La Mesa Motel
7407 Central Ave. NE., Albuquerque, NMThe Mesa Motel is one of the best examples of a largely unaltered pre-World War II tourist court remaining along Route 66 in New Mexico. The motel was built in 1938, within a year of the realignment of Route 66 along Central Avenue, and at the time was one of the easternmost motels along the East Central Avenue commercial strip. Other motels would soon appear in this area, profiting not only from the traffic along the highway but from visitors attending the New Mexico State Fair, located less than a half mile to the west.
Because of this close association with tourism along Route 66, the property is eligible under Criterion A. The property also qualifies under Criterion c for the way in which its setting, location, design and materials reflect early tourist court construction in New Mexico. In particular, the spatial arrangement of the complex with its long linear plan and its use of several Pueblo Revival Style details to evoke a southwestern imagery enhance the significance of the property.
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.