Albuquerque, New Mexico - 300 Year Old Duke City

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Central Avenue and Fourth Streets in Albuquerque, Vintage Postcard

Growth continued steadily into the 20th century and saw another spurt when Route 66 brought a steady stream of traffic right through the city. Before the 1930’s, Albuquerque’s Main Street, now called Central Avenue, consisted of a few motor courts, gas stations, campgrounds and a café. In no time at all new motels, restaurants and services, complete with neon signs, began to compete for the attention of Mother Road travelers. A cafe shaped like an iceberg, opened for business on the present site of the Lobo Theatre; a sombrero-shaped restaurant offered Mexican food, and the Aztec Lodge and De Anza Motor Lodge presented pueblo-inspired accommodations.

The Rio Pecos Oil Company's Gas & Eat Cafe was shaped like an iceberg, enticing Route 66 travelers in for a cool drink or bit of ice cream. Unfortunately, this Route 66 icon is gone today. Photo, 1943, courtesy Library of Congress.

When the realignment of Route 66 was completed in 1937, there were more motels on Central Avenue than had been built in the previous ten to twelve years on the other alignment. By 1955, there were more than 100 motels on Albuquerque's Central Avenue and in the summer, it was hard to find an open room.

Wright's Trading Post at 616 Central, has been doing

business for more than 100 years. Vintage Postcard

The Aztec Motel is the oldest surviving Route 66 motel in New Mexico. Beginning as the Aztec Autocourt in 1931, it changed hands a number of times over the years. It had become a haven for prostitutes and drug dealers when the Mohamed Natha family bought it in 1991 and worked to restore the Aztec's family atmosphere, along with the physical plant. The Aztec's unique decor is courtesy of Phyllis Evans, a retired professor who lives there part-time.

The El Vado Motel was built in 1937 by a former Waldorf-Astoria bellboy near Old Town. This enclosed motor court, built of adobe in the Pueblo Revival style, is considered the purest surviving Route 66 motel in the city. Owner Sam Kassam has turned down some handsome offers for the motel's neon Indian.

The Aztec Motel today, June, 2006, Kathy Weiser.

This image available for photographic prints HERE!

In 1959, Albuquerque's vintage Route 66 suffered a blow when I-40 plowed through the city, circumventing the narrow road of Route 66. Though many of the Route 66-era roadside architecture was lost with the advent of the interstate, Albuquerque still provides a number of Mother Road icons as well as a wealth of historical sites for the nostalgic traveler.

A trip down Central Avenue at night is a trip back through time, as you view the numerous neon lights sparkling along Route 66. You can also still see many Route 66 icons such as the De Anza Motel, the Royal Motor Inn, the Town Lodge Motel, and the Aztec Motel, all built in the 1930's. Check out Nob Hill, built in 1936-47, and the Lobo Theater and Lobo Pharmacy & Bookstore (originally Barber's El Rancho Market), both built in the 1930's.

Downtown, there are several buildings that were highlights in the 1940s and 50s era, including the Sunshine Building (built in 1923-24), the First National Bank Building (1922), the Rosenwald Building (1910), and the KiMo Theater (1927). Other sites west of Old Town include Lindy's Restaurant (1929), Maisel's (circa 1940), and the El Vado Motel (1937). Continuing your journey, head north on I-25, take the Algodones exit and return south via NM Highway 313. Original Route 66 is now Fourth Street, Isleta Boulevard, and New Mexico Highway 314.

While in Albuquerque, you must also see Old Town, a preserved Spanish plaza, take a scenic train ride, and visit the New Mexico Museum of Natural History in order to get the entire Albuquerque experience.

When traveling Route 66 westward from Albuquerque, there are two alignments. The pre-1937 alignment is by far the most interesting as it passes through a number of ghost towns with numerous peeks at the long ago past. To drive the older alignment, you will leave Albuquerque on NM 314 just after crossing the Rio Grande River, then turn west on NM6 at Los Lunas. The post-1937 alignment leaves the city on Central Avenue, crosses the Rio Grande River and climbs Nine-Mile Hill to join I-40. The two alignments converge again near the village of Mesita.

See Albuquerque Attractions Next Page

The El Vado Motel Sign has been restored to light

Route 66 through Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Photo by Robert Garcia.

This image available for photographic prints HERE!

Albuquerque's Route 66 at Night is lit up like

Las Vegas with great neon. Photo by Robert Garcia.

This image available for photographic prints HERE!

The Frontier Restaurant has been doing business on Route 66 since 1971, June, 2006, Kathy Weiser.

This image available for photographic prints HERE!

Garcia's Kitchen sits on the old Route 66 alignment

entering Albuquerque from Santa Fe, June, 2006,

Kathy Weiser.

This image available for photographic prints HERE!

<<Previous 1 2 3 Next >>

To Isleta Pueblo

Return to Route 66

To Moriarty or Santa Fe

From the Rocky Mountain General Store

Saloon Style Advertising Prints - What were on the walls of the saloons in the Old West? Likely, much of the same as those you find today - advertisements for liquor, beer, and tobacco. Plus the "decadent" women of the time. In our Photo Print Shop, you'll find dozens of photographs for decorating your "real" saloon or den in a saloon type atmosphere.