During the ongoing El Vado Motel saga, I've been struck by Albuquerque residents' willingness to fight to preserve this historic property on Route 66. That's because their energies are fueled by regret. A little background: The Alvarado was one of the fabled Fred Harvey Houses that served railroad passengers. According to the Albuquerque Convention and … Continue reading “Remember the Alvarado!”
Category: Preservation
Jumping on the bandwagon
Star Gonzales, executive director of the Grants-Cibola County Chamber of Commerce, told the Gallup (N.M.) Independent that she wants to establish a county-line-to-county-line "gateway" to draw travelers onto old Route 66. "We want to see it extend from (the Bernalillo) county line to (the McKinley) county line by establishing a gateway at the east end … Continue reading Jumping on the bandwagon
Notes from the El Vado hearing
I acquired a draft of the minutes from the City of Albuquerque Landmarks and Urban Conservation Commission's Dec. 14 meeting regarding an application to recommend El Vado Motel as a city landmark. The commission approved the application by a 5-0 vote, and the measure goes to the city council in January. The minutes include verbatum … Continue reading Notes from the El Vado hearing
Route 66ers refute El Vado owner’s statements
The Albuquerque Journal published a story today about El Vado Motel's supporters. The Journal is subscription-only, but I'm going to excerpt the good parts: "Believe me, I know of no one traveling from Chicago, New York, France or Germany that will spend the night in the El Vado Motel." That's what Richard L. Gonzales, the … Continue reading Route 66ers refute El Vado owner’s statements
Tucumcari motor lodge declared a landmark
The mostly shuttered Cactus Motor Lodge on Route 66 in Tucumcari was voted to the New Mexico Register of Cultural Properties, according to a Quay County Sun report. The place had a long history as a gambling haven as well as a place for travelers to sleep. Here's an image of a vintage postcard of … Continue reading Tucumcari motor lodge declared a landmark
Residents of Atlanta, Ill., come through
Today's Bloomington Pantagraph reports that a group of Atlanta, Ill., residents has made a $10,000 matching offer toward the Atlanta Library centennial campaign. The centennial celebration is raising funds to restore the Downey building (ed. note: it houses the Palms Grill), a National Register property located along old Route 66 in downtown Atlanta. The building … Continue reading Residents of Atlanta, Ill., come through
Former El Vado Motel owner dies
I received word Monday from Michael Taylor, director for the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program, that Shiraz "Sam" Kassam, 67, the recent former owner of El Vado Motel in Albuquerque, died of a stroke last week. Taylor forwarded the news from an e-mail by Ed Boles of the City of Albuquerque. It contained this interesting … Continue reading Former El Vado Motel owner dies
See? El Vado wasn’t in that bad of shape after all
A report by the Albuquerque Tribune about the Landmarks Commission recommending that El Vado Motel be designated as a landmark was published this afternoon. I won't repeat it here, since most of the basic facts were reported on this site earlier today. But there's this interesting snippet: While public comment was made for and against … Continue reading See? El Vado wasn’t in that bad of shape after all
Landmark status for El Vado Motel recommended
Here's the short version of this: Route 66 wins. On Wednesday, the City of Albuquerque's Landmarks & Urban Conservation Commission unanimously recommended that El Vado Motel on Route 66 be designated a city landmark. A city staffer told me today that the landmark recommendation has to receive final approval from the city council in the … Continue reading Landmark status for El Vado Motel recommended
Another contradiction about El Vado Motel
The new owner of the historic El Vado Motel in Albuquerque, Richard Gonzales, said this during sworn testimony in a recent Landmarks Commission hearing: I conveyed that to Mr. Boles and I can’t understand why they’ve taken this posture that I’m going to demolish the El Vado. It’s just not what I wanted to do. … Continue reading Another contradiction about El Vado Motel