Kingman (Arizona)

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Kingman
Andy Devine Avenue (Route 66) in downtown
The Andy Devine Avenue ( Route 66 ) in Downtown
Location in County and Arizona
map
Basic data
Foundation : 1882
State : United States
State : Arizona
County : Mohave County
Coordinates : 35 ° 12 ′  N , 114 ° 2 ′  W Coordinates: 35 ° 12 ′  N , 114 ° 2 ′  W
Time zone : Mountain Standard Time ( UTC − 7 )
Residents : 27,271 (as of 2006)
Population density : 351.4 inhabitants per km 2
Area : 77.7 km 2  (approx. 30 mi 2 ) of
which 77.6 km 2  (approx. 30 mi 2 ) is land
Height : 1016 m
Postcodes : 86400-86499
Area code : +1 928
FIPS : 04-37620
GNIS ID : 0006704
Website : www.cityofkingman.gov
Mayor : John Salem
Kingman courthouse.jpg
Mohave County Courthouse

Kingman is a city in Mohave County in the US state of Arizona and also the county seat of the county .

location

Kingman is located on the eastern edge of the Mojave Desert in the far northwest of Arizona on historic Route 66 . The city is also at the intersection of Interstate 40 , US Highway 93 and Arizona State Route 66 an important traffic junction before the gaming city of Las Vegas and Laughlin .

history

In October 1857 an officer happened Edward Fitzgerald Beale looking for a suitable stretch along the 35th latitude for the first time the area around today's Kingman. The route he explored was later to become known as the so-called Beale Wagon Road .

In the following years gold and silver were found in the surrounding mountains, which resulted in an increased influx of people. In the course of this development, the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad built a railway line between Needles and Albuquerque in the early 1880s . At the height of a passing point, a small settlement was finally built in 1882 in the Hualapai Valley, which was named after Lewis Kingman , the designer of the railway line.

The town gained increasing importance in 1887 when the administrative seat of Mohave County was moved here. The surrounding mines in particular contributed to Kingman's steady growth, which continued into the years after the First World War . With the Second World War , the city finally gained importance as a base for the US Air Force .

The nationwide expansion of the interstate network in the 1960s resulted in the decline of the old long-distance connections such as Route 66 . The traffic now rushed past Kingman on the new Interstate 40 and the city became more and more sidelined. In recent years, however , the so-called Mother Road has increasingly become a magnet for tourists and nostalgics. The convenient location to the metropolitan areas of Las Vegas and Phoenix , the Grand Canyon and California has made Kingman popular as a stopover for tourists.

Demographics

In 2006 Kingman had a population of 27,271. In the 2000 census, there were still 20,069 inhabitants, who were distributed among 7,854 households and 5,427 families. The population density was 258.5 inhabitants / km². Children under the age of 18 lived in 30.1% of households. 89.94% of the population were white, 9.25% Latinos, 0.55% African American and 1.98% Native American descent. The average income was 34,086 US dollars per household, with 11.6% of the population lived below the poverty line.

year Residents
1980 9,257
1990 12,722
2000 20,069
2005 25,547
2006 27,271

traffic

An intersection on Route 66 ( AZ 66 )
View of the old water tower at the train station

Road traffic

Several highways intersect in Kingman. Interstate 40 , US Highway 93 and Arizona State Route 66 meet in the immediate vicinity of the town center . The city is thus a major transportation hub between the Grand Canyon , Flagstaff , Phoenix , southern Nevada and southern California .

The Arizona State Route 66 runs along a section of the historic Route 66 and is therefore popular with tourists and nostalgic special popularity. The AZ 66 begins in Kingman and meets I-40 again in Seligman , where it partially crosses the area of ​​the Hualapai Indian Reservation . The road was able to preserve some holdovers from its prime. Old signs, petrol stations and motels make the journey through the vast desert area a varied experience.

Rail transport

The history of the city is closely linked to the railroad. Kingman was created in 1882 at a passing point for trains. The Santa Fe Railway built the first station in 1907. Today the village is on the railway line from Flagstaff to Needles . The route is now maintained by the BNSF and is a major freight and passenger corridor between the Midwest and California .

The local train station is served by Amtrak trains. The Southwest Chief operates the Chicago - Kansas City - Albuquerque - Los Angeles route and stops in Kingman once a day in each direction. According to the current timetable, trains only stop at Kingman Amtrak Station in both directions at night and only when needed. There is also a bus connection from the Thruway Motorcoach to Laughlin and Las Vegas .

air traffic

The city ​​was also temporarily accessible by plane via Kingman Airport . The Great Lakes Airlines offered direct flights to Farmington and Ontario from summer 2009 , but they are no longer operated (2015). After the bankruptcy of Air Midwest , the small regional airport temporarily had no regular passenger service.

The Kingman Army Airfield Museum is now closed. The exhibition housed a collection of military aircraft from the Second World War . Aircraft that are no longer required by the airlines are also parked on the site of the airfield.

Attractions

Mohave County Court House
Downtown Kingman
In the Locomotive Park

In town

The number of attractions in Kingman is manageable. The visitor center is located in the old powerhouse on Andy Devine Avenue and provides information about the local attractions. Particularly noteworthy are:

  • Downtown Kingman, the old town center around the Mohave County Court House . In addition to St. Mary's Church , around 60 other historic buildings from the early days of the place have been preserved.
  • The historic Hotel Beale on Andy Devine Avenue opposite the train station. The actor Andy Devine spent his childhood here.
  • The Bonelli House built in 1915 in the style of English country house architecture on 5th Street.
  • The Route 66 Museum in the Powerhouse , it informs about the past and present of the old highway Route 66 , which once led from Chicago to Los Angeles .
  • The Locomotive Park , where since 1957, the historic steam locomotive no. 3759 of the Santa Fe Railway is issued. It was built in 1928 and served the route between Kansas City and Los Angeles for more than 20 years .
  • The Mohave Museum of History & Arts on Beale Street provides a glimpse into the history and culture of the area.

Surroundings

The area around Kingman consists mostly of dry desert and is therefore very barren. In the immediate vicinity of the city, the following detours are worthwhile:

  • The former Camp Beale Springs about 2 miles (3 km) west of town, a derelict settlement that was initially inhabited by Indians and served as a fort in the 19th century .
  • The Hualapai Mountain Park , a recreation area about 12 miles (19 km) south of the city. In addition to various leisure activities such as hiking and camping, with a little luck you can also observe the rare mountain lions .
  • The historic Route 66 , it runs outside Kingman through sparsely populated desert area and has received some remnants from its heyday. The section east of Kingman is now part of AZ 66 .

Kingman in Art and Media

In film and television

Several films have been made in Kingman, including:

The city is also mentioned by name in:

  • Otis , an episode of the television series Prison Break in which LJ Burrows Jr. ( Marshall Allman ) is taken to a Kingman prison.
  • The Dreamer and the Parasites , an episode of the television series The Sopranos in which Anthony Soprano ( James Gandolfini ) dreams of an incident with a man from Kingman.
  • The Big Bang Theory , in episode 160 (1st episode of season 8), Sheldon's rail journey through the USA ends after 45 days in Kingman, as his belongings have been robbed in his sleeping car.

In music

Kingman is also mentioned in the song Route 66 . It was composed by Bobby Troup in 1946 and first presented by Nat King Cole that same year . There are now dozens of cover versions of the song, including by the Rolling Stones .

Others

Pamela Anderson held one of her Playboy photoshoots on the corner of 4th Street and Andy Devine Avenue (Route 66) in 1992 and was then taken to the Kingman Police Department.

Famous residents

The actor Andy Devine (1905–1977) grew up in Kingman, where his father opened the Hotel Beale in 1906 . One street in the city was renamed Andy Devine Street, it is also part of Route 66.

Web links

Commons : Kingman (Arizona)  - Collection of images, videos, and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Tom Jonas: The Beale Wagon Road. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on October 30, 2007 ; accessed on February 27, 2009 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.tomjonas.com
  2. ^ History. (No longer available online.) Kingman Tourism, archived from the original on February 21, 2009 ; accessed on February 27, 2009 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.kingmantourism.org
  3. ^ Annual Estimates of the Population for All Incorporated Places in Arizona. United States Census Bureau , accessed February 27, 2009 .
  4. American Fact Finder. United States Census Bureau , archived from the original on January 19, 2012 ; accessed on February 27, 2009 .
  5. 1980–2000: census results; 2005: Update of the US Census Bureau
  6. ^ Southwest Chief. (No longer available online.) Amtrak , archived from the original on June 20, 2015 ; accessed on February 27, 2009 (German). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / deutsch.amtrak.com
  7. ^ Southwest Chief Timetable. (PDF) Amtrak , archived from the original on March 4, 2009 ; accessed on February 27, 2009 .
  8. Kingman Army Air Field Museum - Current 2020 - Is It Worth It? (With photos). Retrieved March 2, 2020 .
  9. Titles with locations including Kingman, Arizona, USA. Internet Movie Database , accessed February 27, 2009 .
  10. George Rush / Joanna Malloy / Marcus Baram / KC Baker: Celebs Rally Round Mag's AIDS Issue. Daily News (New York), January 1, 2006, accessed February 27, 2009 .