wide Angle View of the Painted Desert Trading Post (2018) by Jim RossNational Trust for Historic Preservation
Glory days gone
Vacant for six decades, the Painted Desert Trading Post haunts a forgotten, decayed stretch of the Mother Road in the shadow of the Painted Desert, east of Holbrook, Arizona.
Cattleman Dotch Garland Windsor established the trading post around 1940. He sold rugs and jewelry (both likely Navajo-made), sundries, and Gulf Oil gasoline until 1958 when a bypass alignment of U.S. 66 opened where I-40 is today and traffic at the trading post dried up.
The restoration begins
In 2018, with the trading post nearing collapse, word that the property was available found its way to Route 66 preservationist “Roamin’ Rich” Dinkela. Dinkela and several others purchased the structure. They formed a nonprofit and raised funds to rehabilitate the building.
Painted Desert Trading Post Before Restoration (2018) by Jim RossNational Trust for Historic Preservation
Building on the brink
The structure was seriously compromised, with a sagging, rotted roof and a crumbling foundation, both of which had caused the walls to slump and bulge. Cattle bumping into the building had done significant damage both inside and out.
Volunteers take on the challenge
After consulting with other preservationists experienced in similar projects, the group developed a plan to raise and straighten the walls, replace the entire roof structure, and replace the foundation. No attempt at complete restoration would be made.
First come the walls...
Raising the walls involved significant risk, as a single mishap could cause the weakened building to break. It was done using multiple screw jacks and timbers strategically placed beneath beams bolted to the walls and ceiling joists.
Volunteers during Restoration of the Painted Desert Trading Post (2018) by © Shellee GrahamNational Trust for Historic Preservation
Once a wall was elevated, a temporary shear wall was built just inside and parallel to the exterior wall to secure it in place. With the walls raised and aligned, removal of the roof’s tattered sheet metal and decking followed.
Painted Desert Trading Post Before Restoration (2021-10-21) by © Shellee GrahamNational Trust for Historic Preservation
Then the roof...
Ceiling joists were replaced next, one at a time, then the rafters. Decking and corrugated sheet metal similar to the old materials came from specialty shops in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
And, finally, the foundation
Foundation work required complete levitation of the building. The shear walls inside, along with timber beams extended through window and door openings, held the structure aloft and allowed for the digging of a perimeter trench. Steel reinforcing bars were then added.
Volunteers at the Painted Desert Trading Post (2021) by John JimenezNational Trust for Historic Preservation
Concrete, trucked 50 miles from Joseph City, Arizona, was then poured up to the bottoms of the walls, which had been positioned on plane with the slab floor inside.
Subsequent work sessions focused on stucco repair and replacement of window casings.
Painted Desert Trading Post After Restoration (2021) by © Shellee GrahamNational Trust for Historic Preservation
The trading post returns
Because the property is now mostly surrounded by a large cattle ranch, visitors gain access through a gate with a smart lock and instructions to obtain entry.
Aerial View of the Painted Desert Trading Post After Restoration (2021) by © Robert JensenNational Trust for Historic Preservation
On the road again
The trading post is 2.5 miles west of the gate on the old U.S. 66 roadway, and as long as the weather is dry, passenger vehicles have no trouble getting there.
Learn more about the National Trust for Historic Preservation's campaign to preserve Route 66, sign our petition to advocate for the Mother Road, and then share your Route 66 story with us.
Explore other stories on the Mother Road
Saving the Osterman Filling Station
Threatt Filling Station
Adapted by Tim O'Donnell from Volunteers Revive an Old Trading Post on Route 66 by Jim Ross in the Fall 2021 issue of Preservation magazine.
Jim Ross has spent over thirty years traveling, researching, photographing, and writing about the Mother Road.
Tim O'Donnell is a former editor at Preservation magazine and freelance journalist who covers architecture and urban design.
This story is made possible by the generosity of David and Julia Uihlein.
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