How State Route 89A was named

Yes, even in this black-and-white photo the location is given away by the recognizable rock formations.

This photo was taken in the 1970's (most know the answer since they participated in the Flashback Friday,of course) when there was only one state or federal highway that traveled through Sedona: US 89A.

Wait, what?

If you travel the same segment in the photo today, you'll see signs for State Route 89A. And if you have the ability to time-travel and went back to the 1930s, it was called State Route 79

We'll explain.

A picturesque route that travels from Prescott through Jerome, Cottonwood and Sedona before terminating just south of Flagstaff, this route has carried three designations.

First came State Route 79, which was one of the first numbered state highways in Arizona.

The designation changedin 1940 when it became US 89A to indicate its status as an "alternate" to the quicker route from Prescott to Flagstaff along US 89.

In 1993, the southern terminus of US 89 moved from Nogales to Flagstaff and the US 89 designation going further south was decommissioned.The segment lost its US highway status and since the highway between Prescott and Ash Fork became State Route 89, the alternate route through Sedona was designated as State Route 89A.

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