The Monterey Motel, once known as the Monterey Non-Smokers Motel, has been nominated as an Albuquerque historic landmark.
According to a story from KRQE-TV, the city’s Landmarks Commission will discuss the Monterey Motel nomination on Feb. 13. If the commission approves it, it moves on to final approval to the city council.
Here’s the story from the station:
Francisco Uviña, interim director of Historic Preservation and Regionalism Certificate Program at the University of New Mexico School of Architecture, told the station the Monterey may not be as flashy as other city landmarks, but its connection to the Mother Road makes it important — especially at a time when Route 66 motels are deemed by several preservation groups as endangered.
“They just become prints of many layers of history…of the automobile history, of travelers, of Route 66,” Uviña said.
A classic neon sign adorns the front, but the building design pales in comparison to the city’s other architectural treasures.
Uviña says historical landmarks are not all about the facade.
“We sometimes think of these monumental buildings, I mean…a lot of buildings along Central, the Old Albuquerque High School, but sometimes we tend to forget those modest buildings as well that sometimes have so much to tell us,” he said.
According to “The Route 66 Encyclopedia,” the motel opened as the David Court in 1946. It was renamed Monterey Court by 1954.
Norman Bugg owned and operated the Monterey Motel for about 25 years. Miroslaw and Boguslawa Elencwajg acquired the motel and renamed it Monterey Non-Smokers Motel. The couple kept up its high quality standards.
The motel in 2017 was sold to Sundance Village Limited Partnership, the same group from Portland, Oregon, that owns the newly refurbished El Vado Motel down the street. The group reverted the motel to its Monterey Motel name.
Landing on the historic landmarks list gives a property tax relief and more protection.
Route 66 sites on the city’s historic landmarks list include:
- El Vado Motel
- De Anza Motor Lodge (undergoing renovations)
- Jones Motor Co. (home to Kelly’s Brewery)
- KiMo Theatre
- Highland/Hudson Hotel Building
- Old Main Library
- Rosenwald Building
- Skinner Building
- Sunshine Building
Good summaries of all the Albuquerque historic landmarks may be found here.
(Image of the Monterey Motel’s neon sign in Albuquerque by Thomas Hawk via Flickr)