About a week ago, I received a message from a reader in Albuquerque, expressing concern about the old Nob Hill Motel on Central Avenue, aka Route 66.
And, well, I’ll let the reader explain what he saw:
The Nob Hill Motel (3712 Central Ave. SE) is just a few blocks from where I live and I pass it daily. It has recently been condemned and shut down. […] So I was quite surprised when one day I passed it and noticed that the neon had been stripped from it and that one side was now a different set of colors, like it was being prepped for restoration. Then sure enough, yesterday I saw them out there putting in new neon and the sign was completely repainted in a new color scheme. This place is going to be bulldozed and I don’t understand why someone (who?) is spending the money to replace a sign that will never be turned on.
After talking to someone in the city and a co-owner of the property, we’re not sure what’s going to happen to the Nob Hill Motel, but bulldozing it isn’t one of the likely options.
Ed Boles at the City of Albuquerque confirmed that the Nob Hill Motel had been condemned earlier this summer because of several violations. He also confirmed that the Nob Hill sign (shown above) was being restored with the help of matching funds from the National Park Service.
Boles said the owners of the Nob Hill probably won’t reopen it as a motel, even if the problems are repaired:
They are weary of running motels and dealing with on-street residents of the area. We don’t know what these owners will do with all their properties but we are trying to help them find ways of preserving as many motels as possible.
Matthew Terry, one of the partners in the group that owns the Nob Hill and several other vintage Route 66 motels in Albuquerque, said the future of the Nob Hill Motel is “up in the air” for at least a couple of months while the group consults with preservationists and architects. Terry casually mentioned he was about to talk to Kaisa Barthuli at the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program, so the group seems earnest about preserving at least some of its motels.
Terry said the group is looking at the possibility of converting the Nob Hill and other motels in its portfolio into other commercial ventures, but he said it was too early to tell which direction it’s heading.
Stay tuned.
(Photo of Nob Hill Motel sign by Steven Doherty.)
Is the Nob Hill Motel open for business again? How would you rate it.?