Want to step into history, learn more about Route 66, see a cool car, drive through a roadside attraction, and pick up a souvenir all in our place? The Powerhouse Visitor Center & Route 66 Museum in Kingman, Arizona has all that and more. You won’t want to leave this spot off your Route 66 road trip itinerary.
Want to know more? Read on to learn more about the Powerhouse Visitor Center & Route 66 Museum in Kingman, Arizona and all that is inside and out.
The Road Trip Journal & Activity Book
Enjoy fun games and challenges to pass the time on your next road trip and have a keepsake to look back on for years to come with this entertaining must-have for your next vacation.
The Powerhouse Visitor Center in Kingman, Arizona
The Powerhouse Visitor Center is housed in a historic building that was constructed in two phases between 1907 and 1911. Known as the Desert Power & Water Company Electric Power Plant, it powered Kingman and the surrounding mines from July 1909 until 1938. Once Hoover Dam was completed that year, the building was no longer the primary power supplier and was relegated solely to a backup.
After a while, the building became unused. And, by the 1980s, with no more purpose, it was considered an eyesore and risked being town down for good.
Luckily, it has stood the test of time. In 1986 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places And, In 1997, the building was reborn as the Powerhouse Visitor Center.
Now the former power plant serves as a stopping point for Route 66 travelers to get more information for their journey, pick up souvenirs at the gift shop, and peruse exhibits at the Route 66 and electric vehicle museums. It also is home to the Route 66 Association of Arizona, a non-profit organization that is dedicated to the preservation, protection, and promotion of Route 66 in the state.
Arizona Route 66 Museum
The Arizona Route 66 Museum opened inside the Powerhouse Visitor Center in September 2001. Through a variety of permanent and temporary exhibits it “depicts the historical evolution of travel along the 35th parallel that became Route 66.” Find vintage artifacts, dioramas, murals, photographs, and more that take you on a journey from a pre-Route 66 America to the present and everything in between.
Learn more about the Native American trade routes, the Beale Survey Team, the Great Migration, the Harvey Girls, and more. Plus find fun recreations of a classic diner and vintage service station and a mural that depicts some of the best Route 66 roadside attractions in Arizona.
There’s also a small theater that plays a one-hour movie that tells the story of Route 66 in Arizona.
Route 66 Electric Vehicle Museum
In 2014 a new Route 66 Electric Vehicle Museum opened inside the Powerhouse Visitor Center. The 3,600-square-foot space displays a variety of vehicles on loan from the Historic Electric Vehicle Foundation, whose purpose is to preserve the history of and examples of electric vehicles from the nineteenth to the twenty-first century.
Vehicles on display include a 1909 Ellwell-Parker baggage tug, the world’s first electric street rod (built by Wilde Evolutions in 1995), a 1930 Detroit Electric, celebrity-owned EV golf carts, and several California-manufactured electric microcars from the 1940s, 50s and 60s.
One of the biggest highlights on display is a Buckeye Bullet 2.5 that impressively takes up much of the length of the room. It was once the fastest EV in the world, clocking in at 307.6 mph but was eventually outdone by the Buckeye Bullet 3, which completed a test run at 341.26 mph in September 2016.
Admission to the Route 66 Electric Vehicle Museum is included in your ticket to the Route 66 museum.
Wish You Were Here Mural
On the side of the Powerhouse Visitor Center you’ll find the Wish You Were Here Mural.
The Wish You Were Here mural was designed by artist JC Amberlyn and was completed by four young local artists in 2020.
The mural is painted in the style of a vintage postcard with the town name “KINGMAN” filled in with imagery popular to the town. Inside the letters you’ll find renderings of the El Trovatore Motel, Hotel Beale, a motorcycle, and a 1950 Studebaker
Route 66 Drive-Thru Shield
Before or after stopping at the museum, go through the Route 66 Drive-Thru Shield in the Powerhouse Visitor Center parking lot. The roadside attraction allows cars (under eight feet and without trailers) to drive a loop and go under and through the classic Route 66 shield. After sunset it gets even better when the neon lights illuminate the outline.
Photos of the Powerhouse Visitor Center & Route 66 Museum in Kingman, Arizona
