Palomino Motel

1215 E. Route 66, Tucumcari, NM
Phone: 505-461-3622

East < GO > West

The Palomino Motel was opened in 1953 with 20 guest rooms. Like many motels of the time the rooms are in a U-shape building with a separate small office building in the middle of the U. Less common for the early 1950s was the rooms having attached garages, a real benefit in rainy or snowy weather, but by the 1960s the garages had been converted into an additional 10 guest rooms.. The canopy over the lobby driveway was added sometime in the early 1960s.

James & Gladys Hyde were the original owners. Based on owners listed on postcards it looks like Klem and Phyllis Miller owned the motel in both the early 60s and again in the early 70s because Bill & Velma Jackson are listed as owners in the mid-60s. The Miller's apparently shared a sense of adventure as they enjoyed piloting a single engine plane around the southwest.

The sign uses a combination of incandescent and neon lighting. The letters spelling Palomino are outlined in neon and filled with incandescent bulb. The arrow swooping around the name is lit with about 150 incandescent bulbs on each side. The word MOTEL is outlined in neon, as is the backlit sign can holding image of the horse. Directly under that sign can are three rings of neon surrounding the supporting column. A rough count comes to something like 1,000 incandescent bulbs in total. Think about the joy of climbing up there and changing a couple dozen burned out bulbs in the cold snowy winter, sound like fun?.

The original sign apparently didn't last long as a late 1950s postcards shows the sign above. Even the newer sign has undergone some updating over the years, The Palomino letters and background have changed color. The original is on display at the Neonopolis Museum in Las Vegas, NV.

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Vintage Advertising Highlights

PALOMINO AAA MOTEL
"Luxury For Less"
On Highway 66 - Downtown Tucumcari

On The North Side Of The Street
Air Conditioned
Family Connecting Suites & Twin Beds
Free T.V. - Room Phones - Swimming Pool
Good Restaurants Near-by
For Reservations Phone 461-****
Owners & Operators
Bill & Velma Jackson

NOTE: Putting the AAA logo between the words in the name of the motel is kind of uncommon.
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Photo(s): 2012