HOLBROOK, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) — A woman left her medical career in Phoenix to bring life back to a historic theatre along Route 66.
In only two years, it’s been voted business of the year in Holbrook and won a Route 66 grant.
Almost 100 years ago, people sat in the Holbrook’s first theater, eating popcorn and making memories with their families. While there have been multiple buildings, owners, and renovations, the sentiment of sharing memories over a movie remains. That’s exactly why one woman quit her medical career to become the owner and operator of the historic Route 66 theater.
Haley Young was born and raised in Holbrook, about 90 minutes east of Flagstaff, where she spent her childhood nights going to the Roxy Theater, but the theater shut down when she was a teenager. “I just thought back to when I was in school, in my younger years I was able to come here,” she said.
Her family moved to Phoenix, where she was a respiratory therapist for 21 years, but one day, she decided to quit her job and buy the Roxy. “In hindsight, if someone would have said to me, ‘I’m going to quit my job today and go buy a movie theater,’ yeah I would have said you’re crazy too,” Young said.
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The Roxy Theater opened its doors in the 1950s to replace Holbrook’s original theater, which burned down in a fire. The Roxy’s location on Route 66 drew in both locals and tourists. However, a lot has changed since Interstate 40 was built. “It kind of shut down the little towns around here,” Young said. “Holbrook wasn’t one that got skipped by or anything. It got hit by that too.”
Young was awarded a Route 66 Extraordinary Women Micro-Grant from the Road Ahead Partnership for her work restoring the historic business. She was also named the business of the year.
So Young’s goal is to create an attraction that encourages tourists to support Route 66 businesses. “I think for Route 66 in general, it’s getting community involvement, getting people to realize it’s still there. There’s a lot of things to see, especially those little towns and drawing in the businesses and things like that,” she said.
That message goes for Arizona locals, too. “Growing up, you don’t really appreciate it, and then you get older, and you’re like, man, that was a really cool thing,” Young said. “And there’s so many things to do and see along the way.”
So the next time you’re on I-40, come and visit the historic Roxy Theater, whether it’s just to take pictures or get yourself some popcorn and see a movie.
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