Route 66 in the News
Cool Springs Seeks Re-Zoning
2007-12-11 09:44:44
KINGMAN, Ariz. - Ned and Michelle Leuchtner of Kenilworth, Ill., are trying to bring back some of the magic of Route 66.
According to their Web site, the Leuchtners have succeeded in rebuilding the Cool Springs Station near Oatman.
It's an old service station that sits along the Oatman Highway that they've turned it into a gift shop and Route 66 museum.
Unfortunately, when the County's General Plan was created, the area was zoned agricultural/residential. Commercial businesses such as gift shops and museums are not allowed.
The family is now asking the County Planning and Zoning Commission to approve a General Plan minor amendment that would change the land use designation to general commercial.
They're also seeking a rezone from agricultural residential to general commercial. The request includes a night watchman's quarters on the site.
According to P&Z's records, commercial operations at Cool Springs pre-date the General Plan by three or more decades.
According to the Leuchtner's Web site, the station was built in the mid-1920s.
It was built along one of the most dangerous stretches of Route 66, a section that winds through the Black Mountains. The station was a necessary pit stop for gas, oil, water, food and other items for folks on their way to California.
In the 1950s, Route 66 was rerouted through Yucca to avoid the steep curves and grades in the Black Mountains. Traffic to Cool Springs and Oatman slowed to a trickle.
Cool Springs had a short second life as a movie set, according to the Web site. Hollywood rebuilt and then blew up the station for the movie "Universal Solider" in 1992.
It lay in ruins again until Ned Leuchtner passed it in 1997 and fell in love with the spot. It took him three years to convince the owner to sell.
Leuchtner completed the restoration of the original station in 2004. The station doesn't serve food or gas anymore, but it draws a new breed of tourists with its museum and gift shop.
~Suzanne Adams, KingmanDailyMiner.com
See also:
- More information on Cool Springs Camp
- Full List of Route 66 In The News Articles
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