Robert Moore Jr. and his brother William Cooke have been busy acquiring and cleaning up four long-abandoned businesses along Route 66 in Tucumcari, New Mexico.
Though reopening at least three of those businesses is a long way off, those efforts earned the annual Route 66 Heritage Award from the New Mexico Route 66 Association.
The award recognized their work on these properties in Tucumcari:
- Circle S Ranch Court motel (formerly the Relax Inn) at 1010 E. Route 66
- Mark Huff Motor and The Malt Shop at 310 W. Route 66
- Diamond Shamrock gas station at 401 W. Route 66
During the award ceremony last week in front of the Circle S, association President Melissa Beasley-Lee said the honor recognizes two people “who have worked hard to make Route 66 in Tucumcari a better place.”
Moore accepted the plaque. His business, the Tucumcari Automotive repair shop, received a one-year complimentary association membership, a business listing in the association’s magazine and a Historic New Mexico U.S. 66 metal sign to display.
After the presentation, Moore gave an impromptu tour of the 40-room Circle S, which once was condemned by the city years ago but never torn down because the city ran out of money with its demolition fund.
The Route 66 Times reports the motel initially was built in the late 1940s and was expanded in the 1950s.
Moore and Cooke have removed truckloads of trash and brush from the property. They hope to revive it as a motel again, including its swimming pool.
They also plan to reopen the Shamrock station by late spring as a second location for Tucumcari Automotive.
For more information, go to another story in the Quay County Sun, based in Tucumcari.
—
Let’s hope the Moore brothers can see the redevelopment efforts all the way to completion. Tucumcari looked like a dying town to me during two recent visits.
Reality check: Tucumcari’s population has increased the last few years.
Impressive. The Relax in was really far gone.