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Route 66 is brightly lit through
New Mexico, thanks to the efforts of the Route 66 Neon
Restoration Project. Managed by the
New Mexico
Route 66 Association, partnering with the
New Mexico Historic
Preservation Division and the National Park Service Route 66 Corridor
Preservation Office, more than ten signs have been restored to date.
From the wonderful TeePee Curio
Shop in
Tucumcari to the wild and
crazy neon Rotosphere in
Moriarty, the beauty and
artistry of classic neon is once again dazzling and delighting
Route 66 enthusiasts throughout
New Mexico.
After World
War II, companies believed advertising with neon signs helped their
businesses. Before long streets were lined with a palette of
sapphire blue, ruby red, sizzling orange and emerald greens, promising
all manner of adventure, home cookin’ and other travel services.
Cowboys whirling lassos, sombreros sitting atop Mexican restaurants,
teepees providing shelter for the evening, cactus, longhorn steers,
and all types of neon critters adorned the night, calling out to
Route 66
travelers to stop and experience something unique.
Those were
the good ole’ days. But over the years, one by one, these once
glorious signs began to blink into darkness, leaving little more than
a peeling façade, where once brilliant colors harkened.
When the project began, applications
were accepted for the restoration projects. Though businesses
owners were at first skeptical that there could be a government
program that was intended to directly help mom and pop businesses,
many of them were pleasantly surprised when their applications were
approved.
Over the next couple of years, the Route
66 Association got to work, restoring ten vintage neon signs that has
resulted in business owners, as well as entire communities, renewing
their pride in their
Mother Road heritage. Today,
Route 66 travelers are thrilled by the evening ride through these
New Mexico cities with their flashing, spinning,
rotating, and whirling neon.
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