Albuquerque's Route 66 Attractions Page 2

As you enter Nob Hill, to your right is a Historic Landmark:

De Anza Motor Lodge

4301 Central Ave NE, Albuquerque, NM.

Listed in the National Register of Historic Places

Opened in 1939 by S.D. Hambaugh and C.G. Wallace the De Anza Motor Lodge offered comfortable accommodation, as well as a Zuni crafts and jewelwry trading store to Route 66 travelers. It was mentioned by Rittenhouse in his US 66 Guide book published in 1946.

De Anza Motor Lodge in a vintage 1960s postcard:

Below is a photograph we took in September 2016:

The De Anza Motor Lodge while it was still standing

The old motel was torn down in 2017, and the neon sign remains, a legacy from the past. This is a 2022 street view.

The motel that occupied the whole block was named after Juan Bautista de Anza, a Spanish soldier and Explorer, born in Mexico in the 1700s, who opened the overland route from Mexico to California and founded what is now the city of San Francisco, California. In its heyday, it was the biggest motel on East Central Avenue built in Spanish and Pueblo styles. It had private phones and air-cooling in every unit. Wallace kept working it until his death in 1993.
For Trivia lovers: some scenes of the series Breaking Bad were shot in its parking lot.

Circle K Motor Court / Swayze's Dinner Bell

On the next bloc, to your right, on the NW corner of Graceland NE St., at 4223 Central Ave NE was Swayze's Dinner Bell.
Mr. and Mrs. H. H. Swayze bought a restaurant called Dinnerbell Cafe in 1942, and its postcard says it "Offered motorists Albuquerque's finest meals... steaks, chicken." Click on the thumbnail postcard to enlarge it.

Later it became the Circle K, a "Motor Court" with two lines of rooms facing each other. Its postcard announce that it was "Best For Rest". The building is still there, as private apartments. It had 12 units and "choice of shower or tub." The name comes from a cattle brand, a letter K inside a circle.

Heights Cocktail Lounge

Adjacent to the Circle K, at 4217 Central, it opened in 1950, It was owned by a gay couple, George Konougres and Vasilios N. Kartsotis who also owned Duke's Cave, and it became a gay people meeting point. (1). They later moved to downtown Albuquerque. Now it it still a bar, the Rocksteady's Social Club.

Bel Air Motel

To your left, on the south side of old Route 66, at 4222 Central Ave SE, on the SW corner of Graceland was another classic motel, the Bel Air Motel.
It has an L-shaped layout and its postcard pictured below describes it as "A new motel with beautiful modern furniture and wall-to-wall carpeting. All room have private ceramic tiled baths, tub and shower-are heated by hot water heat and cooled by refrigeration."

This is its current appearance; the units are still there. Now it is the parking lot of a Thai restaurant that is across the street:

Goody's Restaurant

Adjacent to the Bel Air, with a modern 1960s design (upwards canted roof tip with exposed eaves). It was a "popular dining place for business and professional people... fine food at popular prices." It had a tall neon sign with red and white disks aligned vertically with its name. Then, by the late 60's it was pruned to a lower height, and a new sing went up on the eastern side of the building. The postcard image below shows the original neon sign and the car in the driveway is a 1963 chrysler New Yorker.

Der Wienerschnitzel

At the end of the block at Sierra Dr., on the north side of the avenue to your right (NE corner at 4203 Central) the 1949 Albuquerque City directory listed an A & W Root Beer stand. A steep gable roof restaurant now stands on the property that in 1969 was one of Albuquerque's three "Der Wienerschnitzel" Hot Dog restaurants. That was their original design.

4100 Block: Development razed the old motels

On the next block both to your right (street view right) and left (street view left) urban development has altered the scenery in the past few years.
The Town Lodge, formerly El Oriente Auto Court and Martens Tourist Court (later the Royal Hotel with the Sarape Restaurant) were torn down.
Below is the history of these now gone motels:

Martens Tourist Court and Trailer Park ❌

It stood at 4119 E Central, on the NW corner with Sierra Dr. it was "New Mexico's Finest Trailer Park. Pleasant, quiet and courteously managed." It had cottages some of which had kitchenettes.

The old motel was torn down in 1972 and replaced with a new building, the Royal Hotel, with the El Sarape Restaurant on the corner.
The motel was razed under the city's nuisance abatement laws in 2009. Unfortunately the El Sarape was destroyed by arson shortly after. See this 2007 view of the motel with the two neon signs (El Sarape and the Royal Hotel).
These signs survived until recently as you can see in this st. view of them in 2019. They were removed when the new buildings went up.

Nightclubs on the south side of the highway

The south side of Central was the location of the 1980s 4100 Club Lounge and Liquor Store, that later grew into The Acropol Dinner and Dance Club. These became the Coral Western Night Club. And were later leased to Paul Vilella and Bill Preveti who ran it as Leo's La Roc. More recently it was The Pulse. A neon sign stood there until the new building went up in 2018 (view of the sign).

El Oriente Auto Court / Minton / Town Lodge ❌

It stood at 4101 Central Ave NE, now the Broadstone building stands on the spot. It opened in 1935 as the El Oriente Auto Court. Later, after 1946 (Rittenhouse mentions the El Oriente in 1946) it became the Minton Lodge. It had "21 Large attractively furnished rooms... All rooms facing shaded restful patio for the convenience of guest." Its last reincarnation was as the Town Lodge, torn down in 2020. Below are some views of all these versions of the same motel:

It stood at 4101 Central Ave NE, now the Broadstone building stands on the spot. It opened in 1935 as the El Oriente Auto Court. Later, after 1946 (Rittenhouse mentions the El Oriente in 1946) it became the Minton Lodge. It had "21 Large attractively furnished rooms... All rooms facing shaded restful patio for the convenience of guest." Its last reincarnation was as the Town Lodge, torn down in 2020. Below are some views of all these versions of the same motel:

El Oriente Auto Court in a vintage c.1940s postcard

It stood at 4101 Central Ave NE, now the Broadstone building stands on the spot. It opened in 1935 as the El Oriente Auto Court. Later, after 1946 (Rittenhouse mentions the El Oriente in 1946) it became the Minton Lodge. It had "21 Large attractively furnished rooms... All rooms facing shaded restful patio for the convenience of guest." Its last reincarnation was as the Town Lodge, torn down in 2018. Below are some views of all these versions of the same motel:

Minton Lodge c.1950s postcard

Below is its final view shortly before being torn down; the trees have gone, and the curved walls have been "modernized" to straight lines, but note that the curved tops of the doors have remained unchanged and the neon sign is the same!

The Town Lodge before it was torn down. 2017

Neon sign of the Town Lodge motel before it was torn down. ❌

Comfort Lodge

To your left on the SW corner with Montclaire Dr SE, at Central 4020 SE is the 1950s Comfort Lodge site, the orignal motel had a single story with its units laid out in an J-shape distribution along Montclaire. The current building has added a second story but it remains recognizable.
It was owned and ran by Mr. and Mrs. E. C. Ryan and was a "very attractively furnished motel in the uptown shopping district of Albuquerque." It had "Colored tile baths... Radios and free alarm clocks. Television in the lobby..."

Morningside Shopping Center

To your right, on the NE corner of Morningside and Central Ave. is the Morningside Shopping Center that dates back to the 1940s, it appears in the 1942 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map with a corner restaurant, El Cortez at 4001 Central, and shops along both streets. One of them, at 4003 Central was Mike's Liquor Store. The building is still standing and has a c.1960s neon sign on the corner, pictured above.

Town House Restaurant / Paramount Cafe

Across de street, opposite the Shopping Center, to your right is an antiques shop at 3911 Central Ave NE. In the 1940s it was the Paramount Cafe and Cocktail Lounge and it appears in the 1942 Sanborn map as a restaurant.
George Argyres opened it in 1958 and closed it around 2007 after an issue with the lease and the death of one of his sons, Pete. It was a Greek seteakhouse that served Greek ethnic food and Southwestern classic dishes.

George and his son Constantine "Dino" Argyres reopened the steakhouse in eastern ABQ in 2012 (read our description in our East Albuquerque Route 66 attractions page as: Steer on a pole). That restaurant sported the steer in its signage, over the roof. But it closed in 2018 when Dino died, aged 57.

Below is a view of the original Nob Hill Town House steakhouse and the current appearance of the same spot, the Town House antique shop:

On the next corner to your left, SE side (3900) was the Hoyts Dinner Bell Restaurant, torn down in the 1980s, now there is a laundromat there.

Motels on Aliso Av. and Central

There were two motels at the intersection. From south to north:

Premiere Motel

Starting at the SW corner of Aliso, at 3820 Central Ave SE and including an annex behind the main building.

It opened in 1941, and a 1946 postcard says "Mr. and Mrs. H. Dendinger, operating owners" it depicts the same neon sign later used on the side entrance along Aliso Ave. for the annex units on the south side of the property.

A postcard mailed in 1950 tells us its owner was H. Dendinger (what had happened to his wife?) and that it was "Not the Largest but the Best" adding that it had "rear units and patio" and "30 De Luxe units." These rear units were in an annex was located at 119 S Aliso Ave. and originally had six units and an L-shaped layout along the corner and a central courtyard. It later evolved into a U-shaped complex in the early 1970s and is still there, now an apartment complex, with its neon sign still there, though painted over with brown paint (see image).

By the 1960s the postcard announced 35 rooms and its owners were Manly and Dorothy Betts, a modern vertical neon sign with red and white circles appeared on the corner.
Below are a "Then and Now" set of images of the motel, the red arrow marks the sign along Aliso Ave.

Premiere Motel in a vintage c.1960 postcard

Current view shows it has kept its original appearance and preserved its modern 1960s neon sign, the red arrow marks the old neon sign around the corner on Aliso Ave:

Aztec Court ❌

Listed in the National Register of Historic Places

The second motel was on the NW corner with Aliso Ave., the razed Aztec. Located to your right at 3821 Central Ave NE. It opened in 1932 built with a Pueblo style, with wood vigas in the two story office. Its postcard said "If you stop... you stay... 12 modern cottages" and was owned by Mr. and Mrs. Vernon Roof.

It was expanded in the 1950s when its garages were enclosed and converted into units and the new neon sign was added. It was listed as a historic place in 1993. It received funding in 2003 from the National Park Service Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program to restore its neon sign. But the motel deteriorated and in 2001 it was torn down. The sign was preserved for further restoration.

This is the Aztec in a 2007 street view while it was still standing. The neon sign remained there until 2015 before it was taken down (see picture). The sign is now at the Neon Neon Park collection at Glorieta station in Downtown Albuquerque.

Conoco ❌

To your right, where the Alon gas station is now located (NE corner with Solano Dr) was a Conoco with a tall sign. And across Solano, at 3719 Central Ave NE, Albuquerque was the East TraveLodge Motel.

East TraveLodge Motel

The building is still standing and in great shape. After its term as a motel, it had been converted into apartments, the "University Lodge"; but in 2023 it became the "ZAZZ Motel", catering to travelers once again. The Travelodge had 55 units and a heated pool; it was located "Halfway between Uptown and Downtown areas, easy drive to Sandia Atomic Museum, Recreation Areas and Quaint Old Town." Notice the half-round barrel vaulted canopy by the office, very 1960s! The 1942 Sanborn Insurance map shows a gas station on this site.

The Toddle House

To your left, across from the old Travelodge, at 3718 Central Ave SE. This cafe dates back to the early 1950's.
James Frederick "Fred" Smith developed the concept created by J. C. Stedman in the 1920s and grew into a business with 200 restaurants in almost 90 cities by the 1950s. In 1962 it was acquired by a competitor and eventually liquidated.

It was one of the first fast food national chains. It was "Open All Night" offering "Good Food at its best" and sold saldads, sandwiches and soups. It had a standard brick cottage styled building with a blue gable roof. They all had a central stainless steel counter and stools, no tables.

Nob Hill Court - Modern Auto Court

Listed in the National Register of Historic Places

On the same block, west of the Toddle House, at 3712 Central Ave SE is the former Nob Hill Court, it opened in 1937 just when US 66 was realigned along Central Ave into Albuquerque.
I was originally known as the "Modern Auto Court" operating under that name into the 1950's when it switched to being thhe Nob Hill Court. It was listed as a Historic Place in 1993.
The 1942 Sandborn Insurance map shows it with thirteen units; The building, now a small mall is still there with its original vintage 1950s neon sign.

Below it has changed names to Nob Hill Court and placed a revamped neon sign with a curving arrow on the right side of the property:

To the right is a classic florist, Peoples Flowers Shops. Max Pollack and his wife came to Albuquerque in 1944 and opened their first shop downtown, and this one, in Nob Hill in the early 1960s. The green tiles and the neon sign on the facade are the original ones (street view.)

Two Gas stations, one gone, Mobil survived

Here at the corner with Hermosa at 3625 Central, the 1942 Sanborn map shows two gas stations, one to your right, on the NW corner, a Mobil. Slender steel poles on an empty pumps island holds up the flat canopy with rounded corners and multiple horizontal bands typical of the 1940-50 Mobil styling. A corner office with glass panes, and the former service bays to the left have been walled in.

On the SW corner was another gas station (3624) its external tanks stood where the parking lot of Clowndog restaurant is now located. The building behind it, along Hermosa (107) was an auto repair shop. It was torn down to make space for one of Albuquerque's first Kentucky Fried Chicken (more on this below).

One of the first KFC in ABQ and its surviving sign

At 3624 Central, it was one of the five locations in ABQ by 1969 when it was photographed by Ernst Haas (See an advertisement from 1969) it had the classic Kentucky Fried Chicken bucket sign. In 1975 it became "Fat Humphrey's Hero Palace", founded by Irving Malott (1922-2006) a landmark eatery for nearly 25 years! Then it became "Nellos’s Ragin' Shrimp" who refurbished the neon sign in 2015 and since 2019 it is a hot dog restaurant. Click on the thumbnail image to see how the original KYC sign evolved over the years.

Classic 1969 photo of Central Avenue by Ernst Haas

The image below was taken in 1969 at Carlisle Blvd. and Central Ave, looking east. It is the work of photographer and artist Ernst Haas (American/Austrian, 1921-1986), its title is: Route 66, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.

To the left, you can make out the sites and landmarks mentioned further up: from the First National Bank in the distance, followed by the Ramada Inn sign with the man blowing a trumpet, followed by a yellow triangle (De Anza's), Town Lodge, Town House restaurant, Aztec Hotel, Conoco, Travelodge. On the right there is a Muffler Man with a yellow cap, the Premiere motel signs, Nob Hill Court, Peoples Flowers, and a Kentucky Fried Chicken.

This is the Same view from Carlisle Blvd. nowadays.

Here on the north side of Route 66, at Carlisle are two great classic Art Deco gas stations, with bold geometric shapes including triangles, curves, chevrons, zigzags, ridges evoking a new era.

Nob Hill Conoco

To your right, on the NE corner of Carlisle at 3601 Central Ave NE, Albuquerque. The Nob Hill Station was a Conoco service station and dates back to 1939, shortly after Route 66 was aligned along Central Avenue. It is pictured below in a contemporary magazine with a curved corner service bay, a geometric stepped canopy over three gas pumps, and its name in modern font on the parapet, and large plate glass windows.

The building is still there, with a shorter canopy, plate glass windows replaced with multi-pane ones, and the curved corner walled in and a window placed there. Below is its current appearance from the same spot the 1939 photo was taken.

McCormick / Johnson Standard Station

Across Carlisle, at 3523 Central Ave NE, Albuquerque. The Albuquerque Oil & Gasoline Co. built its Standard Station in 1946, during the post-World War II boom years. It was first operated as F.V. McCormick's service and later known as Johnson Starndard Motor Company. It was also the venue of Club Rhythm and Blues and now an Asian Restaurant.

It has a distinctive turret on the office area, the flat stepped canopy on the corner has been enclosed. The two service bays to the left have been enclosed, but the Art Deco style is evident. Below is how it looks today:

Across Central, on the SW corner of Carlisle with Central is a unique historic site:

Vic Tanny's Gym neon sign

Vic Tanny was a visionary fitness entrepreneur that in the 1950s opened the first national chain of gyms. In 1957 he incorporated in Albuquerque as Vic Tanny Albuquerque Inc. Having grown to 88 locations in 1960, his lavish lifestyle and bad management led to its bankruptcy.
Nowadays nobody remembers Tanny or his gyms. One of Tanny's spots was located across from the Nob Hill Business Center at 3503 Central Ave (right).
Since then many shops and stores, including a restaurant, but the Tanny neon sign is still there!

Kurt's Camera Corral ❌

There are many shops along Central on the 3500, 3400 and 3300 blocks, some have gone.
One, Kurt's Camera Corral at 3417 Central is an example: Kurt Kubie and his wife Edith moved from Vienna to Chicago and in 1950 a road trip to the West revealed Albuquerque to them, and they opened their camera shop in Nob City.
It thrived until the 2000's when digital cameras and online shopping displaced brick and mortar stores. Their son Jim shuttered the shop in 2015. The image shows its now gone neon sign, this is the street view now.

Baca's Restaurant ❌

On the 3300 block where there is a modern apartments and shops complex, at 3311 Central, once stood Baca's Mexican Restaurant.
It was owned and ran by Meliton E. "Milton" Baca Sr. (1914-1975) whose death was tragically tied to his business: he died after breing stabbed during a robbery attempt as he was on his way home from the restaurant.

At 3301, on the NE corner of the same block, the 1942 Sanborn insurance map shows a "Filling Stat. Auto Rep." with three external gasoline storage tanks.

Rainbow Cafe

Opposite Jones' on the SE corner of Wellesley and Central (3300) was the Rainbow Cafe and, you can the building and its sign in this 1940s picture (click to enlarge) looking east along Central Ave. The corner property has been a jewelry shop and in 2022 a cannabis store. This is the Same view nowadays.

Hiway House Motel

Adjacent to Jones at 1924 Central, to your left, is the Highway House Motel. It was built in 1958 and was part of a chain created in 1956 by Delbert Eugene "Del" Webb (1899-1974), a real-estate developer, and a co-owner of the New York Yankees. In 1946 he was the general contractor for mob boss Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, and built the Flamingo Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. He also built another Hiway House in Downtown ABQ. Its slogan was "Sleep is our Business." Del Webb sold the chain in 1960. The building and its neon sign have been restored by the current owners as you can see below. This is the Street view of the property nowadyays.

Nob Hill Firehouse and American Legion

Across Central, on the NE corner (3211) is the historic Nob Hill Monte Vista Firehouse and next to it (right) the old American Legion Building. Built in Pueblo revival style, they have been restored and repurposed as a restaurant and a commercial building.
It was built in 1936 under the Works Progress Administration funding, set up during the Depression to create jobs in the construction industry. It served as a fire station until 1972. Both images show a "Then and Now" view of the buildings.

Lobo Theater area

The 3100 block had a Standard Oil service station at 3123 (NW corner with Bryn Mawr) which also had a turret over its office we marked it with a number (2) in the vintage pictures below taken in 1939 -click on them to enlarge. Number (1) is the Monte Vista Firehouse.

Below is another view in the 1940s, the area is developing quickly (Lobo Theater is in the center, behind the hanging traffic light):

The American Home Appliances building where Yanni's restaurant is located was built after these pictures were taken. There was a Restaurant at 3120 (to your left on the south side of Central). There was a drugstore on the SE corner with Richmond and the building is still there: Schroeder's Drugs but the current neon sign is later maybe from the 1960s? See a "Then and Now" sequence below:

On the NE corner was Little Chief a drive in cafe at 3101 Central. We marked it with a (3) in the images. Its postcard says: "Cleve Davenport, Prop. 'We Serve Nationally Advertised Foods'." It has been torn down.

The following 3000s block had one of Route 66's wacky stops before Lobo Theater was built:

The Original Iceberg Cafe ❌

The Iceberg began life on May 27, 1931 as a frozen custard stand, at 3017 Central Ave. knwon as "Mac's Iceberg". The prefabricated structure had one module and was shaped to look like an iceberg and was the creation of Kansas born Carl Armstrong "Mac" McAdams, although he went broke in 1932, it was bought by new owners and a second module added. Being prefabricated (stucco over chicken wire with a timber frame) it was taken apart and moved in 1938 to 5219 Central Ave. as the second Iceberg Cafe, here it also included a filling station selling Cosden branded gas and signage with a polar bear.
Below is a photo of the 1938 moving of the building, the caption reads "The old familiar Ice Berg, for several years a landmark on East Central beingmoved out to the edge of town. The space it formerly occupied will soon be the location of the new $100,000 Lobo Theatre."

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