Standin' on the Corner Park

Take It Easy came together when Jackson Browne, stuck on a second verse, got help from his neighbor Glenn Frey of the Eagles, who added the lines about the corner and the flatbed Ford. Browne has said the Winslow reference came from a real memory of his car breaking down in the town. Whatever the exact origin, the song became one of the defining anthems of the era, and countless listeners filed away the name of a town most had never seen.

By the 1990s, Winslow had fallen on hard times. The interstate had bypassed Route 66, taking the through traffic and much of the town's livelihood with it. A local group hit on the idea of honoring the song to draw visitors back, and in 1999 Standin' on the Corner Park opened, built around a statue and a mural. It worked, giving a struggling downtown a reason for travelers to pull off the highway and helping spark a broader revival of the old town center.

The centerpiece is a life-sized bronze statue of a relaxed young man holding a guitar, standing on the sidewalk as if he has all the time in the world. Behind him rises a two-story mural painted in convincing false perspective, a trick of the eye that turns a flat brick wall into a street scene of old shopfronts and open sky. Look closely at one painted window and you will find the flatbed Ford slowing down, its driver forever glancing his way.

Over the years the park has grown small touches that visitors love, including a second bronze figure added later so that the corner honors the Eagles more fully. A fire once damaged the original mural building, but the community rallied and restored the scene, a sign of how much the little park means to the town. On a good day you will hear the song drifting from a nearby shop while travelers take turns posing beside the statue.

Winslow owes its existence to the railroad and the road. It grew up as a division point on the Santa Fe line and became an important stop on Route 66, the storied highway that carried generations of travelers across the Southwest between Chicago and California. In its heyday the town bustled with rail crews, motorists, and travelers pausing on the long haul across the high desert.

The crown jewel of that era still stands a few blocks away: La Posada, a grand hacienda-style hotel built in 1930 for the Santa Fe Railway and designed by the architect Mary Colter. Saved from demolition and lovingly restored, it anchors the downtown alongside the corner park, so a stop in Winslow can pair a lighthearted photo with a taste of the golden age of railroad and Route 66 travel.

Because it is an open corner on the high plateau, Standin' on the Corner Park is a comfortable stop in spring and fall, when the days are mild and the light is good for photos. These shoulder seasons are ideal for pairing the corner with a wander through the rest of downtown Winslow.

Summer days are hot and bright, though the elevation keeps Winslow cooler than the low desert, and evenings can be pleasant. Winter brings cold, clear air and the occasional dusting of snow across the high country, which can make for striking photos of the sunlit corner against a wintry sky. Each fall the town celebrates its famous song with a festival that fills the streets with music.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.