As I note in my other post on Albuquerque's Central Avenue, starting in 1937 Route 66 crossed Albuquerque on Central Avenue. Today Central Avenue still has dozens of buildings from Route 66's heyday. We first visited Albuquerque over 20 years ago, and many of the old motels along Central Avenue were closed or really dilapidated. During this 2022 visit, we were impressed by how many buildings on Central Avenue have now been rehabilitated. Central Avenue is not a step-back-in-time experience like Tucumcari or Amarillo’s 6th Avenue. Its vintage buildings are sprinkled among a lot of newer buildings. You’ll have to keep an eye out for Route-66-era buildings, but the hunt is worth it!
My last post was a driving tour of the vintage buildings along eastern Central Avenue, up to Broadway. This post is a driving tour of the vintage buildings along Central Avenue west of Broadway. Here the addresses of buildings on the north side of Central are called Central Avenue Northwest, while on the south side they’re called Central Avenue Southwest.
Just past Broadway, at 100 1st Street Southwest, is the Alvarado Transportation Center.
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| Alvarado Transportation Center in Albuquerque |
The Alvarado Transportation Center is not a historic structure—it’s less than 20 years old (built in 2002-2006). But it’s designed to be a tribute to the Alvarado Hotel that was once on this site. The Alvarado Hotel was one of the Harvey Houses built throughout the Southwest to serve rail passengers. It was built in 1902 in Mission Revival style, with the interior designed by Mary Jane Colter. (My post on Winslow, Arizona, has more on the Harvey Houses and Mary Jane Colter.) Sadly, the Alvarado Hotel was torn down in 1970.
At 423 Central Avenue Northwest is the KiMo Theater. It was built in 1927 in what’s called Pueblo Deco style. Pueblo Deco combines Art Deco and Native American styles.
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| KiMo Theater in Albuquerque |
The KiMo’s entrance has beautiful tile work and artwork.
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| KiMo Theater entrance |
On the next block, at 510 Central Avenue Southwest, is Maisel's Indian Trading Post.
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| Maisel's Indian Trading Post in Albuquerque |
Maisel’s is another Pueblo Deco building, this one built in 1939. You can still see the original murals above the windows. It’s now closed, but for many years it was an important shop for Native American crafts.
At 722 Central Avenue Southwest is the former Skinner’s Grocery, a beautiful 1931 Art Deco building.
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| Former Skinner's Grocery in Albuquerque |
Just past the former Skinner’s, there’s a traffic circle and Central Avenue bends a bit to the right, running along Robinson Park. About a mile past the traffic circle is the former Sandia Theater, built in 1946, at 1816 Central Avenue Southwest.
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| Former Sandia Theater in Albuquerque |
Across the street from the former Sandia is Duran’s Central Pharmacy at 1815 Central Avenue Northwest. It’s been here since 1942, and it has a diner open for breakfast and lunch.
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| Duran's Pharmacy in Albuquerque |
Just past Duran’s, Central Avenue—and Route 66—turn left (west) at the traffic light. If you want to explore Albuquerque’s Old Town, take the next right on San Felipe Street Northwest. In 2 blocks, you’ll see Old Town Plaza on your left.
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| Old Town Plaza (from City of Albuquerque (cabq.gov)) |
On the north side of Old Town Plaza is San Felipe de Neri Church, built in 1793.
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| San Felipe de Neri Church (from TripAdvisor) |
Old Town reminds me of the Plaza in Santa Fe, only—I think—it’s a bit homier.
Back on Central Avenue (Route 66), in a few blocks the road bends south. At 2500 Central Avenue Southwest is the rehabilitated El Vado Auto Court Motel .
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| El Vado in Albuquerque |
El Vado was built in 1937 in Pueblo Revival style. Today it is a good example of buildings along Route 66 that have been rehabilitated rather than restored. A restored building looks like it did at a particular point in time, often when it was first constructed. The Boots Court in Carthage, Missouri, is a great example of a restored building.
A rehabilitated building has been altered to meet current needs while keeping the building’s historic character. Albuquerque has a number of historic buildings along Route 66 that have been rehabilitated, such the 66 Diner and the Range CafĂ©, both in former service stations.
One way El Vado has been rehabilitated is by converting the former garages into suites.
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| The former garages of El Vado are now doors and windows. |
The center courtyard has also been rehabilitated, converting the former parking lot for cars into a shaded sitting area.
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| 1950s postcard of El Vado |
We stayed at El Vado during our visit to Albuquerque and really enjoyed it. It’s an easy walk to Old Town and the many restaurants there. The rooms are beautiful, but they don't evoke the past like rooms in restored motels such as the Wagon Wheel in Cuba, Missouri, or the Blue Swallow in Tucumcari, New Mexico.
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| One of El Vado's rooms |
El Vado’s bar has a wonderful mural of Route 66 made of old license plates.
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| Route 66 mural in El Vado's bar |
On the morning we left Albuquerque, we continued west on Central Avenue (Route 66). After crossing the Rio Grande, Route 66 begins a climb straight up what’s called Nine Mile Hill (even though it isn’t really nine miles long). In about a mile, we reached Mac’s La Sierra Coffee Shop at 6217 Central Avenue Northwest. It’s got a great neon sign.
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| Mac's La Sierra on Albuquerque's Nine Mile Hill |
Mac’s is a classic old-school New Mexican restaurant. Our breakfast there was one of our favorites on the whole trip!
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| Interior of Mac's La Sierra |
Just past Mac’s a gateway sign welcomes eastbound Route 66 travelers to Albuquerque.
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| Albuquerque's western gateway sign |
At the peak of Nine Mile Hill is the new West Central Route 66 Visitors Center at Nine Mile Hill. It’s at 12300 Central Avenue Southwest. The Visitors Center wasn’t yet open when we visited in 2022, but it looks beautiful.
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| West Central Route 66 Visitor Center at Nine Mile Hill |
From the Visitors Center there’s a wonderful view of Albuquerque to the east.
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| View of Albuquerque from the peak of Nine Mile Hill |
From here, we continued west on Route 66, exploring the small towns and ghost towns between Albuquerque and Gallup, New Mexico.
We love visiting Albuquerque. With two completely different Route 66s crossing the city and dozens of Route-66-era buildings, there is a lot to see here! We consider Albuquerque an essential stop along Route 66. If you're looking for a place to stop for two nights and catch your breath, Albuquerque is a perfect choice.
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