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Painted Desert Trading Post

Pinta Rd., (Next to the Petrified Forest National Park), AZ
Phone:

East < GO > West

Dotch Windsor built the Painted Desert Trading Post in the early 1940's and operated into the mid or late 50s. There were a set of gravity fed gas pumps out front. Electricity was supplied by a windmill and generator. The usual array of souvenir goodies no doubt lined the shelves inside.

When Windsor advertised the property for sale in 1948 he mentioned that the building included living quarters and the well provided good soft water. It didn't sell, and in 1956 an ad promoted the trading post as offering Complete Service Station, Curios, Petrified Wood, Indian Crafts. The trading post closed when the road was moved a mile or so to the south. That "new" road is now under the westbound lanes of I-40.

The trading post is located on the original 1926 alignment of Route 66 which followed the earlier National Old Trails road at this point.

GPS: 35.099484, -109.693497

The building has been purchased by a group of Route 66 enthusiasts since we were there. They have undertaken some significant and much needed rehabilitation efforts.

Somehow a couple of signs on the east side of the building seem to have survived remarkably well given the condition of the rest of the building, at least when we took these photos in 2015.

The view from the southwest shows the back and west sides of the building to be in about the same condition as the rest of the building.

The interior of the building has been reduced to ruble. Holes in the roof allow light to illuminate the ruins. I'm guessing that the diagonally placed boards on the interior walls and as sheathing under the stucco on the exterior walls has contributed a lot to the buildings survival to this point.

Access to the site is limited, at best, we visited the site as part of a tour sponsored by the National Park Service and the City of Holbrook. Since then the site has changed owners who have installed a fence and locked gate. They charge a fee for access.

Just west of the trading post is the Dead River Bridge. In this photo is taken from the west end of the bridge, the trading post is barely visible on the left of the mesa. If you turned around at this spot you'd see the locked gate that keeps you from entering the National Park. The tour guide had a key :)

I haven't found any real information about this bridge. The brochure from the tour we were on when we saw it listed it as both the Dead River Bridge and the Dead Wash Bridge.

The river/wash was still a little wet when we were there in 2015. Notice the car on its side.

Photo(s): 2015