Long Gone Block

The first to go was the Cox Motor Company Building on the corner of 4th and Walnut, it was demolished sometime between 2009 and 2012. In 1951 it was a Kaiser/Fraser automobile dealership. It was located at 4th & Walnut St., right next to the Route 66 Mall when this photo was taken in 2009.

The Cox Motor Company name was still faintly visible as was the Kaiser-Fraser name below that. In the upper right corner of the building was a quaint reminder of simpler times gone by, the phone number was simply shown as "Phone 159". The small diamond shaped sign above the service door was for Goodyear Tires.
The Route 66 Mall building at 422 Walnut featured a set of eight Route 66 shields on the north side of the building, one for each state and a ninth shield for the mall. There was another mural on the south side wall.

The bull rider in front of the mall, and his bull, have ridden off into the sunset.

The US 66 Drive-In Diner at 424 Walnut Street is typical of those that could be found in many if not most towns along route 66 in the highways heyday. They often served as gathering spots for local youth as well as offering a welcome stop for travelers.

Without indoor dining rooms these little businesses very often boarded up the windows and closed for the season in the fall and reopened in the spring when the weather warmed up a bit. But it was late summer in 2012 when this photo was taken, so the drive-in appeared to be out of business when we were there.

The last building on the block was this one on the corner of 5th and Walnut . When coming from the southwest it was hard to miss the "Welcome to Chelsea" Mural on the side of this building. This building and 3 others on the same block have all been demolished. Chelsea was established in 1898 and the mural shows the town at that time.

Photo(s): 2009, 2012, 2013