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Angel Delgadillo (born April 19, 1927) is an American barber and businessowner in Seligman, Arizona who has been dubbed the "guardian angel" of U.S. Route 66. He is the main founder of the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona , established in 1987 to campaign for "Historic Route 66" signage on the former US highway; similar ...
- The Day The World Stopped
- A Long Battle
- Moving Forward
Delgadillo was born in Seligman on April 19, 1927, to parents who had come from Mexico a decade earlier looking for work. By the time he was born, Delgadillo’s parents owned and operated a pool hall along a stretch of road that would eventually become Route 66, connecting Chicago to Santa Monica. “But back in the early ‘20s, segregation was worse t...
Walking around Seligman on a summer day now, there are no signs of these hard times. An international melting pot of camera-clicking tourists walk through town every day, darting in and out of places like Seligman Sundries, the Rusty Bolt, and the world-famous Snow Cap Drive-Indiner opened by Delgadillo’s late brother, Juan, in 1953. By the early 1...
Delgadillo retired 22 years ago. Most days, he shows up only when needed or just to meet a few fans from time to time. As we talk, more people file into the shop, many peeking their heads around the corner and asking to take a picture. “Welcome, welcome,” he says, smiling. I take my own selfie with him before leaving. “Come back sometime, Joe,” he ...
Jun 25, 2021 · Dubbed the “Guardian Angel of Route 66” and the “Mayor of the Mother Road,” the 94-year-old Latino American barber still oversees the Angel & Vilma Delgadillo’s Original Route 66 Gift Shop daily, greeting anyone who comes by to speak with the man who saved Route 66 from the sands of time.
Nov 22, 2023 · Angel Delgadillo, 96, of Seligman received the honor for his role in the preservation of Route 66. Opening up a barbershop and a pool hall along Route 66 in his hometown of Seligman, Delgadillo...
Jun 1, 2011 · Angel Delgadillo pedals past his souvenir store and barber shop in Seligman. SELIGMAN, Ariz. — Just after lunchtime in a town that is a monument to yesteryear, an old man is cruising down Route 66 using an eight-speed bicycle.
Jul 22, 2022 · Meet Angel Delgadillo, who saved Route 66. That was the day I met Angel Delgadillo, the small-town barber who changed the world. Better make that former small-town barber who changed the world....
Angel Delgadillo is truly a "living legend." Songwriters, movie makers and writers have all been inspired by his story. On Sept. 22, 1978, US 40 opened and Route 66 was bypassed. Instantly Seligman, Arizona, lost most of its economy.
