BARSTOW, Calif. — In the early 20th century, the small desert town of Barstow was a bustling stop on Route 66 between Los Angeles and Chicago, immortalized in a popular 1940s tune as one the places where travelers heading west could get their kicks.
Now mostly known for its excessive heat, outlet mall and as home to the nation’s oldest remaining Del Taco, Barstow has struggled in recent years with vacant storefronts and dirt lots dominating an iconic portion of its historic Main Street, which has been bypassed as a key east-west thoroughfare by U.S. interstate routes such as I-15.
But civic leaders want to return Barstow’s main street to the beaten path, and they are betting that nostalgia for an earlier era of American car culture and pop kitsch will lure road travelers and their dollars.
As the 90th anniversary of Route 66 approaches in November, the city is pinning its hopes on a downtown revitalization plan that may infuse this 5-mile stretch of road with new building facades, signage and pedestrian amenities.
The city also wants to highlight its identity as a mural town, one of dozens of small California communities that are reproducing local history and culture through colorful murals, frequently painted on the sides of prominent buildings.
“There’s a great collaboration that is going on at the moment … to lift up the community, focus on the Route 66 identity (and) celebrate Barstow and the region’s rich culture and heritage,” said Jane Laraman-Brockhurst, the former president of Main Street Murals, which commemorates the city’s history and promotes tourism through the hand-painted artworks.
Named after William Barstow Strong, the former president of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, Barstow was founded next to Daggett and Calico Hills, which were the site of silver and borax mines in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Barstow “was the place to stock up before you went to Las Vegas, which was an arduous trip back in the 1930s,” said local historian Steve Smith.
Smith said early motorists often stopped at Barstow’s Harvey House — built in 1911 as a boarding house and dining room for train passengers — and sent telegrams to Las Vegas before hitting the road. He said the telegrams were used by authorities to keep an eye out for motorists and search for them somewhere in the desert if they didn’t arrive in Las Vegas on time.
As the years passed, Smith said, Barstow grew into a gateway for trains and automobiles. The railyard — a maze of tracks situated just a half-mile north of Main Street — is still used by commercial train operators.
However, times have changed.
Through the fiscal year ending in 2015, the city’s biggest employers were the nearby Fort Irwin National Training Center, a Marine Corps Logistics Base and BNSF Railway.
The town has struggled economically, with a median household income nearly $14,000 lower than the county average of $54,100, according to census records.
But Barstow is hoping the new plan will help revitalize downtown.
Possible improvements include revamped storefronts, neon signs and trees providing much-needed shade.
“What this plan will do is give prospective property buyers a clearer idea for the city’s vision of the downtown area,” said Gaither Loewenstein, the city’s economic development and planning manager.
