National Register Listing

Jones Motor Company

3226 Central Ave. SE., Albuquerque, NM

From its construction in 1939, the Jones Motor Company building has been a landmark along the East Central Avenue commercial strip. Located at what was then the eastern edge of commercial development along Central Avenue, the building served both motorists traveling Route 66 and the early East Mesa suburbs of Albuquerque. The owner of the dealership was Ralph Jones, an ardent booster of Route 66 who served as president of the Route 66 Association as well as President of the Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce and Chairman of the New Mexico State Highway Commission during the late 1940s. His daughter recalls that her father's service station and garage was one of the first that westbound motorists encountered as they entered Albuquerque. During the first few years of business, many of those requiring auto repairs were Okies. So overloaded were their vehicles that Jones decided to build a long carport along the southern wall of the garage so that they might unload their cars and trucks in the shade in order to make the vehicles' mechanical parts accessible for repair. The building is significant for its association with the growth of travel along Route 66 and is thus eligible under Criterion A. With its corner siting and its Moderne Style marking it as one of the most noteworthy commercial structures of this style in Albuquerque, the building is also eligible under Criterion C as a good example of the location, style, plan and materials reflecting the evolution of the service station property type.

Local significance of the building:
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1993.