Angel and Vilma's Route 66 Shop
Seligman, Arizona
In 1987 Angel Delgadillo turned his barber shop and pool hall into the world's first Route 66-themed souvenir store (His brother, Juan, ran the wacky Snow Cap Drive-In down the block).
At the time, Angel must have seemed crazy; Route 66 had been decommissioned, and traffic through town had slowed to a trickle. But he believed in The Mother Road. He became the first president of the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona, and succeeded in convincing the state to declare the dead highway "Historic Route 66."
That was the start of the revival of Route 66, and it has led to hundreds of Route-66-themed souvenir stores in a half-dozen states. But Angel's was the first -- and he continued to cut hair at Angel and Vilma's until July 7, 2022, the 75th anniversary of his first professional haircut, when he retired at age 95.
The barbershop part of the store was immediately turned into a museum.