The Alibi, which is an alternative newspaper in Albuquerque, reports that there is a “Route 66 Through Albuquerque: A Postcard History” exhibit at the Special Collections Library at 423 Central Ave. NE through Aug. 26.
Alibi staffer Steven Robert Allen writes:
The highlight is a display of vintage Albuquerque postcards mounted beside captions explaining their historical significance. There’s a 1938 postcard for the El Vado, the still extant West Central roadside motel recently threatened with demolition. There’s a whole slew of cards for Central Avenue businesses that no longer exist. My favorite card comes from the Pig Stand Café, an eatery formerly located across from UNM at 2106 Central SE. Judging from the image on the card, my guess is that this is the old Lobo Laundry building, on the same block as Newsland. I think it’s now a pita joint or something. When I first moved to Albuquerque, I used to do my laundry there all the time. Coincidentally, there used to be a big tiled mosaic of Route 66 on the east wall, right above the dryers. I used to shift my gaze back and forth between my spinning underwear and the map of the route that had (sort of) carried me from Chicago to this weird little city in the desert. Good times.