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This page last updated on 01/14/2018
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Description: Probably one of the most prominent buildings in Kingman is the Powerhouse Visitor Center (Figs. 01 & 02). Once part of a 10,000 horsepower output plant, this multi-purpose building today is home to the Kingman Visitor Center & Gift Shop (Fig. 03), the Arizona Route 66 Museum, the Route 66 Electric Vehicle Museum, the Carlos Elmer Photo Gallery, the Skywalk Information Center & Gift Shop, and two model trains on tracks that circle the inside of the building.
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The Arizona Route 66 Museum, opened in May of 2001, depicts the historical evolution of travel along the 35th parallel that became Route 66. Brilliant murals, photos and life-size dioramas capture each of the groups that have traveled what came to be known as the Mother Road. In the Museum you can view displays from photos to life-sized dioramas depicting the travel and travelers along this road which was so important in its day. The story begins with early trade routes and the Beale Wagon Road, which enabled pioneers to cross the land in "prairie schooners" such as the one displayed below (Fig. 04). Feel the hardship and despair of the dust bowl refugees as they journeyed along the Mother Road to a better life (Fig 04). An old Chevrolet truck and quotations from John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath help you understand the tough times along Route 66 during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Storefronts, murals, and a 1950 Studebaker Champion car illustrate the good times of the post-war era. The 1950 Studebaker Champion 4dr. had a suggested retail price of $1487.00. US Highway 66 or Route 66 was and is the most famous road in the United States highway system, and quite possibly the most famous and storied highway in the world. Route 66 is hard to beat as a travel theme for your next vacation.
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The Route 66 Electric Vehicle Museum, opened in 2014, is the first of it’s kind anywhere and can be accessed only through the Arizona Route 66 Museum. This 3,600 square foot Museum includes more than two dozen (and counting) vehicles. Some have been donated and some are on loan from the Historic Electric Vehicle Foundation, with members world-wide. The Foundation’s purpose is to preserve the history of and examples of electric vehicles from the nineteenth to the twenty-first century for all the peoples of the world to enjoy and learn from. There is a wide range of vehicles from golf carts to land speed cars. One of the first things you see are the Willie Nelson’s Rolls style cart next to Waylon Jennings’ Mercedes 450SL style (Fig. 08). Willey's has a built in bar dispenser in the back that allowed for a selection of five mixed drinks (Fig. 09). At the end of this row was a Corbin Sparrow, manufactured by Corbin Motors in Tallmadge, Ohio (Fig. 10). It was produced between 1999-2003 and sold for $29,995. It had a range of 20-40 miles and a top speed of 70 mph. Next there was a 1930 Detroit Electric (Fig. 11). It was manufactured by the Anderson Electric Car Company in Detroit, MI. It was in production from 1907 to late 1938. It has a range of 80-211 miles, a top speed of 20 mph and a cost of $2,885.00. 13,000 Detroit Electrics were built in total, the last car was shopped in February 1939. There was the "Buckeye Bullet 2.5" (Fig. 12) from the Ohio State University. It set two international land speed records of 033.025 mph at Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats on 25 September 2009. There were several California manufactured electric micro cars from the 1940s, 50.s and 60s, including a 1960 Electric Shopper electric micro car, a 1966 Autoette “Power Car” and a 1959 Marketeer (Fig. 13). There was a 1909 Ellwell-Parker baggage tug (one of two known to exist in the world) (Fig. 14). It had three speeds and a top speed of 20 mph. There was an ASU Formula Lighting Indy Style race car (Fig. 15), and a Lyman Electric Quad built circa 1970 manufactured in Norwalk, CT (Fig. 16). It had two speeds, 10 & 18 mph and a range of 25 miles. There were many others. This unique museum promises to be one of the most interesting collections of transportation artifacts you’ll see anywhere.
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The Powerhouse History: The building, built in two phases between 1907 and 1911, was operated by the Desert Power & Light Company and powered early Kingman and area mines starting in July, 1909. Ground breaking for the new plant, designed by the Tracy Engineering Company of Los Angeles, took place around June 10, 1907 and construction was underway by the middle of July. The first building was to be 60 feet wide by 110 feet long. The walls were constructed of poured concrete, 18 inches thick and nearly 20 feet high. Upon completion of the walls, an iron truss roof was put into place. A spur track of the Santa Fe railroad was run to the site to provide for easy delivery of equipment and material. The project cost more than $300,000. In the year of 1908 they brought in two large dynamos, which would be the heart of this oil-fired, steam-driven plant. By October of 1909, almost all of the Kingman businesses were electrically lighted and many of the residences followed suit. Two subsequent additions increased the initial basic output of 1500 horsepower to over 10,000 horsepower. It also supplied power for the construction of Hoover Dam, until the Dam began producing cheaper hydroelectric power in the late 1930’s. It was soon mothballed after the building of the dam.
