Arizona Route 66 Museum Renovation
How The Mohave County Historical Society Used Murals To Upgrade Its Exhibits
By: Ahroon Y.
Date: December 17, 2025
Background
The Arizona Route 66 Museum is one of 3 (soon to be 4) museums operated by The Mohave County Historical Society. The additional museums operated by the Society include the Mohave Museum, Bonelli House, and -- the soon to open -- County Jail. Leah Stagg, Executive Director of the Mohave County Historical Society, has worked with Murals Your Way to use murals in several of the museums because "murals are the best way to display historical photos with out any concerns of the valuable photos being damaging while on exhibit."
Project: Route 66 Museum Renovation
Describe your project:
2026 marks the 100th Anniversary of Route 66, and the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona awarded a $130,000 grant to renovate the Arizona Route 66 Museum just in time for the 2026 Route 66 Centennial. While it is a large grant for the project, Leah knew that that much of it would go to independent contractors and tech components. "It required us to be creative in our exhibit changes so that we could maximize the professionalism of their appearance."
Leah turned to Murals Your Way for murals as the creative solution to upgrade and expand the historical displays. "To maximize the space in our museums, we have used wall murals in our exhibits. They are a crucial component of the exhibit changes, since we have wall space but limited floor space." Some of the murals are historical photos and others are exhibit labels.
What was the goal of the project?
The core goals of the update was to use murals to create historic ambiance, add color and provide educational content to all museum visitors. "Because of Kingman's designation as "the heart of Route 66 " we receive tens of thousands of visitors from around the country and around the world. Through our education program we also host many school groups from the tri-state area." Having a new exhibit that welcomed visitors from around the world was critical.
Which material did you use?
We used a combination of EcoBella - Texture and EnviroPro - Texture -- perfect choices for high-traffic, educational-focused environment due to their durability, commercial grade quality and environmental friendliness.
Who were your other partners?
We worked with Susan Levert-Anderson Design and hired professional installers.
The Before Photo:
The Reveal:
The Results:
Over 25 different murals were installed at the Route 66 Museum including cloud murals on the ceiling. According to Leah, "Both visitors and staff are loving our new exhibits. We had a black-tie unveiling event on November 15, 2025 that was hugely positive. The event was called 'Night at the Route 66 Museum' and was Arizona's official Route 66 Centennial Kickoff Event."
Already, we have received great feedback. We have been meeting with tour operators, journalists, and TV/documentary producers from all over the world and they are looking forward to featuring the updated AZ Route 66 Museum. When our busy season begins in March/April 2026, we expect a big year with it being the Route 66 Centennial.
“Why Route 66 Museum Uses Murals
Leah explained "We have amazing photos and lots of wall space. Fragile photos can be displayed digitally without any concern about them being damaged on display. We also wanted to make colorful exhibits that could be enjoyed despite language or culture differences. Murals were the best way to do this. They also were the best way to put in exhibits that required little maintenance in a historic building with sometimes challenging conditions."
"We had to be creative and flexible as we encountered challenges. We dealt with different size walls, different types of walls, different spaces and traffic areas, which allowed our installers to become very experienced with installing wall murals."
It was so important to Leah to have a dedicated Murals Your Way Account Manager assigned to the project for the duration instead of having to deal with someone new every time. "The very few times there was an issue with a printing it was fixed and reprinted immediately. Truly amazing! We were surprised and delighted at how easy it was to upload, approve, and print so many different murals through Murals Your Way."
After the success of these wall murals with this huge project we will be using them as an important part of all exhibit renovations moving forward. Murals Your Way combines quality and customer service to make your exhibits pop.
“Murals Your Way Is Here To Help
We love working with businesses to add wall murals to their spaces. With our experienced Account Managers, our variety of commercial grade materials and our quick turnaround, we would love to be your partner and help you fulfill your dreams. We can help you find the right mural or even customize an image just for your business. Contact us by email or give us a call at 888.558.0279 and we can get started on your project today.