Cottage Bakery
a.k.a. Spot Ice Cream Company
2000 Central Ave. SE., Albuquerque, NMThe Cottage Bakery building is one of the last remaining largely unaltered structures associated with the pre-war period of roadside food outlets along Route 66. With the realignment Route 66 anticipated during the years preceding its completion in1937 and with Albuquerque's suburban development creeping up onto the East Mesa, the Cottage Bakery was one of several cafes and food outlets appearing along Central Avenue in the mid-1930s.
The bakery, on the east side, offered baked goods; and the Spot Ice Cream Co., on the west side, offered "Fountain and Curb surface" to local residents and to motorists traveling the highway. Because of this association with automobile tourism along Route 66, the property is eligible under Criterion A.Its unique use of the Thatched Cottage Style also qualifies the building under Criterion C as one of the few examples of roadside businesses along Route 66 in New Mexico that relied on a"duck" style to alert passing motorists of the building's function. The iBq>licit message conveyed by the Cottage Pure Company through its use of the medieval-looking structure was one of a bucolic purity that clients would associate with dairy and bake products. Behind this "duck" facade was the utilitarian portion of the building. When it opened, the baking plant was celebrated for its modern ovens and mixing machines as well as its employee facilities including showers and individual lockers.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1993.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.