The unique contents of the nearly century-old Museum Club in Flagstaff, Arizona, are scheduled to hit the auction block on Nov. 8.
The historic site itself along Route 66 was already facing an uncertain future after it had been put up for sale this summer for $2.3 million.
Stuber Auction Company in Flagstaff announced that previews for the auction would begin at 8 a.m. that day, with bidding set for 10 a.m. There will be no online bidding.
The Arizona Daily Sun reported:
Among the items within the business are animal mounts, beer signs, photos of past artists performing at the location, custom-made tables and many other items from the business, such as the guitar sign in the front. Additionally, two signed contracts by Willie Nelson from the 1960s and a scale model of the original taxidermy log building are available as a part of the auction.
The Museum Club is still open for business through the end of October, according to the post, with the expectation that it will change locations while the building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is to remain in place.
In September, the business’s Facebook page posted that the Museum Club business “can control the property for another seven years according to the lease with the property owner,” while adding that the business had been listed for sale. The post also explained that the business, currently owned by Zookeeper LLC, and the property, currently in a trust in the name of Martin and Stacie Zanzucchi, are not directly connected.
Dean Eldredge originally opened the Museum Club as a taxidermy museum in 1931. He described the structure as “the biggest log cabin in the world,” “the biggest log cabin in the nation,” or “the biggest log cabin in Arizona.”
The site earned fame when Don and Thorna Scott bought it in the early 1960s and booked music legends such as Willie Nelson, Wynn Stewart, Wanda Jackson, Waylon Jennings and Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys.
Though the Scotts met their ends tragically — she by a fall down the stairs and he by suicide — other owners continued to play up the Museum Club’s country-western roots into the 21st century.
In the last decade or so, the Museum Club endured several closures and ownership changes because of the COVID-19 pandemic and financial issues.
(Images of the Museum Club in Flagstaff, Arizona, via Facebook)
Please someone save the Museum Club!
In my opinion not just the best Honky Tonk in Arizona, but the best on the Mother Road!