Richardson Store

Route 66 at I-40, exit 311, Montoya, NM
Phone:

East < GO > West

In 1928 the Richardson's business was moved to this location from their previous store in the townsite on the other side of the railroad tracks. The move allowed them to better take advantage of the traffic on the 1926 alignment of Route 66.

To say that the store has seen better days would be an understatement. The whole roof, including the canopy that extended over the gas pumps out front collapsed in 2014. This was a pretty big store with a showroom that was 30 feet wide and 75 feet long and that doesn't include the living quarters space. There was a big pot bellied stove in the middle of the showroom to provide heat. The small widows high on the sidewalls and under the eaves let in some light and ventilation but restricted the direct sunlight.

.The sandstone walls are still standing though. Those sandstone blocks were originally reclaimed from the ruins of even older buildings in the Village of Montoya across the tracks and a little farther north. The store closed in the late 1970s. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

The building served as a general store, gas station, residence and U. S. Post Office. The Post Office has apparently been replaced by a line of old mailboxes and a modern set of lockable mail boxes on the west side of the building. I-40 opened here in the early 1960s diverting trafic off the old road. But with the gas station and a nice grove of Elm trees providing a shaded picnic area the store hung on until the late 70s.

I'm not sure what the building directly behind the store was used for, but I thought I'd include a photo of it.

The second building has pressed tin panels for siding. Check out the hinges used to secure one of the panels in the center of this photo.

Photo(s): 2017