Fire destroyed the former Mountain Lodge motel Thursday afternoon along Route 66 on the east edge of Albuquerque, reported the Albuquerque Journal and other media outlets.
The motel had been converted into apartments. No one was hurt in the blaze, but five people reportedly were rendered homeless. The structure was a total loss.
Here is KOAT-TV‘s report from the scene:
The cause of the fire remains unknown, although one neighbor told KRQE-TV he has his suspicions it was electrical:
“I noticed across the street, two gentleman were working on the apartments, putting in air conditioning units,” said Miguel Garcia, who lives nearby. “I noticed they were having trouble with it, and before you know it, sparks were flying and a fire started.”
The Mountain Lodge was in the unincorporated village of Carnuel, which is part of Albuquerque. Here is a vintage postcard of the motel:
I’ve been unable to find much historical information about the motel. But based on the old postcard images I’ve seen, it dated to the 1940s. Route 66 wasn’t routed through that area until the late 1930s.
(Image of the Old Mountain Lodge by John Phelan via Wikimedia Commons; postcard image courtesy of 66postcards.com)
